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

Sun Jun 7 03:14:41 UTC 2009

Thanks!  That's what I thought.  The wording in the article about that bit
did sort of make my hair stand on end.  /smile/

Tami Smith-Kinney

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Julie J
Sent: Saturday, June 06, 2009 12:55 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Woman with guide dog says civil rights were violated

Tami,
*. A person with a disability cannot be asked to remove his service animal 
from the premises unless: (1) the animal is out of control and the animal's 
owner does not take effective action to control it (for example, a dog that 
barks repeatedly during a movie) or (2) the animal poses a direct threat to 
the health
or safety of others.

. In these cases, the business should give the person with the disability 
the option to obtain goods and services without having the animal on the 
premises.*

This is taken from the DOJ's business brief on service animals.  I think 
this is what was being referred to in the article, but I don't know for 
sure. There are clarifications about allergies, fear of dogs and health 
department regulations not being reasons to deny access other places in the 
business brief.

HTH
Julie

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tamara Smith-Kinney" <tamara.8024 at comcast.net>
To: "'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Saturday, June 06, 2009 1:11 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Woman with guide dog says civil rights were violated

> Yikes!  You're right that we don't know what the dog was doing at the 
> time,
> beyond the woman's statement that the reasons she could be refused access
> did not apply.
>
> However, one phrase did pop out:
> "...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."
>
> Okay...  I don't have time to run read my copies of law right now, but I
> don't remember that exact phrasing "interfering with the goods and 
> services
> that the business is providing."  Maybe I just missed it, but it suddenly
> sounds horrifically ambiguous!  Any restaurant owner could get away with
> that excuse, couldn't s/he?  I can think of a fer other situations in 
> which
> such ambiguous, subjective phrasing could be used to deny access to places
> we all routinely go.
>
> Have I missed something, or is this incorrect?
>
> Tami Smith-Kinney
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
> Of Wayne Merritt
> Sent: Friday, June 05, 2009 4:46 PM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> 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
>
> _______________________________________________
> nagdu mailing list
> nagdu at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
> nagdu:
>
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/tamara.8024%40comcast
> .net
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> nagdu mailing list
> nagdu at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
> nagdu:
>
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/julielj%40windstream.
net
> 

_______________________________________________
nagdu mailing list
nagdu at nfbnet.org
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for nagdu:
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/tamara.8024%40comcast
.net