[nagdu] No Food Stamps for Service Dog

[Albert J Rizzi]

Here in new york we have a little known tool which was given to us by
governor Cuomo in the 70's.people on SSI and only SSI have access to funds
to cover the costs of food for a service animal. I believe it is between 50
to 75 dollars per month. It makes sense that if someone on SSI is receiving
public assistance that this significant cost be included in assessing the
level of funding they get for their respective households.

Albert J. Rizzi, M.Ed.
CEO/Founder
My Blind Spot, Inc.
90 Broad Street - 18th Fl.
New York, New York  10004
www.myblindspot.org
PH: 917-553-0347
Fax: 212-858-5759
"The person who says it cannot be done, shouldn't interrupt the one who is
doing it."


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-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of David Baker
Sent: Friday, April 09, 2010 8:35 AM
To: 'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
Subject: [nagdu] No Food Stamps for Service Dog

 From the ABA Journal Weekly Newsletter, April 9, 2010:
--------------------------------
A service dog doesn't qualify for food stamps, a Pennsylvania court has
ruled,
because he isn't human.

But the animal's disabled owner, James Douris, may not have to argue the
legal
issue on his own much longer. Although he lost a pro se Pennsylvania
Commonwealth Court case arguing that the dog's nutritional requirements
should
be taken into account, as a household member, in determining his owner's
food
stamp allotment, Douris says his phone has been ringing off the hook since
the
court's decision yesterday, reports the L.A. Unleashed blog of the Los
Angeles
Times.

Among those calling are lawyers who want to help him with an appeal, he
says.
Even the court that ruled against him, upholding an earlier determination by
the
Department of Public Welfare, apparently would have liked to see a different
result:

"This court is sympathetic to [Douris'] argument that his service dog is a
necessity for him due to his disability, and that he lacks the funds to
properly
feed his service dog," states Judge Renee Cohn Jubelirer in the written
opinion.
"We hope that there is some other state or federal program that might
provide
for the maintenance and upkeep of [the] dog."
---------------------------------



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