[nagdu] Hold the med. community more accountable-- therapy andemotional support animals - leaping lizzards

Lyn Gwizdak linda.gwizdak at cox.net
Sun Feb 27 18:40:29 UTC 2011 

I remember when I lived in Boston in the 1970s, we went to a Watertown 
restaurant and the waitress was going to deny me access with my dog.  She 
said, "The last time we had one of those [guide dog], it stunk so bad and we 
asked them to leave."  I said that I wasn't that person and dog and my dog 
was clean and wwell behaved.  this was before the ADA and we just had state 
laws t protect our access.  the waitress let us in and there was no more 
problem.

Yes, we all get judged based on what someone else does.  Don'tcha know that 
we are all the same person regardless of race, gender, size.  Someone is a 
jerk and thus ALL blind people must be jerks.  I hate that and I make sure 
I'm not that person to make someone be negative towards another blind 
person.

I think that along with our rights, there's our RESPONSITBILITY to make sure 
our dogs are clean, healthy, quiet, and wwell behaved.  Our dogs are 
supposed to be somewhat unobtrusive in public places.  So many people are so 
surprised when I get up from a table in a restaurant and they see the dog 
and they exclaim, "I didn't know a dog was under there!!!"  And they comment 
on his good behavior and looks!

I think that woman was totally wrong to bring an elderly, obviously ill, dog 
to that grooup.  It stunk because it was unwell. In one of my groups, one of 
the guys brings his little Chihuahua to the meetings sometimes.  that little 
dog runs around the table greeting everyone.  But that dog is a real joy 
because she's so cute and quiet.  She is even good with Landon and he wishes 
he can come up on the table to join litle Lilly who I dubbed Miss Piggy 
because she is all white with a little pink pig nose!  So cute.  All of us 
enjoy this little dog's visits.

After Lilly's visits, she curls up in her owner's arms and snoozes for the 
rest of the meeting.  And Landon snoozes and dreams under the table at my 
feet.

Lyn and Landon
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Lisa Irving" <lirving1234 at cox.net>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Saturday, February 26, 2011 9:00 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Hold the med. community more accountable-- therapy 
andemotional support animals - leaping lizzards


