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

[Cindy Ray]

Well if that don't beat all!!!! I'm thinking in the first instance they should let the dog in and leave out the lady, but when the dog bit someone, um, what? And the person needed stitches and the woman says it was just a nip. Goodness, if it was just a nip, I would shutter to think of a real bite.

CL

On Oct 18, 2013, at 9:38 AM, Ginger Kutsch <gingerKutsch at yahoo.com> wrote:

> 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. 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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