[BlindTlk] NFB & NAGDU Comments on AMPRM

Thu Jul 12 23:22:05 UTC 2018

Marion, 

Nice work, and a hearty thank you to both you, John, and all the rest of you reading this... who may have provided input for the submitted comments.  We all know that in recent times, in this past couple of years, a moral, ethical - or both - slippage or lapse has increased with the increase of both fake and untrained working animals.  I appreciate your time and work on this issue.  

Best,
Peter

On Jul 12, 2018, at 1:46 PM, NAGDU President via BlindTlk <blindtlk at nfbnet.org> wrote:

> Dear All,
> 
> 
> 
>                Since I was away at convention shortly after we submitted
> our comments to the Department of Transportation’s advance notice of
> proposed rule making, I wasn’t sure if they had been posted to the list. The
> comment period closed last Monday, July 9 and these comments were submitted
> on June 28. I have pasted them below.
> 
> 
> 
> Fraternally yours,
> 
> Marion
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Marion Gwizdala, President
> 
> National Association of Guide Dog Users Inc. (NAGDU)
> 
> National Federation of the Blind
> 
> (813) 626-2789
> 
> President at NAGDU.ORG
> 
> Visit our website <http://nagdu.org/> 
> 
> Follow us on Twitter <http://twitter.com/nagdu> 
> 
> The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the
> characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise
> expectations because low expectations create barriers between blind  people
> and our dreams. You can live the life you want! Blindness is not what holds
> you back.
> 
> June 29, 2018
> 
> 
> 
> Blane Workie
> 
> Assistant General Counsel 
> 
> Office of Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings
> 
> United States Department of Transportation
> 
> 1200 New Jersey Ave., SE 
> 
> Washington, DC 20590
> 
> 
> 
> RE: Docket number DOT-OST-2018-0068
> 
> 
> 
> Dear Ms. Workie:
> 
> 
> 
> The National Federation of the Blind and its special interest division, the
> National Association of Guide Dog Users are pleased to submit these comments
> in response to the advanced notice of proposed rulemaking, Docket Number
> DOT-OST-2018-0068 (RIN: 2105-AE63). The National Federation of the Blind was
> established in 1940 and is the oldest and largest organization of blind
> Americans. Along with the National Association of Guide Dog Users, the
> National Federation of the Blind has been proactively involved in the
> resolution of the issues and concerns this advanced notice of proposed
> rulemaking seeks to address. We also have a vested interest in an effective
> resolution through this rulemaking process, since our members who use guide
> dogs have experienced incidents in which untrained animals on airlines and
> in airport terminals have behaved in such a way as to threaten the health
> and safety of our trained service animals.
> 
> 
> 
> We have comments to six of your issues. Each of these is listed below, with
> our comment directly following. 
> 
> 
> 
> (1) Whether psychiatric service animals should be treated similar to other
> service animals
> 
> No. We believe that the Department should harmonize the implementing
> regulations of the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) with those of the Americans
> with Disabilities Act (ADA), as it pertains to defining “service animal”
> under the ACAA; therefore, we suggest the following definitions:
> 
> 
> 
> “Service animal means any dog individually trained to do work or perform
> tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including a
> physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability.
> Other species of animals, whether wild or domestic, trained or untrained,
> are not service animals for the purposes of this definition. The work or
> tasks performed by a service animal must be directly related to the
> individual’s disability. Examples of work or tasks include, but are not
> limited to, assisting individuals who are blind or have low vision with
> navigation and other tasks, alerting individuals who are deaf or hard of
> hearing to the presence of people or sounds, providing non-violent
> protection or rescue work, pulling a wheelchair, assisting an individual
> during a seizure, alerting individuals to the presence of allergens,
> retrieving items such as medicine or the telephone, providing physical
> support and assistance with balance and stability to individuals with
> mobility disabilities, and helping persons with psychiatric and neurological
> disabilities by preventing or interrupting impulsive or destructive
> behaviors. The crime deterrent effects of an animal's presence and the
> provision of emotional support, well-being, comfort, or companionship do not
> constitute work or tasks for the purposes of this definition. An airline
> shall make reasonable modifications in policies, practices, or procedures to
> permit the use of a miniature horse by an individual with a disability if
> the miniature horse has been individually trained to do work or perform
> tasks for the benefit of the individual with a disability.”[1] 
> 
> 
> 
> Since we urge that the DOT harmonize the ACAA to the ADA, this would also
> include limiting service animals to only dogs and miniature horses. 
> 
> 
> 
> (2) Whether there should be a distinction between emotional support animals
> and other service animals 
> 
