[nagdu] when is a guide not a guide

[Ann Edie]

Hi, All,

Sorry, in my previous message, I inadvertently replied to the wrong list.  But perhaps the legal minds here would be able to address the question of insurance companies making rules which limit our access to public places with our assistance animals or just on the basis of our blindness.

Thanks,
Ann

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Ann Edie 
  To: nagdu at nfbnet.org 
  Sent: Saturday, June 13, 2009 10:18 PM
  Subject: Re: when is a guide not a guide


  It really pushes my buttons when insurance companies get to decide what a person can or cannot do in this country!  Last I heard, it was Congress which legislates in the USA.

  I have certainly had run-ins with insurance companies before. like when I want to go horseback riding at a place, and they tell me that I have to be on a lead rope, or I can't ride at all, or I have to sign a different release form--all because I am a member of a minority, a person with a disability.  It's no different, in my opinion, and perhaps even worse, than when the restaurant tells someone they can't enter the restaurant with a guide dog because the Health Department won't allow it, or when a taxi driver tells someone he can't take them in his cab because his religion says dogs are unclean.  As far as I know, it is Congress that sets Civil Rights policy in this country, and all these other "authorities are just talking through their hats.

  I hope the legal minds on this list can clarify this point.

  Best,
  Ann

    ----- Original Message ----- 
    Sent: Saturday, June 13, 2009 7:18 PM
    Subject: RE: when is a guide not a guide





    Jenine, each year as a hospice volunteer (and mia is one also) I need to
    present certification that she has had her rabies shots. I was told that
    this is required of any dog going into the building at

    The request of the insurance company.

    From: GDUI-Friends at yahoogroups.com [mailto:GDUI-Friends at yahoogroups.com] On
    Behalf Of Jenine Stanley
    Sent: Tuesday, June 09, 2009 11:23 AM
    To: 'Lenny McHugh'; 'gdui-friends'
    Subject: RE: [GDUI-Friends] when is a guide not a guide

    Lenny, 

    Not to argue here as your own personal choices as to your dog's status and
    how you wished to handle this situation are just that, but legally, here's
    what I know. 

    Your dog, if you state that it is a service animal, is a service animal all
    the time, regardless of whether you are holding its harness handle, or even
    whether it is wearing a harness or not. Under the ADA, and this was
    explained to us in a presentation at GDUI oh, nearly 10 years ago now, that
    even if your dog is walking at heel and you are using sighted guide, that
    dog is still a service animal and you are legally entitled to all rights and
    privileges due someone accompanied by said service animal. 

    Someone else could come along wishing access to this facility and legally
    she could certainly be challenged even if the dog was taken out of harness.
    The reason for this is that there is an assumption, rightly or wrongly, that
    people who use service animals do take better care of them an insure that
    all their vaccines are current. It's why we don't have to have health
    certificates when we fly in the continental US. 

    Now, that said, there may be some provision in Pennsylvania law that
    addresses service animals in these types of facilities, under the
    requirement to see a current Rabies vaccine certificate. 

    I wonder, would a tag due? I don't normally carry my dog's Rabies
    certificate with me. Maybe I should? 

    I can understand if the facility is closed to the public and you must make
    an appointment to come in. 

    This is the case for many guide dog school campuses. Only small parts are
    open to the public and if you wish to bring even a service animal into the
    parts not open to the public and you make an appointment, the school can't
    deny you but they can have certain qualifications you need to follow. These
    might include providing proof of vaccination. 

    So, though I understand your position, legally, someone could argue just the
    opposite. 

    [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



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