[Flagdu] FW: [nagdu] Blind Brockton woman says Seeing Eye dog not allowed intorestaurant

[Sherrill O'Brien]

Hello all,

Yes, just one more article about a guide dog user being refused access to a
restaurant.  But the employee in this restaurant, who is acting as though
he's the manager, is extremely pigheaded about this, saying that when a
blind  person accompanied by a dog is eating, she doesn't need the dog, so
it can wait outside.  Amazing!  For those of you who attended our FLAGDU
meeting in Orlando, this should really remind you of the skit which we put
on, dramatizing an actual event in which our vice president Merry Schoch was
denied access to an ice-cream shop in Tampa.  The worker there was just as
unyielding, until she was threatened with jail time!

This woman did not file a complaint with the police department, and she gave
in and left the restaurant.  This is where the Federation can help educate
and advocate for guide dog users who themselves need some guidance.  This
article never mentions the manager or owner of the restaurant.  This
situation certainly calls for some solid NFB intervention on all fronts.
But I'm getting carried away.  Read on, and I'm sure Marion will weigh in on
this situation!

Sherrill


-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org]On
Behalf Of Ginger Kutsch
Sent: Friday, June 11, 2010 10:02 AM
To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
Subject: [nagdu] Blind Brockton woman says Seeing Eye dog not allowed
intorestaurant


Blind Brockton woman says Seeing Eye dog not allowed into
restaurant
By Maria Papadopoulos
ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER
Posted Jun 11, 2010 @ 01:38 AM

BROCKTON, MASS.  - Claire Crowell says she could not see the man
who refused to let her Seeing Eye dog accompany her into a city
restaurant.

She could only hear him - and his words stunned her.

"He said, 'I don't care, you can't come in here with the dog,'"
Crowell, 69, said while standing next to the dog, Vixen, in the
kitchen of her Brockton home Thursday afternoon.

Crowell said she and a friend went to the Chinatown restaurant on
Oak Street Extension on Wednesday for lunch.

When she walked inside with Vixen, she said a male employee told
her she could come in, but to leave the dog outside.

Crowell said she told the employee that federal law allows her to
bring a guide dog into the restaurant, but the man refused the
dog again. Crowell then left the restaurant.

"I felt embarrassed and violated, you know? It's very
embarrassing," Crowell said, crying. "It's hard enough to be a
disabled person, but when you're treated like that, it's not
fun."

The federal Americans with Disabilities Act requires
privately-owned businesses that serve the public to allow people
with disabilities to bring their service animals onto business
premises in whatever areas customers are generally allowed. The
law applies to businesses including restaurants, hotels, retail
stores, taxicabs, theaters, concert halls and sports facilities.

State law says that whoever deprives a physically handicapped
person this right may be fined $300 and is liable for civil
action.

At Chinatown restaurant on Thursday, employee Dominic So said
that he refused to let Vixen, Crowell's dog, into the restaurant
on Wednesday.

"I work here. I have the right to stop the dog," said So, 50. "I
won't let a dog in the restaurant."

When informed of the federal law that allows a guide dog to be
inside the restaurant, So said, "I have no clue."

"The dog can wait outside," So said. "When she eats, she doesn't
need the dog. When she walks, she needs the dog. I understand
that."

So said that Crowell could have people assist her inside the
restaurant, but the dog should stay outside.

"I just can't let a dog in the dining room when I have customers
dining here," So said. "If she insists I violated her rights,
there's nothing I can do. I'm right to refuse a dog in the
restaurant."

Businesses refusing guide dogs is seen regularly, and often
results from a misunderstanding on the part of business owners,
said Chris Danielsen, spokesman for the National Federation of
the Blind in Baltimore.

"You simply have to educate the business owner," he said. "If a
business owner actually refuses, it can lead to seeking charges
to being filed."

"It's obviously very upsetting to the person that it happens to,"
he added.

If Crowell made a complaint to police, officers would go to the
restaurant to explain the law to employees, police Lt. Tom
LaFratta said.

"If they still refuse, I would take punitive action," LaFratta
said.

Crowell said she formerly worked as a medical assistant before an
autoimmune condition led to the deterioration of her eyesight
over the past three decades. She became legally blind in the
1990s.

Hugging Vixen, she said she relies on the part golden retriever,
part Labrador retriever on showing her the way.

"The dog is my eyes," she said. "She is supposed to see for me
and guide me where I need to go."

Maria Papadopoulos can be reached at
mpapadopoulos at enterprisenews.com.

Source:
http://www.patriotledger.com/business/x1602635111/Blind-Brockton-
woman-Seeing-Eye-dog-not-allowed-into-restaurant


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