[nagdu] Debate rages over whether dog is service animal or pet
Steve Johnson
stevencjohnson at centurytel.net
Sun Aug 29 22:21:57 UTC 2010
Hi Buddy,
Absolutely...thanks for pointing that out. I am not a lawyer either, nor do
I choose to be one/smile!
Steve
-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Buddy Brannan
Sent: Sunday, August 29, 2010 5:03 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Debate rages over whether dog is service animal or pet
Hi Steve,
Actually, the dog *could* have legitimately been denied in a government
building, but that doesn't mean it would have to, as a matter of course, be
categorically denied. Unless, of course, there really is a no dogs/no
exceptions policy. And even then, perhaps there was enough latitude for an
exception. However, if someone chose to eject the dog from the premises, she
would have had no legal recourse, IMO. *
* I am not a lawyer.
--
Buddy Brannan, KB5ELV - Erie, PA
Phone: (814) 860-3194 or 888-75-BUDDY
On Aug 29, 2010, at 3:57 PM, Steve Johnson wrote:
> Jewell and Tami,
>
> Both of you are correct in stating that this dog by no means fits the
> definition of a *service dog*, but if proper documentation would have
> been provided when she had the opportunity, the Fair Housing
> Amendments Act, would have protected her. It appears she started to
> follow the process for requesting a reasonable accommodation, but
> failed to provide the reason why she needed it as well as the
> necessary documentation. Furhtermore, if you caught the other issue,
> which is something that does not jump out at you, the dog, and note
> that I said the dog, not her, should not have been allowed in the City
> Government building as her dog is not a *service dog* under new
> definition, thereby violating access regulations as newly defined in
> ADA Title II. Regardless if it is an emotional support dog, it should
have been denied.
>
> Remember, this issue is not an ADA issue, but a Fair Housing
> Amendments Act issue. I would be very surprised to see the Commission
rule in her favor.
> Even if they did, it appears that the defendant has their ducks in a row.
>
> I can only reiterate why WAGDU/Wisconsin division, is hosting our
> inaugural Service Dog Seminar as all of these laws will be compared
> against the new definition now found only under the ADA. This is a
> great example of why handlers of all types need to know the laws, and
> how each applies to their situation.
>
> Did anyone notice that she talks about her arthritis, but never shows
> how the dog essentially helps with this, but throughout the article,
> clearly shows the function of that of an emotional support dog.
> Furthermore, did anyone raise their eyebrows at her stating that it is
> not specially trained which clearly under both the old and new
> definitions in the ADA, exclude it from falling within the definition
> of a *service dog*? It really doesn't matter though as again, it is
> not the ADA that comes into play here, but for the sake of argument,
> it is very interesting how individuals do not understand the
> definitions of therapy, emotional support, companion, comfort as
> compared to service dogs can push something that has very little
> merit, and furthermore essentially give handlers who have qualifying
> *service dogs* greater challenges when they face these similar type of
> situation. When individuals fly off the handle and do not know what
> they are talking about when it comes to the laws that would protect them,
this to me, is like fingernails on a chalkboard.
>
> Okay, just my 5 cents worth...inflation you know/smile!
>
> Steve
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Jewel S.
> Sent: Sunday, August 29, 2010 11:36 AM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Debate rages over whether dog is service animal
> or pet
>
> I don't see how this dog could possibly be considered a service animal.
> Emotional support, yes. Therapy, yes. But service animal?
> Nope...it has no special training, by her own admission. I know what
> it is like to hurt and feel depressed when I can't get out of bed. My
> cat is right there by my side at these times, purring in my ear,
> rubbing and licking my face, sleeping against me...but I paid for the
> right to have her here. I found a pet-friendly apartment and paid the
> pet deposit. We also pay a $15 pet rent for the priveledge of having
> two pets, my cat and my boyfriend's dog (his best buddy that he raised
from a pup and has had for ten years).
> This dog is a pet unless she can show that he does someting to improve
> her condition. If you want to get technical, Mike and I could both
> claim our pets as service animals. The dog, Rusty, has an inate
> ability to recognize when Mike has fallen asleep without his C-PAP (he
> has sleep apnea) and will start barking as soon as he stops breathing
> the first time, telling me that Mike fell asleep without his mask and
> I'll come help wake him up and enforce the mask-only sleep. My cat,
> when I am not feeling well, has this amazing tendency to knead the
> side of my thighs, where I always hurt the worst, going back and forth
from hip to knee, quite literally massaging my leg.
