[nagdu] Blind woman sues nudist community over guide dog

[barbandzoe at comcast.net]

When I read the title, the first thing I thought of was Are they going to make them shave the dog so he is nude too. LOLOL 

----- Original Message -----

From: "Ginger Kutsch" <GingerKutsch at yahoo.com> 
To: "NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users" <nagdu at nfbnet.org> 
Sent: Thursday, February 27, 2014 8:21:50 AM 
Subject: [nagdu] Blind woman sues nudist community over guide dog 

Blind woman sues nudist community over guide dog 

Feb 27, 2014 4:36 AM EST 

By: Aaron Mesmer, FOX 13 News - 

Source: 
http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/story/24835372/2014/02/26/blind-woman-fights-co 
ndo-association-to-keep-guide-dog 

 LUTZ (FOX 13) - A blind woman living in a nudist community in Lutz vowed 
Wednesday to continue her fight to keep her guide dog and keep living in her 
condominium. 

  

Sharon Fowler has had her service dog since 2011, shortly after a medical 
condition caused her to lose her vision. 

  

"It is the most difficult thing," she said. "It's not only adjusting to 
everything becoming dark and black, it's loss of freedom." 

  

And Fowler said that loss of freedom led her to her dog, Laura. 

  

"Laura is my best friend," Fowler said. 

  

Fowler and her husband, Craig, moved to Paradise Lakes Condominiums in 2012. 
They say they had already been settled in when the community association 
told them Laura, a black Labrador, is too big and had to go, or they had to 
move out. 

  

But the Fowlers said they thought this would be a free-thinking and 
accepting community and have been stunned by how management has handled the 
guide dog situation. 

  

  

Still, they say they're not going anywhere. 

  

"I am legally blind. Laura is a trained, certified guide dog," Sharon said. 
"You cannot bully us. We will not leave. This is our home. I won't be 
embarrassed. I won't be intimidated. We will go all the way with this, and 
we've done nothing wrong." 

  

"I have to sit back and behave myself and watch my wife go through some of 
the most embarrassing and traumatic times that she's ever had to go 
through," Craig said. 

  

The Fowlers filed a lawsuit against the condo association for mental anguish 
and asked a judge to force the association to allow them to stay, at least 
for now. 

  

The suit was initially thrown out, but an appellate court has since 
overturned that ruling. 

  

"I won't be embarrassed. I won't be intimidated. We will go all the way with 
this," Sharon said. 

  

FOX 13 left messages for the condo association manager and president of the 
board of directors, but our calls were not returned. 

  

  

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