[nagdu] Woman with guide dog says civil rights were violated

[Marion & Martin]

Wayne,
    Thanks for sending this story to the list. It would be interesting to 
get more information about this incident to see if there is anything NAGDU 
could and should do to help this woman out.

Fraternally,
Marion


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Wayne Merritt" <wcmerritt at gmail.com>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, June 05, 2009 7:46 PM
Subject: [nagdu] Woman with guide dog says civil rights were violated


> Greetings. I saw this story on the local news this morning. I was
> concerned about the quote from the Texas Hearing and Service Dogs
> organization, and was also left wondering if the woman's guide dog was
> acting up. There's no information on this or what the dog was doing
> that was so disruptive, but it is alluded to in the story. When the
> anchorman came back on, he said that the city supports the decision by
> Taco Bell's management. Good luck with that in court. Anyway, here's
> the article with some post comment afterward. Go to this address for
> the full article and other links, such as the original video of the
> story:
>
> http://news8austin.com/content/top_stories/default.asp?ArID=242381
>
> Enjoy,
> Wayne
>
> Woman with guide dog says civil rights were violated
> 6/2/2009 1:15 PM
> By: Brandi Powell
>
>
> Rusty, the leader dog.
> Texas Hearing and Service Dogs says guide dogs have been helping
> people with visual challenges ever since World War I, but those who
> use them still face some challenges.
>
> One Central Texas woman who uses what's called a "leader dog" said her
> civil rights have been violated.
>
> Though some people may not know, there are certain legal rights and
> responsibilities of those who use guide dogs.
>
> Copperas Cove resident Nanette Ballou relies on her leader dog, Rusty,
> to help her get around.
>
>
> Ballou said she has very limited vision so her guide dog's always by her 
> side.
>
> Ballou said she and Rusty have had trouble at some establishments and
> said it was no different on May 7.
>
> "[We] went to Taco Bell with my daughter and two grandchildren,"
> Ballou said. "Got dinner sat down to eat it. Manager came out. She
> asked me if the dog was a seeing eye dog. And of course, my dog is a
> leader dog."
>
> A leader dog is a guide dog, just trained at a different school.
>
> "At the end of our discussion, she told me she was going to call the
> cops, and I invited her to do so," Ballou said.
>
>
> Copperas Cove resident Nanette Ballou.
> Ballou said when the Copperas Cove Police arrived, "They just walked
> over and said, 'Lady, you and the dog gotta leave.'"
>
> Ballou went on to say, "And so I argued with him adamantly, and when I
> could see that this man wasn't going anywhere with my comments, I
> finally said, 'Here's the law book, do you want to read it?' He
> refused."
>
> Ballou said one of the officers did eventually read her law book.
>
> Ballou showed News 8 the harness that identifies Rusty as a certified
> guide dog, and the identification card that identifies them as a team.
>
> Texas Hearing and Service Dogs said this is not required by law, but
> that's why the organization's big goal is education.
>
> "But no matter what kind of credentials any kind of professional dog
> has, if it is misbehaving in public, if it's dirty, if it's
> interfering with the goods and services that the business is
> providing, then no matter what kind of credential it has, it shouldn't
> be allowed there," President of Texas Hearing and Service Dogs Sheri
> Soltes said.
>
> Ballou said that wasn't the case with her.
>
> "It's very typical that law enforcement is not notified about it
> because it is not a law that comes up a lot in their day-to-day
> activities," Soltes said.
>
> But, Ballou said she feels her civil rights were violated by Taco Bell
> and the City of Copperas Cove.
>
> So she said she is going to sue them both, on the state and federal level.
>
> "The government needs to be involved with this sort of thing because
> it does happen around the country," she said.
>
> Ballou said she's already filed a complaint with the Texas ACLU.
> She said she's been told the city attorney is not going to pursue any
> charges against Taco Bell.
>
> The city has not returned News 8's call to confirm.
>
> The Copperas Cove Police Department also did not return News 8's call
> asking for comment.
>
> For more information on rights and responsibilities of guide dog
> users, log onto www.servicedogs.org, or call (877) TEX-DOGS.
>
>
>
>
> Taco Bell's Response
>
>
>
>  "Taco Bell welcomes all customers into our restaurants, including
> those with disabilities. This includes customers who require the use
> of service animals, and from time to time, we have a customer who is
> accompanied by a service animal into the restaurant. Our managers are
> instructed to accommodate our customers' needs for a service animal.
>
> In this particular case, the customer's need for a service animal was
> not readily apparent, and out of concern for our other patrons, our
> store manager asked the customer to provide some confirmation that the
> dog was a service animal. Because the disturbance continued even after
> the Copperas Cove police arrived, the police officers asked the
> customer to leave and eventually escorted her from the premises. We
> regret that this disturbance occurred, but Taco Bell firmly believes
> that our manager acted reasonably in this situation."
>
> Don Barton
> Austaco, Taco Bell Franchisee
>
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