[nagdu] Request for Reasonable Accommodation

Julie J. julielj at neb.rr.com
Wed Dec 7 01:04:55 UTC 2011


Cheryl,

Yes, you are correct.  Under the ADA a person has to have a qualifying 
disability in order to be able to use a service dog individually trained 
to mitigate that disability in places of public accommodation.  However 
Tami is asking about a situation covered by the Fair Housing Act not the 
ADA.  The FHA has different rules that do allow people to have animals 
that provide strictly emotional support to have equal enjoyment of their 
housing.

HTH
Julie


On 12/6/2011 6:09 PM, cheryl echevarria wrote:
> I thought the Depart of Justice and the ADA changed the ruling on the
> companion dogs, that is has to be a recognized illness or disability that is
> considered a service animal, and a companion dog doesn't fall under the
> rules anymore.
>
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> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Steven Johnson"<blinddog3 at charter.net>
> To: "'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'"
> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2011 7:04 PM
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Request for Reasonable Accommodation
>
>
>> Julie et al,
>>
>> I would be very careful with the wording in terms of the type of dog that
>> is
>> being referred to.  In most cases, companion animals are considered simply
>> pets as found in the Job Accommodation Network.  By this simple fact, they
>> are subject to pet deposits and fees imposed on pets.  Make sure that the
>> dog is performing some measure of support for the individual and that
>> paper
>> trail is oh so important.
>>
>> Steve
>> Steve
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
>> Of Julie J.
>> Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2011 8:03 AM
>> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Request for Reasonable Accommodation
>>
>> Tami,
>>
>> I think you're on the right track.  The only thing I'd add is to be
>> sure  to get their response in writing for your records.
>>
>> But I do have a question...do you need to re-request an accommodation
>> either under the FHA or ADA?  For example in this situation your room
>> mate has already had a companion dog and has presumably already gone
>> through the process of reasonable accommodation through the housing
>> manager.   The accommodation hasn't changed.  In my mind it'd be like
>> getting a new wheelchair or cane, it performs the same function as the
>> last one and all the relevant requests for accommodations would be the
>> same, so is there a need to go through all that again?
>>
>> Julie
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On 12/5/2011 2:23 PM, Tami Kinney wrote:
>>> Hi, gang!
>>>
>>> I thought I would ask this publicly to get more opinions and because
>>> it's something we all have or will run up against sooner or later.
>>> Unless we're lucky...
>>>
>>> So i need to write a letter for reasonable accommodation under the FHA
>>> for housing. In this case, it is for DD's companion dog, but the same
>>> rules apply there as for a guide dog.
>>>
>>> So my question is this:
>>>
>>> Is there a specific formula to use in a letter requesting reasonable
>>> accommodation?
>>>
>>> My thought is that we will simply copy the doctor's letter from
>>> acouple of years ago to a letter requesting reasonable accommodation
>>> in using the wording of the FHA for that which I should know by heart
>>> but always blank a bit on. /smile/
>>>
>>> So I need to look that up and ask specifically for the relaxation of
>>> the pets policy for the new companion dog.
>>>
>>> Is there anything there I haven't thought of or some better way to do
>>> it?
>>>
>>> Thanks!
>>>
>>> Tami
>>>
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>>
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