Snubbed

MAT-SU — Jack Runser is well on his way to having a new dog in his life.

Runser is deaf and has cerebral palsy. Aside from being his best friend, Sheba worked as a service dog, alerting Runser when someone was at the door or calling on the phone, or if there was an emergency that required his attention.

Late last year, Sheba ran into traffic and was killed. Since then, the Valley stepped up and donated money to get Jack a new trained service dog. He went to Arizona to meet Sam and get him trained to his specific needs.

But while things with Sam are going well, Jack’s trip hasn’t been all smiles.

Runser checked in from Arizona last week to say he’d taken a break to go hiking in the Grand Canyon. On his Facebook page, Runser said things didn’t work out the way he’d planned.

James White, who manages the Canyon Inn where Runser has been staying, picked up the story from there. On Friday morning, he said, Runser got up and had some waffles in the motel’s office. The guide showed up and Runser motioned for him to wait, then left to gather his gear.

“The guy turns to me and says, ‘I ain’t taking him in the Grand Canyon,’” White said.

White said the guide, with Grand Canyon Hikes, said it would be too dangerous to take someone with cerebral palsy into the canyon. The company could not be reached for comment.

White said he tried to talk the guy into taking Runser, pointing out that Runser had told the company of his condition when he booked the trip and that he’d seen people worse off than Runser go down into the canyon.

“He says, ‘Well I ain’t doing it.’ So I says, ‘Go tell the man you’re not doing it,’” White said.

But the guide left. To read Runser’s take on the matter, it seems like this is the point that upset him the most.

“I stepped out of my room to see the guide leaving, not even having the guts to face me,” Runser wrote in an e-mail.

The tour operator’s Web site says the company reserves the right to refuse service for any reason. But White said he’s not so sure that canceling the trip didn’t put the company in violation of federal guidelines for operators working in the canyon. He said he told Runser to file a complaint with the U.S Department of the Interior.

For his part, Runser said he’s not sure if he’s going to take that route or not. White said the company has since refunded Runser’s money.

“But that doesn’t undo the damage done,” White said.

Runser, 38, was worried last week that he wouldn’t be able to go hiking, something he deeply enjoys — a video on his Facebook page shows him spreading Sheba’s ashes atop Pioneer Peak — and which he might not have much opportunity for in the future.

“Most folks with the same degree or even a lesser degree of (cerebral palsy) are in a wheelchair by their 30s, I’m a fighter, but also a realist,” he wrote in an e-mail.

By Monday his Facebook page was a bit cheerier.

“Going to take a tour of Grand Canyon,” he wrote. “Not hiking kind but will walk around for sure … wishing it was hiking but heck this is better than nothing!!!”

He wrote that he’d be eating at a fancy restaurant afterward.

“The price includes everything so … why not? :)”

Contact Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.