Help get permission for Conrad to own a therapy dog in Bellamont Gardens

#50: - IS he going to get the dog?

There is a court case pending, so we will hopefully hear of a positive outcome soon.

#6: - Feel bad, but rules are rules

Sorry ... but a service dog is not a pet. Airlines don't allow pets but they do allow service dogs.

We need to get this petition more exposure, any ideas?

Sis on you Bellamont Gardens! You should be ashamed of yourselves!

The Autistic Strategies Network, an initiative by autistic adults, supports this mother's pursuit. Many autistic people contribute to the wellbeing of non-autistic members of society, and to the economy of our country as a whole. We believe that autistic people, if enabled rather than disabled, can add significant value to the world, and this request is by no means unreasonable.

A therapy dog is a very expense, highly trained member of the team needed ro address the complicated therapeutic needs of an autistic child. Therapy dog are not unattended pets running around in a complex barking, and scratching through rubbish bins. South African society seems to be mostly ignorant on the utilisation of therapy dogs to assist people with disabilities and chronic diseases. I suggest that an information dvd on autism be shown to the ignorant Body Corporate; otherwise have them take care of an autstic child for a day to come to their senses. The best of luck with this extremely worthy and valid cause!

My daughter of 7 is not autistic but I have noticed that her pets are therapy for sure! She tells them all her problems and is relaxed around them.

I find it embarrassing and unsupportive of all children with disabilities the way this board of trustees have treated this little boy's chance in leading a better quality of life..

Right I am going to have my 5c worth. I live in Bellamont Gardens. If you are a Tenant you DO NOT have rights. Buy a property there and then you do have rights. We have paid big money for our units. Also the dog that she is requesting is a Labrador. We do not as such have gardens the areas in front of our properties is common property. Are you all okay for her to corner off a SMALL piece of grass for this beautiful dog. You are all seriously not looking at it from the animals point of view. This little boy get extremely aggressive when he has his fits. Where is this poor dog to hide when he is going through these fits and what if no matter how well the dog is trained he bites the little boy. Come on people. If she wants a dog go and rent a house. Seriously?????

#59: -

It is not about unsupportive.  Our gardens in front of our units are extremely small.  She wants a labrador, you seriously want this beautiful dog to live in a small garden area all its life, just so this little boy can calm down.  There are rules for a reason.  She has NO RIGHTS she is a tenant.

#57: -

The Body Corporate is NOT ignorant.  Just because it is a therapy dog none of you have taken into consideration that the dog she wants is a labrador and will be confined to a very, very small garden.  Is this fair - I think that is incredibly cruel.  She is a tenant she has NO RIGHTS.

It seems as if those from Bellamont Gardens who are in opposition to this child having a therapy dog are either refusing to find out more about the concept of a therapy dog or blatantly ignoring what they do know. Claiming that the gardens are too small for a Labrador is an irrelevant argument. Yes, the gardens may be too small if the dog was being kept there most of the day. However, a therapy dog is a service dog that would not stay at home when the family is out. A service dog is allowed in all public and private places with the person it is serving, including aeroplanes. The dog won't be "confined", it will be out all day with the family. It's not a difficult concept to grasp. You cannot reduce the impact that a therapy dog can have on the life of a child with autism to simply "calming him down". It is far, far more than that. I'm not sure if everyone on the Body Corporate of Bellamont Gardens opposes this so I don't want to generalize, but the question "is this fair?" should actually be asked of the Body Corporate's attitude and manner in which they are dealing with this situation. In fact, this is what is cruel about the situation. A little bit of empathy and love shown towards another human being cannot hurt. They are human beings- they do have rights.

It takes a specialized kind of stupid to not do your homework and educate yourself before commenting on a subject you know absolutely nothing about! A special needs dog is trained to assist a child in a meltdown and calm him! Later the child's behavior improves because of the dogs presence !!!These dogs are bred to have very calm demeanors. The very thing you think the dog must hide from is what the dog gets trained for! For excersise I think the family is educated enough to know to take the dog for walks and to parks, as outings are necassary for ALL children, but with a child with autism it's hard! Where the dog is conning in again to help with yet another issue!!! Outings! Which is good for the dog and the child! I think you are totally out of line to try and educate this mother about her child and a dog, firstly because you are extremely uniformed and secondly, you have no bloody idea what we special needs moms go through. Cold hearted people of this world always find dumb excuses to get their way! Extra specialized kinda dumb excuses! I actually feel shy for your part on just how dumb your argument is ...

