[Flagdu] New FL service dog law

Mon Mar 31 16:46:03 UTC 2014

Thank you for posting this Janet.
This is wonderful!!
I'm glad something is finally in the works to curb these fraudulent 
practices...

This is wonderful!!

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Janet DeLuca" <janetsyear2010 at gmail.com>
To: "'Florida Association of Guide Dog Users'" <flagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, March 31, 2014 7:43 AM
Subject: Re: [Flagdu] New FL service dog law

> Hi Pat, it does take a few minutes to come up. However I did copy and 
> paste
> it for everyone.
> A bill aimed at making it easier for people with service animals to get 
> fair
> treatment in stores and housing moved on to its last House committee 
> today.
> The bill would require public places to accommodate disabled people who
> require the help of trained dogs or miniature horses.
> Toni King sat in her office Thursday afternoon at Lighthouse of the Big
> Bend, a nonprofit that helps people with vision loss. King's service dog
> slept on a big plaid cushion beside her. As she talked, she twisted a
> dog-bone-shaped charm on her silver necklace.
> "I actually have a necklace on that has a little dog bone on it. And I got
> it for my birthday two years ago. I love dogs, I always have. But yeah, I
> wear this thinking a lot about my boy," she says.
> The dog is a 2-year-old black and tan Labrador. King doesn't share his 
> name,
> she says, because that can distract him from working. She's had people 
> feed
> him and pet him without asking her. And when she travels the state helping
> other blind people learn independence, she says sometimes she and her dog
> run into trouble.
> "One convenience store owner was very, very adamant that he wanted me out 
> of
> his establishment, so we did so, but I later pulled up the ADA law and 
> sent
> that to the owner of that business," she says.
> The federal ADA, or Americans with Disabilities Act, says businesses and
> housing must accommodate service animals for people with disabilities. 
> But
> Rep. Jimmie Smith (R-Inverness) says Florida law lags behind in spelling 
> out
> that protection. His bill aims to fix that and also expands the definition
> of "service animal" to include dogs and horses trained to help people with
> mental illnesses like post-traumatic stress disorder.
> Smith says, "They get into a certain mode because of their PTSD. Well the
> dogs can actually be trained to A) Make sure that people don't crowd the
> individual by stepping up in front of somebody or B) They can start 
> tugging
> on the individual."
> Smith says the animals his bill protects must be trained to perform a
> specific function related to a person's disorder. That's why he included a
> provision allowing landlords to ask for verification of the disorder.
> But, as the bill mentions, federal housing law also protects another class
> of creature called "emotional support animals," meaning they too must be
> allowed to live in pet-free buildings free of charge, even though they are
> not required to be trained and can be any type of animal. That's caused
> headaches for landlords. Community Association Leadership Lobby director
> Yeline Goin testified before the House Judiciary Committee that the
> emotional support animal industry is rife with fraud.
> "There are so-called medical professionals who advertise that for $99 they
> will write you a letter for an emotional support animal," she said.
> King says emotional support animals can cause problems for people like her
> with "legitimate" service animals too.
> "I've had friends whose guide dogs have been attacked by little dogs on
> planes, and they had brought their dog on the plane claiming it was an
> emotional support animal," she says.
> Smith's bill doesn't do anything to specifically address emotional support
> animal fraud-something Goin's group is hoping for. But the bill does make
> misrepresenting an animal as a service animal a crime punishable by up to
> two months in jail and a $500 fine. In addition, the offender would have 
> to
> do 30 hours of community service for an organization that serves people 
> with
> disabilities.
> Tags:
> service dogs
> Lighthouse of the Big Bend
> emotional support animals
> service animals
> PTSD
> disabilities
> ADA
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Flagdu [mailto:flagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Patricia A.
> Lipovsky
> Sent: Sunday, March 30, 2014 10:23 PM
> To: Florida Association of Guide Dog Users
> Subject: Re: [Flagdu] New FL service dog law
>
> I'm sorry, but I was not able to access this law through the link.  Can
> someone please cut and paste it into an email?
>
> Thanks.
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Jody W Ianuzzi" <jody at thewhitehats.com>
> To: "Florida Association of Guide Dog Users" <flagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Saturday, March 29, 2014 11:52 AM
> Subject: [Flagdu] New FL service dog law
>
>
>> New FL service dog law:
>>
>> http://m.news.wfsu.org/?utm_referrer=#mobile/48084
>>
>>
>>
>> JODY
>>
>> "The price of freedom is eternal vigilance!" Thomas Jefferson
>>
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>
>
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