[nagdu] Deborah Kendrick commentary: Service dogs come with responsibilities

[Michael Hingson]

Good for Deborah! 


Best,


Michael Hingson

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Ginger Kutsch
Sent: Monday, September 09, 2013 6:36 AM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: [nagdu] Deborah Kendrick commentary: Service dogs come with
responsibilities

Deborah Kendrick commentary: Service dogs come with responsibilities

Sunday September 8, 2013 7:37 AM 

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/editorials/2013/09/08/service-dogs-c
ome-with-responsibilities.html

 

A lot of people in Oxford, Mass., are pretty stirred up right now about a
restaurant owner, Russell Ireland, who greeted customer James Glaser and his
dog at the door and told him the dog wasn't welcome. 

 

Glaser is a retired Air Force veteran and Jack, his Jack Russell terrier, is
his service dog. 

 

>From Facebook and Twitter to threatening phone calls, sympathy seems to be
pooling pretty much in Glaser's camp.  People are outraged that a restaurant
owner wouldn't know that service dogs are protected by the law and wouldn't
show respect for a veteran. They have reportedly threatened his
establishment and his life.

 

Seriously? 

 

The reactions seem excessive considering the crime. And are we even sure
that a "crime" was committed?

 

I worry that the implication of this incident will be misconstrued.

 

I don't know James Glaser or his dog, but when Ireland says that the dog
smelled bad and ate from a person's plate and that the dog didn't lie
unobtrusively out of pedestrian traffic as other service dogs have done in
his diner, well, it raises some questions. 

 

Dogs are trained to do remarkable things and have a proven track record as
support partners for people with a variety of disabilities.  The most
visible ones are the dogs trained to guide blind people.  Others alert deaf
handlers to a baby's cry, a doorbell or an intruder.  People with epilepsy
and diabetes express gratitude for their dogs' abilities to detect changes
foreshadowing  seizures or insulin shock. 

 

James Glaser had his dog trained by a San Antonio organization called Train
a Dog, Save a Warrior, where dogs are specifically trained to provide a
calming influence for veterans experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder.

 

That organization's website supports the same standard of conduct espoused
by other reputable training organizations.  To be acceptable in public
accommodations as a service dog, an animal should be clean, well-groomed,
calm and unobtrusive.  It should not vocalize unnecessarily and should
respond quickly to such basic obedience commands as "sit" and "down."  It
should remain with its handler and not solicit attention from others.  Oh
yeah, and it should go potty on command in appropriately designated spaces
and should eat only its own food when given by its human handler. 

 

Now, these are my words, of course, but they are a fair enough
representation of what the Texas nonprofit serving veterans with PTSD and
any other self-respecting service-dog training organization will tell you. 

 

The Americans with Disabilities Act and other laws protecting the civil
rights of people with disabilities do not waive rules and replace them with
placating entitlements. 

 

The law says a person with a disability can be accompanied by a trained
service dog in any public place that the person might otherwise go.  But the
rules - both legal and cultural - still apply. 

 

With rights come responsibilities, and each of us, whether we have a
disability or not, needs to play by the rules.

 

I have benefited from the partnership and confidence afforded by beautifully
trained guide dogs all my adult life.  Sometimes they (and I) make mistakes,
and I hope we own them.  I have seen hundreds of other well-behaved service
dogs in the hands of their human handlers and never yet found myself to be
immune to the awe such partnerships can inspire. 

 

But just plain having a disability and just plain having a dog to go with it
is not a free pass.

 

I have been in facilities where a "service" dog was left tied to a chair to
bark and whine while its handler socialized at the bar. 

 

I have seen originally well-trained animals leap and lick and sniff
inappropriately while their human handlers smiled indulgently. 

 

Maybe Glaser's dog is perfectly behaved and Ireland made an assumption and
needs his fingers slapped accordingly.

 

And maybe Jack needs additional training. 

 

What matters most here is that well-meaning supporters understand the
balance between rights and responsibilities in the formula for equality.

 

I have a fondness for that country expression, "I've got no dog in that
fight."  Usually, its meaning is metaphorical, but in this instance, we
literally do. Any of us who wants genuine equality will look at both sides
of a dog's tale before barking up the wrong tree.

 

Deborah Kendrick is a Cincinnati writer and advocate for people with
disabilities. 

 

dkkendrick at earthlink.net 

 

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