This young mans future in in your hands he deserves the best treatment and respect and this therapy dog will assist him. Please show neighbourly love.

#60: -

Your 5c is so not worth the big money you have paid for your unit. Not only are you discriminating against Shelley and Conrad (yes, they do have names) but you have are also putting them into a catagory trying to insinuate that they are not worthy to be residence in YOUR complex as it seems to me you are the sole owner of Bellamont Gardens and all final decisions are made by you. I am Ashley Shelley's sister, who started this petition against you snobs. See unlike you I am not scared to use my name as you are. Coward, I guess. There has been no decision as to what service dog Conrad may get. So, please do not make assumptons before you have the facts. Tell me, have you ever had a one on one with Conrad? Who gives you the right to say "This little boy get extremely aggressive when he has his fits. Where is this poor dog to hide when he is going through these fits and what if no matter how well the dog is trained he bites the little boy." Have you ever seen Conrad interacting with any animal? I pray to God that you will never have to be in the same situation as what Shelley is in as I can guarantee you, it will be a lonely jorney for you. Remember, what you give out to others does come back to you. I hope you are able to sleep at night.

https://scontent-b-ams.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/10500262_1015227189347...

#66: I LOVE MY AUTISTIC NEPHEW - RE: Your 5c back

 

If there were a universal competition for stupidity, the trustees of Bellamont Gardens would come last - that is the extent of complete and utter ignorance that we are dealing with!!! What part of Constitutional law do you fools not understand???? Tenants have the EXACT same rights that owners do.... stop kidding yourselves, get a grip and get educated!!! Furthermore service dogs are more often than not Labradors - so your argument there is ridiculous - would you prefer if she got a poodle? Do you think that a dog that is trained to help autistic children is going to be hiding in a corner or biting Conrad? shelley is an animal lover, completely down to earth and has a heart of gold - that dog will be a part of the family and treated as such! Honestly, Karma's a bitch and what you put out there will come back to bite you in the butt!!! Never before have I come across a more disgusting, bitter bunch of individuals as yourselves!!! WAKE UP!!!!

The comments from tenants at Bellamont Gardens prove they have absolutely no clue as to why guide / therapy dogs are so valuable. They also have absolutely no clue as to the care needed for a therapy / guide dog.
They are so utterly ignorant that they would obviously disallow for instance a blind person living in a flat with no garden - because it is so cruel for the dog... If the guide dog association believed it was cruel for dogs to be trained as therapy dogs why are they doing this? Why are therapy dogs allowed in hospitals? Why? because these trained dogs enjoy their "duty" as much as their patients / guardians do.
I personally think Bellamont Gardens need to be educated in terms of therapy animals as well as animal cruelty and could do with a visit to the SPCA and Guide Dog Association- more than that they should read educational literature rather than sensational junk that has no educational value before commenting on something they clearly have no expertise to do so.

Firstly I note that, while you are happy to spew forth your vitriolic argument, you are not brave enough to tell us who you are. You have said that you live at Bellamont Gardens and, based on your mean-spirited and selfish attitude, I am going to assume that you are a member or members of the Body Corporate. Nobody cares how much you paid for your units. That is not a valid part of the argument. The presence of a service dog would not affect the value of your unit, so therefore you have no need for concern. What may affect the value of your unit is the disgraceful and disrespectful attitude of the Body Corporate to those who live there. I do not think that the articles that have appeared in local newspapers or the opinions expressed by others on this petition have been very positive PR for your complex. I doubt that you can ever claim to be child friendly either.

I was shocked when Shelley's very reasonable request was turned down without one of your number even having the common decency to speak to her to find out more about what it would entail. I was saddened that not one of you has bothered to find out more about the incredibly difficult road she has travelled with Conrad and his special needs. I’m shocked that it was only recently that owners in the complex were even consulted about their opinions on the issue. However, the fact that you have taken your offensive, spiteful disregard for a child's needs to these levels simply defies belief.