> When I turn over, she'll go to the other leg. No, she's not trained to
> do this...she just likes to knead at me when I'm not well, since I
> think she senses that it helps a little (human massage is too harsh
> for me, but my cat does it so lightly, I can allow it most of the
> time). Maggie also runs back and forth between my room and the living
> room when I go into a really bad tremor fit. So...we really could
> claim them as service animals for our disabilities, full documentation
> and all, but I feel that they both do it just because they love us,
> and not because of some job they feel they should be performing. This
> woman's dog doesn't even do little things like I describe to help wit
> hher conditions, so how is he a service animal? She needs to find a
> pet-friendly apartment and pay the pet deposit like the rest of us.
>
> My two cents,
> Jewel
>
> On 8/29/10, Ginger Kutsch <gingerKutsch at yahoo.com> wrote:
>> Little dog stuck in big fight
>> Debate rages over whether dog is a service animal or a pet By JOSHUA
>> STEWART, Staff Writer By JOSHUA STEWART, Staff Writer Published
>> 08/29/10
>> http://www.hometownannapolis.com/news/top/2010/08/29-39/Little-do
>> g-stuck-in-big-fight.htm
>>
>> People don't see Kay Tunney's disability. It's nearly invisible.
>> It's Mulligan Sue, the little white dog she takes everywhere, that
>> makes her noticeable.
>>
>> By Joshua Stewart - The Capital Mulligan Sue sits next to her owner,
>> Kay Tunney, on Wednesday as members of the city's Human Relations
>> Commission hear her case about whether the dog can live with Tunney
>> in a condominium complex as an emotional support animal. AP VIDEO
>> more>>
>>
>> -----------------------------------------------------------------
>> ---------------
>> The dog is at the center of a dispute about what exceptions an
>> Annapolis condominium complex with a no-pets rule must allow for
>> those who use "emotional support animals" to help them overcome pain
>> and psychological anguish.
>>
>> Tunney said her dog is a type of service animal, and
>> anti-discrimination laws give her the right to keep it wherever she
>> lives.
>>
>> But the lawyer representing the board of Severn House, the condo
>> complex where Tunney once planned to live, argues that Tunney hasn't
>> shown that her dog is anything more than a pet, and the condo
>> association can't justify making an exception to the rules.
>>
>> Mulligan Sue is a 12-year-old schnauzer-West Highland terrier mix.
>> She weighs around 20 pounds and stands about 14 inches tall at the
>> shoulder. Tunney got her about 10 years ago, and they've been nearly
>> inseparable ever since, she said. The dog doesn't have any special
>> training beyond housebreaking, sociability and other abilities most
>> dogs have, she added.
>>
>> At a hearing before the city Human Relations Commission on Wednesday
>> night, Mulligan Sue passed the time either curled up on Tunney's lap
>> or lying on the floor under a table in Council Chambers in City Hall,
>> her head on her paws, tethered to her owner by a purple leash. She
>> was silent except for when she fell asleep and started to snore quietly.
>>
>> "She's a sweet thing that I've known for quite awhile," said Gerard
>> Uehlinger, Tunney's attorney.
>>
>> The question at hand is whether Tunney can keep Mulligan Sue, or
>> "Mullie" as she's called, in a condo she planned to rent at Severn
>> House, a 211-unit condominium complex on Back Creek that has a
>> no-pets policy written into its covenants.
>>
>> It's an unusual case and may be the first of its kind in Annapolis,
>> people who participated in the hearing said. Earlier this year,
>> Tunney and her then-boyfriend tried to rent a condo there, and the
>> unit's owner said she had no problem with Mulligan Sue joining them.
>> So Tunney placed a security deposit and asked Severn House's board of
>> directors for an exception to the no-pets rule through her future
>> landlord, Connie Connor.
>>
>> Tunney argued that the dog is an emotional support animal, a type of
>> service animal that helps her deal with the pain of arthritis,
>> chronic depression and a long list of other physical ailments.
