[nabs-l] Students with guide dogs

justin williams justin.williams2 at gmail.com
Mon Sep 2 20:58:25 UTC 2013 

Absolutely; no knuckling under. 

-----Original Message-----
From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of minh ha
Sent: Monday, September 02, 2013 4:56 PM
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Students with guide dogs

Thanks Julie for eloquently summing up everything I wanted to say regarding
this issue. Like I said in my original post, this request is not coming from
the office of residential life, which I have worked with throughout the
summer to find the right suite of rooms for me. If housing had requested
this information from me, I would definitely be willing to provide it even
though I know I don't have to. But as the request is coming from the DS
office, I feel like I have to exercise my rights as a guide dog handler as
well as a student. perhaps it would be easier for me just to "knuckle under"
and give them what they want, but this situation just rubs me the wrong way.
In any case, I'll see wat happens from here. Thanks to all that
substantively contributed.

Cheers,
Minh

On 9/2/13, Julie McGinnity <kaybaycar at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> First of all, though the issue of fake service dogs complicates 
> things, it is not helpful to treat the guide dog school ID as an 
> access card that will prove the legitimacy of our dogs.  I know plenty 
> of owner trainers who have very well-behaved dogs.  They would not be 
> able to prove that they got their guides from a school.  So then, what 
> would happen?  They would be kicked out of establishments or forced to 
> make their own IDs.  What would this accomplish?
>
> As for showing documentation to housing, dorms and other on campus 
> housing are covered under the FHA(fair Housing Act).  Under FHA, it is 
> illegal for a housing association of any kind to ask for health 
> records on service dogs.  We could debate all day about whether or not 
> this is a good idea.  Frankly, I can see both sides of it, at least 
> for dorms.  But it doesn't matter because it is actually illegal.  So 
> are pet deposits, size requirements, and of course, refusal of the 
> service dog for any reason.  This covers public housing accomidations 
> and depends on numbers.  Anyone renting a certain number of rooms, 
> apartment complexes, and dorms are covered.
>
> I would also point out that it is the handeler's choice where to take 
> a guide dog.  Noone can or should decide that for anyone else.  I, for 
> example, will always take my current dog to convention, but I 
> understand and respect those who choose not to do this.  It is also 
> not up to anyone but the handeler to decide when to use the dog.  We 
> guide dog users get a lot of opinions from others about when, how, and 
> what to do with our dogs.  Yes, some of them are well-meaning, but 
> much of the time they are uncalled for.
>
> I do agree that some guide dog users make a bad name for the rest of 
> us.  But at the same time, every guide dog user makes a mistake.  I 
> have had moments where I dropped the leash for a second, and my dog 
> ran after another dog.  I got yelled at and deserved it.  We are only 
> human and make mistakes and get distracted.  Remember that the next 
> time you see a dog relieve itself in the hotel at convention.  My dog 
> has never done this, but she has done other embarrassing things at 
> convention.
>
> I think we need to give each other a little grace here.  It's time for 
> the cane users to support the dog users and their rights to take 
> charge over their own dogs.  (This goes for other dog users too.)  And 
> it's also time for the dog users to stop worrying about the dog verses 
> cane debate and use their dogs and canes when and how they want.  Yes, 
> dog users still have to use canes some of the time.
>
> My last point I would like to make is that it is within the law for 
> the owner of an establishment to refuse access to a dog who is dirty 
> or otherwise disruptive to business. This is what a lot of people tend 
> to forgot about the ADA.  So if a dog is not groomed and is not clean, 
> the handeler will have other problems besides bothering people with 
> allergies.
>
>
>
> On 9/1/13, Robin <robin-melvin at comcast.net> wrote:
>> I presume it is a health question because as I recall the initial 
>> EMAIL post to this list was wondering whether or not it is 
>> permissible under the ADA guidelines for a college or university to 
>> request  vaccination records of a service/guide dog.
>>
>> I presume it is NOT an ADA guideline issue. I don't SEE the 
>> difference between requesting a service/guide dog's vaccination 
>> records or a students immunization records  especially with all of 
>> the concern of contageous diseases  such as the flu. They are, in my 
>> humble opinion, just trying to be proactive to protect the 
>> staff/student population, who regularly attend/visit their campus of 
>> learning, and that is what, in my EYES makes it a health 
>> concern/issue.
>>
>> Sent From Robin M.
>>
>> At 12:46 PM 8/31/2013, you wrote:
>>>BS"D I only want to point out some things. It is not the dog's coat 
>>>which gives the allergic reaction, it is the dog's saliva. The saliva 
>>>consists of allergen which make some people sick. Actually, every dog 
>>>owner carry allergen and therefore the dog is not the only problem 
>>>for people with dog allergies. A dog who is well cared of, bathed and 
>>>gromed do not cause more problems for a person with dog allergies 
>>>then a dog owner in general does. Many persons with dog allergies can 
>>>take medecins but for few people this do not work, for them it would 
>>>be a problem to only meet a dog owner. I do not hope none take this 
>>>personally but I only want to clear up things. I live in a country 
>>>where the Allergic lobby has a very strong voice which makes it hard 
>>>to live with a guide dog here. We get refused to enter shops, 
>>>restaurants and universities because 'a person can get an allergic 
>>>attack'. Okay, therefore this subject is close to my heart. I 
>>>understand that it can be a problem for people with allergies but it 
>>>is not my problem, my dog is well taken care of and she will not be 
>>>upin  people faces. I really feel for Joshua and others, it must be 
>>>difficult but I wish it would be more respectful especially in my own 
>>>country where it sounds lile my dog would kill people with dog 
>>>allergies which is not true. Kind regards, Mlle.
>>>Leye-Shprintse íberg Courriel :
>>>leyeshprintse at ymail.com Journal :
>>>http://leyeshprintse.blogspot.com Envoyé de mon iPad Mini 
>>>_______________________________________________
>>>nabs-l mailing list nabs-l at nfbnet.org 
>>>http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
>>>To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
>>>nabs-l:
>>>http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/robin-melvin%40co
>>>mcast.net
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> nabs-l mailing list
>> nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>> nabs-l:
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/kaybaycar%40gmail
>> .com
>>
>
>
> --
> Julie McG
> National Association of Guide dog Users board member,  National 
> Federation of the Blind performing arts division secretary, Missouri 
> Association of Guide dog Users President, and Guiding Eyes for the 
> Blind graduate 2008 "For God so loved the world that he gave his only 
> Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have 
> eternal life."
> John 3:16
>
> _______________________________________________
> nabs-l mailing list
> nabs-l at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> nabs-l:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/minh.ha927%40gmail
> .com
>


--
"All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty
recesses of their minds, wake in the day to find that it was vanity:
but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act on their
dreams with open eyes, to make them possible." T. E. Lawrence

_______________________________________________
nabs-l mailing list
nabs-l at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
nabs-l:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/justin.williams2%40gmail
.com

More information about the NABS-L mailing list