> I'd really like to hear from Toni Eames on this one. I know it's far 
> easier to speculate the necessity to regulate therapy and emotional 
> support dogs. I'm guessing it has been done because of reasons beyond my 
> recognition.
>
> I participated in a support group a while back where a woman brought her 
> very  ancient   and stinky wiener dog. It walked across the table and 
> stopped to visit everyone. I dreaded the dog's visits because it stunk so 
> much. Even a well behaved guide dog that reeks can be  denied access. From 
> my perspective it's so arbitrary and random to prescribe an animal to make 
> some one "FEEL" better, secure, calm etc. I'm guessing if there's any 
> regulating to be done with therapy and emotional support dogs, it won't 
> occur until the next time the ADA is re visited.
>
> From, Lisa and Bernie.
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Julie J" <julielj at neb.rr.com>
> To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Saturday, February 26, 2011 6:59 AM
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] hold the medicalcommunity responsible- leaping 
> lizzards
>
>
>> Lisa,
>>
>> I have no clue what the answer is, but it is clear that way too many 
>> people are either way confused about what is a service animal or they 
>> have a clue and choose to do whatever it is they want to do anyway.
>>
>> A prescription for a dog does seem a bit foolhardy to me though.  A dog 
>> isn't a prescription, I totally agree with you on that account. 
>> Prescriptions are regulated and there are very strict standards.  No 
>> matter what pharmacy you go to or which brand you purchase you are 
>> guaranteed to get the exact dosage on your prescription.
>>
>> This isn't the case with a dog.  What happens if a mental health 
>> practitioner prescribes a dog, the client goes to the pound, adopts one, 
>> brings it home and the beast turns out to be cujo?  What happens if this 
>> experience causes the client's mental health to decline?  What happens if 
>> injuries occur, either physical or mental?  Is the practitioner 
>> accountable?
>>
>> I am very interested to see how the recent changes to the ADA will play 
>> out. It will be several years before we'll notice anything I think. 
>> Hopefully limiting service animals to dogs and mini horses will reduce 
>> the level of craziness.
>>
>> I still say that ultimately it is the behavior of the animal that needs 
>> to be answered for.  And that is some seriously bad grammar! LOL
>>
>> Julie
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>> From: "Lisa Irving" <lirving1234 at cox.net>
>> To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
>> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Friday, February 25, 2011 4:14 PM
>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] hold the medicalcommunity responsible- leaping 
>> lizzards
>>
>>
>>>
>>>
>>> It seems to me that part of the solution to limiting the plethora of 
>>> therapy and emotional support dogs is to create accountability within 
>>> the medical community. Mental health professionals and doctors 
>>> understand people not dogs. Some of the medical community can prescribe 
>>> medication. Therapy and emotional support dogs do not constitute a 
>>> prescription. For those of us who choose to go through formal training 
>>> at a guide dog school we have jump through many hoops. Why not design 
>>> similar hoops for patients and their mental health providers to work 
>>> through?  I realize this is not the solution for everyone, especially 
>>> for those who self train their dog.
>>>
>>>>From Lisa and Bernie al Message ----- 
>>> From: "Ginger Kutsch" <gingerKutsch at yahoo.com>
>>> To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
>>> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>>> Sent: Friday, February 25, 2011 6:49 AM
>>> Subject: [nagdu] Leapin' Lizards! Service Animals Are Multiplying 
>>> LikeDoggone Rabbits
>>>
>>>
>>>> Leapin' Lizards! Service Animals Are Multiplying Like Doggone
>>>> Rabbits
>>>> Skippy the Iguana Keeps His Owner Calm, But Therapy Dog Maxx Is
>>>> an Impostor.
>>>> By ANN ZIMMERMAN
>>>> Wall Street Journal
>>>> February 24, 2011
>>>>
>>>> Rhonda Kimmel's 11-year-old West Highland terrier, Maxx, goes
>>>> with her everywhere-to the mall, restaurants and even to the
>>>> bank.
>>>>
>>>> Cosmie Silfa relies on an unusual companion to help him stay
>>>> clean and sober: Skippy, a four-year-old iguana. But changes to
>>>> the Americans with Disabilities Act could decertify Skippy as an
>>>> official service animal. WSJ's Clare Major reports.
>>>>
>>>> What gives Maxx entree to places normally off-limits to canines
>>>> and other animals is the embroidered, purple vest he sports. It
>>>> says: "Therapy Dog Maxx."
>>>>
>>>> Maxx is a lot of things, including well-behaved, and he is a
>>>> faithful companion. What he is not, however, is a therapy dog or
>>>> a service dog, and Ms. Kimmel is not disabled.
>>>>
>>>> Still, Ms. Kimmel says the vest, which she purchased online, no
>>>> questions asked, makes people think otherwise, so they don't
>>>> object to Maxx. "They know they are not supposed to ask," Ms.
>>>> Kimmel says, alluding to the federal law that protects people
>>>> with service animals from inquiries about the nature of their
>>>> disability.
>>>>
>>>> The various uses for service animals, particularly dogs, have
>>>> expanded in recent years beyond the traditional tasks of helping
>>>> blind and deaf people get around safely. Dogs now are used to
>>>> help people detect the onset of seizures, alert diabetics when
>>>> their glucose levels drop too low, and remind psychiatric
>>>> patients to take their medicine.
>>>>
>>>> View Full Image
>>>>
>>>> Brian L. Frank for The Wall Street Journal
>>>>
>>>> Cosmie Silfa says his iguana, Skippy, is a bona-fide service