>> She needs the assistance like a blind person needs a seeing-eye dog,
>> Tunney said, and as such, civil rights laws allow her to keep the dog
>> there.
>>
>> "Just having her next to me when I have tremendous pain is comforting
>> and calming," she said at the hearing. "I've just jokingly said to
>> people, 'She's my rock. My adorable, portable, 20-pound rock,' as
>> ridiculous as it is to people who aren't pet lovers."
>>
>> But for Severn House board members and the company that manages the
>> complex, the issue is whether Tunney submitted documents that prove
>> Mulligan Sue merits an exception to the rules. The board can only
>> issue an exception to the no-pets policy if the animal ameliorates a
>> disability, said Sara Arthur, the attorney representing Severn House
>> and the management company, Victory Management.
>>
>> Prove it
>> Service animals are welcome at Severn House and it's possible that
>> Mulligan Sue may have been able to live there alongside her owner,
>> Arthur said. However, the documents Tunney provided to the board
>> didn't show a disability or prove that Mulligan Sue, does, in fact,
>> improve Tunney's condition. As such, the board couldn't determine if
>> the dog was a reasonable and necessary accommodation or just a pet,
>> Arthur said.
>>
>> "Based on the documents provided to the board, there was no
>> disclosure to the disability. There was no disclosure to how the dog
>> accommodated that disability. There is a waiver to the policy if the
>> pet is a reasonable and necessary accommodation to the disability;
>> the mere fact that it's a pet is not sufficient," she said.
>>
>> The board gave Tunney the chance to submit additional paperwork that
>> supports her campaign for an exception, but Tunney didn't do so,
>> Arthur said.
>>
>> As a result, this winter the board decided not to allow the dog to
>> stay there and Tunney decided not to move in without Mulligan Sue.
>>
>> In response, Tunney filed a complaint with the city's Human Relations
>> Commission, arguing that she was discriminated against on the basis
>> of her disability. She charged that the Severn House board and
>> Victory Management violated the Americans with Disabilities and the
>> Fair Housing acts. She wants the board and management company fined
>> and sanctioned, and the matter referred to the Department of Justice
>> and other federal authorities.
>>
>> "We contend that we did not discriminate. We contend that we did not
>> have sufficient information about the disability or the correlation
>> between the dog and disability for the exception to the rule banning
>> pets. She was given the opportunity to provide additional information
>> but chose not to do it," Arthur said.
>>
>> Connor, Tunney's landlord, said the board asked her for more details
>> about Tunney's disability, but she thought the board's request was
>> just a way to "stall" before denying the exception anyway. So, she
>> "indicated to Kay that we had failed. I took it as the final word"
>> and she didn't provide any more information, Connor said.
>>
>> In an interview, Tunney said the board never asked for additional
>> information about her disability and that Connor is easily confused.
>>
>> Source of stress
>> The fallout from the case has been stressful for both her and
>> Mulligan Sue, and the possibility of filing a lawsuit over the issue
>> caused the boyfriend she planned to live with to break up with her,
Tunney said.
>>
>> "This has been a physically and emotionally devastating experience
>> for me. And it's one that people should not have to go through. It
>> has affected me in many ways - relationships, financially,
>> emotionally. I suffer severe depression and I just feel that nobody
>> should have to go through that. People need to have more awareness
>> that emotional support animals are existent.
>> If anyone wanted to know about my disability they should have
>> addressed that.
>>
>> "The federal government has declared me disabled, the state
>> government, my physicians. The only person who has the right to judge
>> me is God," she said.
>>
>> The outcome of the dispute will be determined by the policies laid
>> out by the Fair Housing and American with Disabilities acts, two
>> federal laws that determine when exceptions must be made to allow
>> people with disabilities to keep emotional support animals.
>>
>> If the commission rules against Severn House or Victory Management,
>> the matter could be referred to the State's Attorney's Office. But
>> after hearing arguments and witness testimony for five hours, the
>> commission decided to wait on making a ruling until it can meet again
>> at a yet-to-be-determined date and time.
>>
>> Meanwhile, Tunney and a Mulligan Sue are living with a friend in
>> Eastport.
>>
>>
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>
>
> --
> ~Jewel
> Check out my blog about accessibility for the blind!
> Treasure Chest for the Blind: http://blindtreasurechest.blogspot.com
>
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