[nagdu] Hillsborough School District denies assistant principalservice dog at school | wtsp.com

[Nicole Torcolini]

Is this a service dog or a therapy  dog? If it is a therapy dog, then the
title of the article is wrong and misleading.

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of James Alan Boehm
Sent: Sunday, June 09, 2013 3:14 PM
To: National Association of Guide Dog Users Gwizdala
Subject: [nagdu] Hillsborough School District denies assistant
principalservice dog at school | wtsp.com


http://www.wtsp.com/news/education/article/317159/11/Assistant-principal-den
ied-service-dog-at-school

Hillsborough School District denies assistant principal service dog at
school

Isabel Mascarenas Video Stories
More Isabel Mascareñas Stories
Tampa, Florida -- The Americans with Disabilities Act says service dogs are
working dogs and are free to go anywhere. But when an assistant principal in
Hillsborough County asked the district if she could bring her service dog to
school their answer was, "No."

Agnes Tanon-Rodenbach, 47, says she spent five months going through the
proper channels to get permission to bring her dog to work with her, but the
district's answer is still no. 

Rodenbach is on medical leave for a disability she describes as invisible
but says is very real. 

"I felt devalued by a system that I've given 24 years to," she says
regarding the district's decision. 

Rodenbach says she was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder last
summer stemming from childhood abuse. After starting her therapy, the
assistant principal at Webb Middle School says she'd notice her dog Bella
would intuitively ease her out of night tremors, nightmares and daily
anxiety. 

"She came up to lick my face and put her weight on me," she describes.

Is her PTSD any different than a veteran's PTSD? 

Mike Halley, founder of the K9's for Veterans, a program that trains service
dogs to help vets with PTSD, says it's not.

Rodenbach took Bella through the program to become a certified service dog. 

"Why do we have to fight the system up here like this? They don't read the
ADA laws?" asks Halley.

Making a Difference: Halley's K9's for Veterans

According to Halley, the school district's decision is sending the wrong
message to vets with PTSD service dogs. 

"You're telling every vet out there that's got a service dog that it doesn't
mean squat."

In the letter Rodenbach received this week from Hillsborough School District
Attorney Tom Gonzalez, he concluded her case showed Bella is "not a service
animal, but rather a therapy or comfort animal -- not encompassed within the
Americans with Disabilities Act." 

As for Bella's methods of calming Rodenbach, Gonzalez wrote:

"All of these would involve some time when Ms. Tanon-Rodenbach would be
unable to perform other duties and therefore would interfere with her duties
of assistant principal, which would include dealing and supervising students
and reacting to emergency situations which would require immediate and
focused attention." 

And Rodenbach's response, "I would be a better assistant principal if I
didn't have to be exhausted fighting the PTSD by myself but allowing Bella
to fight it for me."

The district's decision came despite a letter from Rodenbach's psychiatrist
stating he's seen her condition improve and recommends she continue her
medications, therapy and to incorporate the therapy that she is receiving
through her service dog on a daily basis. The psychiatrist wrote a
prescription in September stating Agnes would "benefit from a service dog."

School Board member April Griffin says she will personally look into this
case.

"There's a social responsibility we need to have in our district. I want us
to be that kind of district. By definition there's going above the law to
help accommodate."

"I love my job. I love my kids. I love what I'm doing and I'm good at it,"
says Rodenbach. "Bella and I are a team and we have a lot to offer the
district. We have a lot to offer the school."

The assistant principal says because of Bella she's been able to reduce her
medication, sleep better and venture into public places more often. She
hopes school district officials change their minds and allow her to return
to work with Bella by her side.

Isabel Mascarenas

Comments (9)  | Share your thoughts »

_______________________________________________
nagdu mailing list
nagdu at nfbnet.org
http://host.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for nagdu:
http://host.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/ntorcolini%40wavecab
le.com