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

Sun Feb 27 21:06:03 UTC 2011

Lisa,

Ugh!  No, thank you!

I could be wrong here, but the problem with situations like the stinky
weiner dog or the animals mentioned in the article is that they are not
service animals as defined under the ADA and so are not granted the access
to places of public accommodation in the first place.  An emotional support
animal (or whatever the name used to describe an animal performing that
function) is covered under the FHA for housing purposes.

Under the ADA, the animal in question must be specifically trained to
perform tasks to help to mitigate the effects of a disability in order to
fit the defnition.

So, in the article about Skippy and Max, neither critter had anything at all
to do with ADA and their owners' supposed rights thereunder...

Technically, last I heard, a therapy dog is one who visits ailing patients
in a care facility, such as Lyn's Landon does in his spare time.  /smile/
However, he cannot enter the grocery store on the way home in his capacity
as therapy dog.  For that, he needs to be a guide dog or something.  /smile/

Perhaps, then, it seems to me, a good way to clear things up and put a brake
on some of the abuses is for reporters to get their facts and their
terminology straight and for those responsible for determining which
critter/human pair has right to access and which doesn't to know the
difference between a service animal, an emotional support animal, and a
therapy animal.  It wouldn't hurt for them to be familiar with which
questions they *can* ask and which they cannot, as well.

For instance, the bouncer at the local bar can't legally ask me for Mitzi's
documentation.  S/He can, however, as me for proof of disability, along with
my ID as proof of legal age.  I think s/he may also ask me what tasks the
dog is trained to perform...  With a guide dog, of course, a lot of those
tasks are self-evident to anyone watching me approach to be asked about it
in the first place.  /smile/

So, in the case of Stinky Weiner Dog and his owner, the next line of defense
between his foul odor and ill manners would be whoever is responsible for
maintaining order in that milieu and group in case people can't mind their
own manners.   Whoever, then would be responsible for kicking my hick self
up if I started belching and cussing and lighting up at the table, would
also be the one to put the nix on the stinky dog on the table.  Or any dog
on the table!  That would be the same person responsible for, I suppose,
kicking out an otherwise well-behaved yet stinky guide dog lying under the
table.

A big help in clearing up a great deal of the confusion that exists and
continues to become more confused would, in my opinion, be for reporters to
practice, you know, journalism.  /smile/

Tami Smith-Kinney

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Lisa Irving
Sent: Saturday, February 26, 2011 9:01 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
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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