[nagdu] Woman claims ADA violations at mall

Tue Sep 7 13:26:40 UTC 2010

Woman claims ADA violations at mall
August 17, 2010 - 9:18am
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Portis carries information with her about the ADA law. Her dog
wears a vest that says the dog is a service dog. (Frederick
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Frederick pediatrician's license is suspended Denise Portis of
Frederick didn't think twice about taking her dog, Chloe, with
her into the Francis Scott Key Mall last week to do some shopping
with her husband, Terry, and her daughter, Kyersten. 

It's her right under federal law, and she had been visiting the
mall about two or three times a month without incident.

Portis is hearing impaired. She has an inner ear disorder called
Meniere's disease, which affects her balance. Chloe is a
certified hearing dog, trained to help Portis by picking up
objects, alerting her to sounds she can't hear with her cochlear
implants and helping her maintain her balance. 

However, Portis said she was confronted by mall security on two
separate occasions -- on Monday and again on Saturday -- and
asked to leave the building because Chloe was with her.

"It was disheartening and humiliating that this happened twice in
such a short period of time," said Portis, who teaches psychology
and American sign language at Chieftain Institute in Derwood. 

Francis Scott Key Mall spokeswoman Christina Steinbrenner said
Portis' experiences were isolated incidents and that mall
management is taking steps to remedy the situation.

"The FSK Mall is familiar with and understands the Americans with
Disabilities Act," Steinbrenner said. "We do welcome shoppers and
their service dogs."

Chloe, a Vizsla mix, wears a red vest clearly identifying her as
a service dog, and Portis carries information with her to clear
up any potential misunderstandings, including a copy of the
section of the Americans with Disabilities Act that allows her to
have Chloe with her.

"Every once in a while, I'll have accessibility issues, but once
I hand them a copy of the law, they're like, 'Oh, this is cool --
we just didn't know that there were anything other than guide
dogs,'" she said. "When they discover that the law covers much
more than that, they're usually very accommodating."

Portis said FSK Mall security personnel had little interest in
her information. During Monday's incident, she said the guard
would not even accept it at first, reiterating that she needed to
leave, taking it only on her insistence, but not looking at it.
On Saturday, she said the officer took it reluctantly after she
shoved it into his hands, glancing only at the sections she
pointed out to him.

When she asked to speak to the security manager on Saturday, she
said the guard told her that he was in charge and that she would
have to talk to him.

"I said, 'I would love to do that, because if I can get you
information that will help you train your officers, I want to do
that,'" Portis said. "It's not like he called me names or
threatened me or anything like that, but he was intimidating. I
was shaking and trying hard not to cry."

She said the officer tried to search Chloe on Saturday in
violation of the law, claiming that he was trying to look at her
certification tags. The ADA also protects home-trained service
dogs, and there is no requirement that the dogs be officially
certified. The guard eventually walked away after receiving a
call on his radio, Portis said.

Joe Swetnam, executive director of Fidos for Freedom, which
trained Chloe, said these types of incidents are common. 

"It doesn't surprise me a bit," Swetnam said, adding that
education is essential to making people aware of the range of
disabilities for which people use service dogs.

Portis -- whose hearing impairment set in when she was 25 and
rendered her legally deaf by 37 -- said she couldn't even go
shopping before being paired with Chloe.

"I just wanted to be a normal mom shopping with her family, and
Chloe provides that for me," Portis said. "It's so normal for me
because Chloe makes my life normal, and to be singled out and to
be reminded that I'm different made me feel disabled again."

Swetnam said he spoke with mall General Manager Bill DeTora who
invited his organization to give a presentation to mall
employees. Portis said she received an e-mail from DeTora asking
her to contact him.

Portis said she isn't planning any further action. She just wants
people to be more aware of people with disabilities and their use
of service dogs.

"I just don't want anyone else to be treated the way we were,"
she said.

by Brian Englar @ The Frederick News-Post 
Denise Portis of Frederick didn't think twice about taking her
dog, Chloe, with her into the Francis Scott Key Mall last week to
do some shopping with her husband, Terry, and her daughter,
Kyersten. 