[nagdu] Restaurant ordered service dog to lobby

Natalie nrorrell at qwest.net
Fri Nov 11 00:17:15 UTC 2011


Oh man, that is such a grip of bologna and salmon.  My goodness.  What's it 
going to take to get these laws with some incisors on steroids into them?
Best,
Nat and Liam Joshua

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tami Kinney" <tamara.8024 at comcast.net>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, November 08, 2011 2:43 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Restaurant ordered service dog to lobby


> 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."
>>
>>
>>
>
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