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

Sat Jun 12 23:27:34 UTC 2010

i have been a guide dog user for over ten years. hey there is no jail time involved for anyone that refuses a guide dog. they simply say that the dog is interfering with normal business flow. i find that several guide dog user have no idea what the command "sit, down under" is or what and when it is to be used.the problem many times is the fault of an uneducated or indifferent guide dog user. if the police are called the establishment manager or owner is always corrected. if the guide dog user has a copy of the state laws with them and is is in firm and complete in complete control of their dog. remember the dog MAY NOT interfere with normal operations of any establishment.it is best to use brain not brawn and of course simple courtesy. a call ahead saying i will or my friend will be at your establishment with their guide dog. any fuss say perhaps you should contact legal advice. simple we the visually impaired also have guide lines to follow. good luck
 and be gracious with good planning.
ralph

________________________________
From: Merry Schoch <merrys at verizon.net>
To: Florida Association of Guide Dog Users <flagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Sat, June 12, 2010 9:28:50 AM
Subject: Re: [Flagdu] FW: [nagdu] Blind Brockton woman says Seeing Eye dog not allowed intorestaurant

Sherrill,

I appreciate you putting this out.  Marion and I just saw this since we were 
gone until late evening.  I am sure NAGDU will in some way educate the 
restaurant owner.  Hopefully there will be guide dog users in the area to 
unite and visit this establishment.

Thanks again for the post!
Merry
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Sherrill O'Brien" <sherrill.obrien at verizon.net>
To: "FLAGDU List" <flagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, June 11, 2010 4:33 PM
Subject: [Flagdu] FW: [nagdu] Blind Brockton woman says Seeing Eye dog not 
allowed intorestaurant

> 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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