[nagdu] Man's guide dog causing row at Bloomingdale condo

[Ginger Kutsch]

FYI. The following article refers to the man's rights being
protected by the ADA -- this is not accurate. The Fair Housing
Act is the federal law that protects his rights to keep a service
animal in his condo. 
 
Man's guide dog causing row at Bloomingdale condo 
By Elisabeth Mistretta 
 <http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20110104/news/701059713/>
http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20110104/news/701059713/
 
When Iggie, a black Labrador, moved into Tim Spencer's
Bloomingdale condo, it seemed a tough time was about to get
better.
 
Spencer has retinoblastoma, a rare cancer of the retina that took
his left eye when he was a toddler; he lost his vision completely
two years ago.
 
His 3-year-old son Andrew is battling the same cancer and has had
more than 40 surgeries to fight it, his dad said.
 
"I was an athlete and always wanted to be the dad who took my son
to the park and threw him a ball, so I thought I'd at least be
safer with a guide dog to take him out instead of using a cane,"
he said.
 
Spencer traveled to New York, and in November he graduated with
Iggie from Guiding Eyes for the Blind, a group that trains guide
dogs from birth.
 
The building where the Spencer family settled a month earlier, 1
Bloomingdale Place, forbids pets, but the condo association made
concessions for Iggie under the Americans with Disabilities Act
even before he arrived.
 
Things seemed to be looking up, Spencer said. Their new condo is
near Andrew's school and wife Heather's work, and it offers
indoor parking and security cameras.
 
"It's a safe place," Spencer said.
 
But then the notices started coming in the mail. And the phone
calls from the condo board began, with complaints of too much
barking from Iggie.
 
Today, the Spencers face about $300 in fines for violating condo
rules. An attorney for the association said the family faces a
hearing to try to resolve dispute.
 
But Spencer claims the allegations and fines are unfounded.
 
"I am getting harassed for a tool I use to function," Spencer
said. "For the first six months, guide dogs go through separation
anxiety. And he'll bark a bit because he's scared and in a new
environment.
 
"But we were getting calls once while we were at Children's
Memorial Hospital during one of my son's surgeries, and ... every
week it's something different."
 
More training?
The barking stems from Iggie being left alone for too long,
according to Pam Park, an attorney with Kovitz Shifrin Nesbit of
Buffalo Grove, which represents the condo association board.
 
"This is not just one resident complaining," Park said. "The
association has received several complaints from residents around
the Spencers' unit because the dog is barking excessively.
 
"The dog is being left alone for three, four, five hours at a
time. We would question whether the dog was trained to be left
for such long periods of time," she said.
 
Spencer said Iggie is rarely left alone for more than two hours,
with one exception being during Andrew's surgery just days after
the dog arrived in November. He also said the dog is left alone
primarily during daytime or early evening.
 
Still, he is using tips he learned from Guiding Eyes to try to
alleviate the barking, such as leaving Iggie with a toy coated in
peanut butter and leaving on the TV.
 
He said some neighbors have been supportive and even bought
Christmas presents for Iggie. Only a few, he said, are
complaining.
 
Wayne Rosmis, president of the condo association board who lives
in the unit directly next to the Spencers, declined an interview
and asked Park to speak for the board.
 
Park said the board is trying to respect Spencer's rights and be
sensitive.
 
"We would suggest the dog be given additional training," Park
said.
 
School can step in
Although students such as Spencer spend only 26 days training
with their dogs at Guiding Eyes for the Blind, the canines have a
much more rigorous regimen.
 
Students from throughout the country travel to the school to
obtain a dogs like Iggie, which have been trained since puppies.
 
"We like to say that training starts from the time they are
born," Guiding Eyes spokeswoman Michelle Brier said.
 
That starts with early socialization to get dogs accustomed to
new sights and noises, like people in funny hats, traffic,
construction and emergency vehicles, she said.
 
Later, the dogs are taught house manners, basic obedience and
more socialization.
 
"Dogs are left in crates so they get used to being alone," Brier
said. "Then, once they are considered candidates to be ideal
guide dogs, they continue to train for another five months to a
year."
 
Brier confirmed that Spencer contacted the school recently for
more training tips. She said he's "doing his best to rectify the
problem" and the school would send a trainer to Bloomingdale if
complaints continue.
 
Becky Barnes, a Guiding Eyes staff member who helps support
graduates and who is also blind, said she is skeptical that Iggie
is barking excessively after such thorough training.
 
"I really don't think these people are being totally honest,"
Barnes said. "Dogs are dogs and they might bark occasionally, but
they are trained for separation anxiety and to be alone. Plus,
your dog is with you most of the time because you need it to
function."
 
Spencer also has an attorney but said he hopes the condo
association will see at the upcoming hearing that his family is
working to respect their neighbors.
 
"Ultimately I want to get along with people," he said. "We are a
friendly-family, but I don't like bullies, and that is why we are
trying to make a stand."