>>>> animal-and to buttress his point, he carries around a letter from
>>>> his psychiatrist.
>>>> .But the trend also means that there are many more ways to game
>>>> the system-so pet lovers need never be without their companions,
>>>> even if the rules say they should leave the shih tzu at home.
>>>>
>>>> Last summer, after Ocean Park, Md., resident Joseph Wayne Short
>>>> began walking Hillary, his four-foot-long iguana on the
>>>> boardwalk, the city council passed an ordinance prohibiting
>>>> undomesticated animals from mingling with the public, according
>>>> to City Solicitor Guy Ayres.
>>>>
>>>> Mr. Short fought back. He plunked down $64 to place Hillary on
>>>> the Internet-based National Service Animal Registry, a private
>>>> company that, among other things, sells service-animal
>>>> credentials.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Maxx
>>>> .On the company website, where Hillary's picture and registration
>>>> number is displayed, it says under service type: unspecified. But
>>>> Mr. Short, who couldn't be reached for comment, has told people
>>>> that Hillary keeps him calm.
>>>>
>>>> "The gentleman claimed that the iguana was his service animal, so
>>>> I am not sure the police looked into it further," Mr. Ayres says.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> The registry didn't return repeated phone calls for comment.
>>>>
>>>> Cosmie Silfa, in San Francisco, also has a "service iguana." His
>>>> name is Skippy. Mr. Silfa takes him on the bus and walks him in a
>>>> local park.
>>>>
>>>> "He cradles him like a baby, a big scary baby," says Roy Mair,
>>>> who works the front desk of the subsidized housing unit where Mr.
>>>> Silfa lives. Mr. Silfa says what qualifies Skippy as a service
>>>> animal is a letter from the psychiatrist who has been treating
>>>> Mr. Silfa for depression. The letter says Skippy "helps him to
>>>> maintain a stable mood."
>>>>
>>>> Fearing a backlash, advocates for the disabled last fall
>>>> successfully lobbied the Department of Justice to narrow the
>>>> definition of service animals.
>>>>
>>>> Beginning March 15, the Americans With Disabilities Act will only
>>>> recognize dogs as service animals. The new regulations include a
>>>> provision that says the public must accommodate, where
>>>> reasonable, trained miniature horses as well.
>>>>
>>>> The new rules are an effort to "stop erosion of the public's
>>>> trust, which has resulted in reduced access for many individuals
>>>> with disabilities who use trained service animals that adhere to
>>>> high behavioral standards," according to a Justice Department
>>>> spokeswoman.
>>>>
>>>> The Department of Transportation, too, tried to crack down on
>>>> dubious service animals on planes, but that created more problems
>>>> than it solved.
>>>>
>>>> "It's a mess," says Toni Eames, president of the International
>>>> Association of Assistance Dog Partners.
>>>>
>>>> The DOT attempted to weed out passengers pretending their pets
>>>> were service animals in order to avoid having to ship them as
>>>> cargo or, in the case of smaller animals, to keep them in a
>>>> carrier at their feet.
>>>>
>>>> The new rules allow animals that aid people with physical
>>>> disabilities to board a plane freely. The only question airline
>>>> personnel are allowed to ask is how the animal assists the
>>>> person.
>>>>
>>>> But passengers who want to board with psychiatric or
>>>> emotional-support animals must contact the airline 48 hours
>>>> before departure and submit a letter from a licensed
>>>> mental-health professional that documents their mental or
>>>> emotional illness.
>>>>
>>>> Mental-health advocates are outraged and have petitioned the
>>>> Transportation Department to get rid of the new regulation.
>>>>
>>>> "We are forced to disclose we are mentally ill in order to fly.
>>>> It's un-American," says Joan Esnayra, president of the
>>>> Psychiatric Service Dog Society. "Everyone with a service dog
>>>> should be treated the same."
>>>>
>>>> What's more, the new rules do little to get rid of the fakers.
>>>> "If people are clever and they have a well-behaved dog, they know
>>>> just what to say to get their dog on board," says Ms. Eames. "Or
>>>> they can get a friendly psychologist to write a note."
>>>>
>>>> It's risky for businesses to deny access to people accompanied by
>>>> service dogs-even if they think they are pretending to be
>>>> disabled-because if suspicions prove to be unfounded, a business
>>>> could face civil penalties of up to $55,000 for violating a
>>>> person's civil rights.
>>>>
>>>> The new ADA rules might keep service iguanas Hillary and Skippy
>>>> off the streets, should the authorities choose to clamp down. Mr.
>>>> Silfa, Skippy's owner, says that would make him sad.
>>>>
>>>> "The natural sunlight is very good for him," Mr. Silfa says. "But
>>>> I guess I'll have to cross that bridge if I get to it."
>>>>
>>>> Rhonda Kimmel, owner of "Therapy dog Maxx," says she hates to
>>>> "take advantage." But she lives in such a hot climate, she argues
>>>> that the only place Maxx can get some decent summer exercise is
>>>> in the air-conditioned mall.
>>>>
>>>> Still, she says she knows when to draw the line. She recently was
>>>> to meet with her lawyer, whose building doesn't allow dogs. So
>>>> Ms. Kimmel, the lawyer and Maxx held their meeting outdoors.
>>>>
>>>> "I know I was pushing it and I didn't want to start a fight,"
>>>> says Ms. Kimmel. "It's not like I'm blind or something."
>>>>
>>>> Write to Ann Zimmerman at ann.zimmerman at wsj.com
>>>> URL:
>>>> http://online.wsj.com/article/SB100014240527487036521045761224611
>>>> 80284204.html?mod=WSJ_newsreel_ahed
>>>>
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>>>
>>>
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>>
>>
>>
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