Candid Perspectives Life & the Questions of Living with a Disability
Last week after a long day I went for a walk with my two dogs Gracie and Spanky. Going for a walk in the cool brisk of the evening with your dog is something that every dog owner out there does and for me represented what I see as part of the American dream. I am a 31 year old woman with Spina Bifida which has put me in a wheelchair all my life. As an American I grew up hearing about the "American Dream," the right I have in this country to pursue happiness at any cost just like everyone else. That night I was going to go to my mother’s house. I live just a few blocks short of a mile from her house and have pushed that route over a thousand times with and without both of my dogs. Every time I leave the house I have the dogs sit while I put their leashes on. I grab my belt that I attach their leashes to so I can use both hands to push my wheelchair, I grab my keys to my house and off we go. The neighbors wave at us and the dogs both bark with joy greeting the neighbors as we pass each of their homes. This particular night was a night I will never forget. My little Gracie got bitten by a Siberian husky. I had seen this dog and another one like her chained to the front of a house in the neighborhood every time we had gone out. On this particular day the Siberian husky jumped the fence, snapped the worthless chain it was attached to, and went straight for my dogs. Within seconds my little "Gracie Baby" is whimpering and the owner of the dog is running through the yard yanking the husky off of my frightened schnauzer. Despite the shock I was going through I managed to hear her say, "If you need me to pay for vet bills just let me know". I grabbed my dog put her on my lap and walked her and my other dog, Spanky, to my mom's house. I was filled with such a feeling of frustration and bitterness. Why did this lady have her dogs attached to a chain that I could've broken with my bare hands? Who should I report this incident to? Who would listen, who would care, who would do something? What about other dogs? This could happen again. What should I do? Would I be safer going another route? Would it be safer for me and my dogs if I gave them up to someone who is able bodied? Is it worth risking the possibility of another attack, even if it is just a possibility, just to hold on to my so called right to have my ‘American dream’? At what cost to society is it, to try to enforce able bodied owners to have their dogs properly contained where they and those around them are safe and secure? I still have my dogs. My schnauzer is totally fine, but I am still wondering sometimes how to answer these questions. So, I share my story with you the reader to ask you, what do you think? What would you do? How far do we "push” with this whole idea of life liberty and the pursuit of happiness before we decide that we need to rethink things? I would love to know. Candid guest writer Alyssa Carton is an active youth & disability advocate, living in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
|
This Day Thoughts and declarations from within the community. Homefront Growing the Dystoniac homelife Brief Work, Education, Career Wide World Fun, fitness, self-expansion Front Desk Navigating healthcare Suite! Living Upgrades: Meeting challenges to function & mobility Profiles
copyright Dystonia Living 2009 |