Your claims that you are concerned about the welfare of the "beautiful" dog that "she" (Shelley - yes, she does have a name), in my opinion, are untrue to say the least, and prove that you do not know Shelley at all. In fact, I believe that you are simply trying to detract from the issue at hand: that you and your Body Corporate are making absolute fools of yourselves in the eyes of the public at large. Do you really think that journalists would have approached Shelley to do articles on her situation if they felt that she was being unreasonable? Do you think that the Guide Dogs Association would be training dogs for this specific skill (among others) if it were in any way cruel or detrimental to the dogs? Do you think that, for example, blind people who own a guide dog live in large premises with acres of lawn for their dogs to run on? The fact is that they do not, and their dogs are happy and healthy and cared for, as Conrad’s dog will be when he gets one. Further proof of your ignorance is that both Shelley and Conrad would need to go for training before being able to take ownership of the dog. It is not simply sent home with them to try to cope with. The dog is highly trained, and is a working dog. It is identified as such by the harness that it wears. It is permitted in shopping centres, restaurants, hospitals and even aboard an aeroplane but, apparently, not Bellamont Gardens. It is not becoming clear to you that you are alone in your understanding of the situation?

Your repeated statement that a tenant has no rights is simply further proof of your apparently infinite ignorance and spite. Do you sincerely believe that tenants have only obligations and no rights when they live in a house or complex? When a tenant pays an owner rental, he/she is paying for the same rights of enjoyment of said property as those that would have been enjoyed by the owner had he/she been living there, with the exception of a vote.

You cannot claim to be taking the rights or needs of other owners into consideration either. On reading over previous comments by both past and present owners/tenants of Bellamont Gardens, it becomes clear that the Body Corporate members have allowed a little power to go to their heads and have, to put it plainly, "lost the plot". I'm not sure why your group of bullies have been allowed to remain in this position for so long but, if I were an owner there, I'd certainly be making it my business to get you out as soon as possible. Having been the Chairman of the Body Corporate of a large sectional title development of approximately 50 units some years ago, I am aware of not only the rights of owners and tenants, but responsibilities of the trustees to treat everyone with due respect and consideration. This aspect of your role seems to have been lost on you. This article may be of interest to you, and may get other owners in your complex thinking: http://www.privateproperty.co.za/news/property-tips/bodies-corporate-do-have-bullies.htm?id=1479

I also note with interest the statement by Guest #36 that says “… the offspring of the Body Corporate residing in the same complex also has permission to keep sugar gliders (an exotic pet) which is illegal in both Gauteng and the Eastern Cape, but has been allowed in a conservation area.” And yet part of your argument includes the fact that the presence of a dog would threaten the stability of the conservation area. Guest #36 goes on to say, “I wonder if the same compassion and acceptance would be given if a stray dog should wander onto the property and was fed and given shelter for over eight years as the 'feral' cats are?” Apparently these cats are fed regularly by a member of your Body Corporate, and one has even been seen wearing a collar with a bell, which nullifies the claim that it is feral, as a feral cat would be very unlikely to allow any human contact. Apparently certain trustees have fenced off sections of supposed “common property” areas, yet Shelley was informed that she could not fence of a section of garden to prevent the dog from leaving her area as it is common property. It is clear that there are a number of double standards being applied in this situation.

This situation can be changed, and this story can have a happy ending. The power to decide how it ends is up to you. Shelley and Conrad have an enormous amount of support behind them, including that of their amazing legal team. They are also loved by so many people. You have the right to choose how you want to feel about your actions for the rest of your life. For that is how long you will remember the action you take. What will you say to loved ones in the future about your behaviour today? What will you say should something like this ever happen to you? Will you look back in years to come and tell yourself that you are glad you stood your ground and prevented a child in need from getting assistance he needs? Will you be proud of what you're doing now? Do you really go to sleep at night thinking that you are right and everybody else is wrong? I doubt it. Listen to your heart, not your ego, and be sure that the choice you make today is a choice you can live with tomorrow.

Best wishes to all,
Jenny, proud sister and auntie to Shelley and Conrad

#3: - You knew the rules when you moved in.

1 problem. Complex policies do not overrule law. If you have a disability recognized by the government, you need to have whatever equipment a doctor has perscribed. No exceptions required. Sure the board can bitch about it, but then you show them the documentation, and they are powerless.

#6: - Feel bad, but rules are rules

Complex ploicy is null and void if law requires you have it

#71: - Re: You knew the rules when you moved in.

Precisely.  It appears that this Body Corporate cannot comprehend this fact.

It is absolutely pathetic that someone who needs a therapy dog is not allowed to own one - even more pathetic as the rules are made by inconsiderate beings - where is your humaneness??

#60: -  

 read top of page 10 of the Northglen News, dated 8 August