[nagdu] Restaurant ordered service dog to lobby

[Tami Kinney]

Well, finally. A newspaper report came right out and said what the 
problem is. The law is not enforced D'oh! There are no penalties for 
breaking it.

Anything else I have to say would no doubt come out super cynical and 
snarly, and I've almost certainly said it before. /Sigh.

Tami

On 11/08/2011 07:42 AM, Ginger Kutsch wrote:
> Restaurant ordered service dog to lobby
>
>
>
> Frank Eckl goes everywhere with Spruce
>
> Published : Monday, 07 Nov 2011,
>
>   By Leon Hendrix
>
> CASCADE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) - Frank Eckl and his family -- including his
> service dog -- went to dinner Saturday night at Don Julio's restaurant in
> Cascade Township. But the manager said the dog had to stay in the lobby.
>
>
>
> Eckl told 24 Hour News 8 he takes the dog with him wherever he goes. He uses
> the dog because of a disability he has that causes occasional seizures. When
> he's alone, it's his service dog Spruce that calls for help and helps him
> get up if he's fallen to the ground.
>
>
>
> He said he's never had a problem bringing Spruce with him since the law
> allows it.
>
>
>
> But the manager at Don Julio's wouldn't allow the dog in the dining area.
>
>
>
> "She [the manager] said we were more than welcome to stay, but patrons in
> the restaurant and the manager didn't want dog hair in the restaurant," he
> said. "I was shocked that we were asked to have the dog leave and we could
> stay."
>
>
>
> The manager-on-duty admitted they insisted the dog stay in the entrance way
> to the restaurant, and that she would make the same request it again. She
> said patrons at the restaurant complained about the dog and that some opted
> to leave because of sanitation concerns.
>
>
>
> "I asked for him to bring the dog out to the main entrance to the lobby,"
> the manager said. She refused to provide her name to 24 Hour News 8. "I
> didn't ask for him to take his dog back home, to take his dog to the car or
> leave him outside in the middle of the parking lot at all."
>
>
>
> Eckl and his family simply left the restaurant and went to the IHOP
> restaurant next door, where they were welcomed with Spruce.
>
>
>
> Others that use service dogs have been asked to comply by the same rules
> without complaint, the manager at Don Julio's said.
>
>
>
> "I can't keep every customer happy," she said, adding that she was aware
> that Spruce was a service dog but didn't realize it was Eckl who used him.
>
>
>
> "I knew it was not for him. He didn't tell me the service dog was for him...
> He wasn't clear to me either."
>
>
>
> Jocelyn Dettloff, a representative for the Disability Advocates of Kent
> County, said the violation is more serious than unhappy customers.
>
>
>
> "That's insane!" Dettloff said. "I mean, who would say that you have to
> leave your cane or your mobility device at the door. People who rely on
> service animals -- it's the exact same thing."
>
>
>
> But Dettloff says there is a problem with the laws prohibiting
> discrimination against the disabled because they are rarely enforced. The
> most someone like Eckl can do, she said, is file a complaint that could take
> more than a year to get attention. Even then, she said, there is no
> punishment for establishments that break the law.
>
>
>
> Eckl could file a civil lawsuit as well, Dettloff said, but he would not
> likely be awarded damages.
>
>
>
> "The law definitely needs some sort of stricter enforcement," she said.
> "There is no strict enforcement like the health department or the fire
> department."
>
>
>
> Eckl says he isn't seeking monetary damages and doesn't really want anything
> from Don Julio's, other than an apology and training for its staff.
>
>
>
> "I'm not out for malice here," he said, adding that he wouldn't go back to
> the establishment again.
>
>
>
> The manager at Don Julio's said she stands by her actions and would do the
> same thing again if Eckl returned.
>
>
>
> "I have to," she said. "I can't have any kind of animal be around food. It's
> kinda hard having most of my customers leave out on me because of one
> customer."
>
>
>