[nagdu] A Service Dog, A Bite and a Denial

[Ginger Kutsch]

A Service Dog, A Bite and a Denial 

Matt Rist

CBS 7 News

mrist at cbs7.com

October 17, 2013

Source: http://www.cbs7kosa.com/news/details.asp?ID=50211

 

MIDLAND-CBS7 told you weeks ago about Misty Barton, who claimed she and her
dog were wrongfully thrown out of a store.

 

Now the dog is under fire after he bit someone. Now CBS 7 is looking into
just how well service dogs are trained.

 

There's no national standard for the training of service dogs, but one thing
is clear--it's very unusual for a well-trained service dog to bite. 

 

Misty Barton's service dog Tanner bit a woman's hand (a customer) inside the
Midland Petsmart store last Saturday, According to Petsmart spokesperson
Erin Gray. Gray said they had to cover the cost for stitches.

 

"It was not a bite per say," said Tanner's owner Misty Barton. "A nip, I
would call it a nip."

 

We went to an expert; Margaret McDonough is vice president of a national
company that trains service dogs for veterans.

 

"That's a rare occurrence, the only instance you ever hear of a [service]
dog biting is when the handler is in trouble," said McDonough, Vice
President of Shepherds For Lost Sheep, Inc.

 

Petsmart says tanner was not wearing a service vest when it happened.

 

"He was not on duty," Barton said.

 

McDonough says service dogs trained well should not have any aggression in
their temperament.

 

"I don't think there is any reason why that dog should not be clearly marked
at any point," McDonough said.

 

As far as accountability, McDonough says their animals meet an American
Kennel Club Good Citizen standard, but there are no national requirements
for training and some train their own dogs.

 

"If they bring us to the table to formulate national standards, it really
could be a good thing," McDonough said.

 

And the telltale vest? Easy as eBay.

 

"Unfortunately, you can go online and buy a service dog vest for under $50
and just put it on your dog," McDonough said.

 

Barton does have a medical prescription for tanner because of a seizure
disorder. We got in touch with Tanner's trainer; she says she never saw any
issue with the dog. 

 

Barton says tanner will receive additional obedience training. Midland
Animal Services says the dog is under a mandatory house quarantine following
the incident.

 

***Original story about Tanner below.

 

Midland Woman Claims Business Asked Her To Leave Because of Service Dog 

Matt Rist

CBS 7 News

mrist at cbs7.com

September 30, 2013

 

MIDLAND- A Midland woman with disabilities says a shopping trip went
terribly wrong when a store employee told her to leave because of her
medically prescribed service dog. She feels she was a victim of
discrimination. But the store says they threw her out because she was being
confrontational.

 

Misty Barton says she is deaf in one ear and suffers from a seizure
disorder, her world could turn upside down at any moment, so her service dog
tanner is by her side wherever she goes.

 

"I need my dog, I told him, 'I am deaf' and he said to everyone, 'oh she can
hear me..she's not deaf', he made fun of me," Barton said of her interaction
with a Spirit Halloween employee.

 

Misty's world did turn upside down Saturday when she says she asked
employees at Spirit Halloween to let her and her dog come back after the
store was closed to make sure the dog didn't disturb other customers.

 

"He said 'no, as a matter of fact, this store doesn't allow dogs. They said,
you're going to have to go.'" Barton said.

 

However, the store's district manager says their policy does allow for
service dogs.

 

"Company policy does not allow customers to come after closing, when we told
her that, she began saying profanities and we asked her to leave because of
her language, not because of her dog," said District Manager of Spirit
Halloween Jacob Halverson. "We didn't realize it was a service dog
initially." 

 

The Americans With Disabilities Act protects service dogs in public --
businesses can only ask two questions to identify them.

 

"We have not specifically trained on that, but our employees are aware of
our policy to allow service dogs," said Halverson.

 

Barton admits she may have been argumentative--but only after being told to
leave because of her dog.

 

"This is why we don't come out, this is why people with disabilities that
are not visible stop living and hide," said Barton.

 

The store says it will evaluate training for employees on how to deal with
people with service dogs. 

 

As of deadline, The City of Midland had not been able to provide a copy of
this incident's police report. 

 

The store's owner tells CBS 7 that no surveillance camera footage is
available of the incident.