> Yes. Guide dogs, like most other service animals, undergo a process of
> socialization and exposure to circumstances and stimuli to prepare them for
> their training and subsequent work. This socialization and exposure process
> which last for at least one year – sometimes longer – also allows the dogs
> to be screened to ensure the dog is sound and will not pose a threat to the
> safety of the disabled individual or the general public. Once this process
> is complete, the dog undergoes another period of specific task training that
> lasts three months or longer during which additional screening is performed.
> 
> This rigorous process is very different from that of an emotional support
> animal which may be untrained and unprepared for the unique conditions of an
> aircraft cabin. Therefore, we strongly urge the DOT to create specific, more
> restrictive conditions on the carriage of an emotional support animal in the
> aircraft cabin such that the safety and functionality of guide dogs and
> other trained service animals will be ensured.
> 
> 
> 
> (6) Whether an attestation should be required from all service animal and
> emotional support animal users that their animal has been trained to behave
> in a public setting
> 
> The National Federation of the Blind opposes any attestation requirement for
> those traveling with trained service animals. Rather, we urge the Department
> to continue the current policy of seeking “credible verbal assurance” from
> the individual traveling with a service animal. We realize that there are
> online resources for service animal gear and identification cards and urge
> the DOT to specifically assert that vests, harnesses, signs, identification
> cards, or other such gear should not be accepted as de facto evidence the
> animal is a service animal. We believe that individuals accompanied by
> emotional support animals which are not typically trained to perform tasks
> or do work for the benefit of a person with a disability, should be required
> to attest to the animal’s ability to behave appropriately in public.
> Furthermore, we urge the Department to specifically allow an air carrier to
> refuse transport to any animal, whether service animal or emotional support
> animal, that exhibits behavior that demonstrates it is out-of-control, is
> not housebroken, or poses a direct threat.
> 
> 
> 
> (7) Whether service animals and emotional support animals should be
> harnessed, leashed, or otherwise tethered 
> 
> All service animals should be kept on a harness, leash, or other tether
> unless the use of a harness, leash, or other tether would interfere with the
> work or tasks the animal is trained to perform and only during the
> performance of such tasks. Emotional support animals should, without
> exception, always be harnessed, leashed, or tethered, since there is no
> reason for the animal to not be properly restrained at all times.
> 
> 
> 
> (8) Whether there are safety concerns with transporting large service
> animals and if so, how to address them 
> 
> The National Federation of the Blind finds this concern to be vague and
> subjective. Service animals of varying sizes should be permitted, especially
> as there is no evidence that larger dogs, for example, pose any additional
> safety risk. Blind people should be free to choose the trained service
> animal that best suits their needs, regardless of size or breed. 
> 
> 
> 
> (9) Whether airlines should be prohibited from requiring a veterinary health
> form or immunization record from service animal users without an
> individualized assessment that the animal would pose a direct threat to the
> health or safety of others or would cause a significant disruption in the
> aircraft cabin
> 
> Airlines should be prohibited from requiring a veterinary health form or
> immunization record from service animal users. We believe individuals should
> be allowed to have their service animals accompany them in the aircraft
> cabin with very few exceptions. These exceptions should be limited to an
> individualized assessment that the service animal poses a direct threat – a
> significant risk to the health or safety of others that cannot be eliminated
> by a reasonable modification of policies, practices, or procedures – or if
> the presence of the service animal would create a disruption in the aircraft
> cabin. As noted above, the size or breed of a given service animal is not an
> appropriate criterion by which to assess the safety risk associated with
> that particular service animal. Under these circumstances, a veterinary
> health form or immunization record would not eliminate the threat an animal
> might pose in an aircraft cabin, nor is a veterinarian qualified to predict
> the behavior of an animal in the unusual setting of an aircraft cabin. Thus,
> we oppose any additional requirements placed on passengers accompanied by
> service animals that are not imposed upon other passengers. 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Thank you for this opportunity to comment on the advanced notice of proposed
> rulemaking regarding traveling by air with service animals. 
> 
> 
> 
> Sincerely,
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> John G. Paré
> 
> Executive Director for Advocacy and Policy
> 
> National Federation of the Blind
> 
> 
> 
> 
>  _____  
> 
> [1] Americans with Disabilities Act 1990 (Section 35.136)
> 
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