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HIGHBURY,
Auk. (New Zealand)
—
Oh sure, blame the dog. Anyone who lives with a Labrador ought to be
familiar with that infamous look of guilt and doggy remorse which
instantly incriminates and convicts the poor canine for many an unsolved
crime. (Hey,
but where exactly was the cat when those $200 shoes got chewed
up, anyway? Hmm...) The
New
Zealand Herald reports that a pedestrian-automobile
accident, in which a blind woman was left with a broken leg, has been
blamed on "Fletcher", the woman's seeing-eye dog. Sergeant
William Paul McKenzie of the North Shore Police appeared in Aukland
District Court on Friday and pleaded "not guilty" to a charge
of careless driving stemming from an accident in which he sideswiped the
woman with his car in a pedestrian crosswalk. Gillian
Walker, a 43-year-old sports therapist, was crossing the intersection of
Hammond Place and Birkenhead Avenue last February when Sgt. McKenzie
came to a stop at the crosswalk, according to the officer's
testimony. After looking to the left and  to the right, he
proceeded forward at approximately 5km/h and was unable to stop when Ms.
Walker and Fletcher suddenly appeared in the road. "It
is quite possible the dog was careless," said Ron Mansfield, lawyer
for the defense. Prosecuting
attorney Robert Fardell suggested that Fletcher and Ms. Walker were on
the crossing before Sgt. McKenzie drove over it. "He didn't
look well enough, long enough, hard enough or at all," said Mr.
Fardell. The
defense countered by submitting that guide dogs, who are capable of
making their own decisions and are trained not to walk into the path of
cars, must be held liable for the same obligations as bipedal
pedestrians.
Said the defense: "It might be that the dog believed the vehicle would stop before it
hit them. That assessment was incorrect.
"Mr. McKenzie was lawfully entitled to expect Ms Walker to give
way to his moving vehicle."
The statement outraged Ms. Walker who immediately left the courtroom
with Fletcher.
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The U.S./Canada-based organization Guide
Dogs for the Blind, Inc. describes how guide dog training is an
intensive, five-month curriculum which hones the service abilities of
specific breeds (Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers, German
Shepherds and Lab/Golden crosses). Spotlighted in this court case
is a guide dog's advanced skill known as "intelligent
disobedience": refusing to obey a command if it is unsafe to
execute. Don't get any ideas, Wags.
Scoop Senior Editor
"Wags" believes it is unsafe to leave uneaten cookies on the
kitchen countertop.
Presiding Judge Simon Lockhart
indicated that he will rule on the case some time in February after
carefully considering the evidence and testimonies. Unfortunately,
out of the three witnesses, one is blind, and the other is mute. Editor's note:
But it doesn't take a dog's nose to realize that something in
the courtroom smells rotten. ...And don't
even try to blame that on the dog, Sergeant!
UPDATE
June 8, 2002:
"BIZARRE DOG LAW: Court Rules..."
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