[nagdu] A CCB resolution on changes to have certification for service dogs

Ann Edie annedie at nycap.rr.com
Wed Apr 2 20:15:45 UTC 2014 

Hi, Daryl,

Actually, there is nothing wrong with your mom taking her well-behaved and
well-groomed dog into the schools to help motivate and engage the children
in reading/writing or other activities.  But being well-behaved and
well-groomed does not make the dog a "service dog."  What your mother might
need to do in order to be permitted to take the dog into the schools is have
it become certified as a "therapy dog" which might include getting the CGC
(canine good citizen) certification.  Most schools, at least here in the
U.S. would require this type of certification for insurance reasons.  The
person who takes the dog into the schools would also have to be approved as
a volunteer, which would include a criminal background check requiring they
be fingerprinted.  Then, before the dog comes to school, the parents of the
children in the class or classes the dog was visiting would be notified and
given a chance to opt out of this program for their child if the parents
have any reason for not wanting the child to participate.

Anyway, this is how the program has worked in some of the schools I have
worked in.  It has nothing to do with people with disabilities or with
service dogs.  In one school, a lady with a miniature schnauzer came in to
the classroom once a week for an hour or so for about 6 weeks.  Each time
they came, they read with a group of 4 or 5 students.  The kids also got to
pat the dog and talk to him, which they loved.  And it was good for my
little visually impaired student as well.  The lady said that she bathed the
dog every week before they came to school, and of course, since it was a
schnauzer, it also needed to be clipped regularly, as I guess the Bouvier
would also.  So, as long as your mom is not misrepresenting herself as a
person with a disability and her dog as a service dog, and as long as she
jumps through all the hoops to have herself and her dog qualified to
volunteer in the schools, I see nothing wrong with her wanting to share her
dog with the students.  In fact, it's a great way to do something good in
the community, and it is great fun for the dog, as well, as long as it has
the right temperament.  Maybe your mom just doesn't know that there is a
different type of paperwork for a "therapy dog" than for a "service dog."

Best,
Ann

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Daryl Marie
Sent: Wednesday, April 02, 2014 12:02 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] A CCB resolution on changes to have certification for
service dogs

Hey,

I am at this point furious with my mother.  She is wanting to "license" her
Bouvier dog as a "service dog" to be able to go into schools and libraries
to have kids read to him... or something. It's great for their self-esteem!

Granted he is a reasonably well-behaved dog (as evidenced by the grand total
of 12 hours I spent with him).. but this just makes me mad!  Am I
overreacting? I don't know....

Daryl
----- Original Message -----
From: The Pawpower Pack <pawpower4me at gmail.com>
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wed, 02 Apr 2014 12:55:33 -0600 (MDT)
Subject: Re: [nagdu] A CCB resolution on changes to have certification for
service dogs

Oh boy... I don't even know where to start. 
All I can say is, that if these people hope to change the law to fall in
line with this resolution, they're going to have one heck of a fight on
their hands.  
I'm not keen on some schmuck at walmart being able to demand some kind of
paperwork from me with who knows what kind of personal information on it to
prove something.  The law already has outlined the things a person can ask,
and a service animal can be judged by its behavior, and if someone puts
enough time into training their pet so that it is as well behaved as a
service dog, frankly I don't care if it's in public.  
The key here is task training, and if dogs are behaving badly, are not house
trained, are being disruptive, then as outlined in the law, the owner can
be, and should be, asked to remove the dog. 
Lastly, if anyone finds a self trained service dog, do let me know!  I'd
sure would love a dog who could train itself.  Would save me a ton of work! 

 Rox and the kitchen Bitches: 
Mill'E, Laveau, Soleil
Pawpower4me at gmail.com
Sent from my iPhone

> On Apr 2, 2014, at 1:44 PM, "L Gwizdak" <leg1950 at cox.net> wrote:
> 
> Here is something that will impact guide dog users and service dog users
that I got on another list.
> 
> This resolution to be presented at the CCB convention in California was
drafted to address the problems of fake service dogs.  What do you all
think?  Could this be a remedy to the problem of people passing off their
pets as service dogs in places of public accomidation?  I wonder if this may
be the only was or is there another way.
> 
> Here it is pasted below:
> 
> Whereas: Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act defines the 
> rights of people with disabilities to access places of public 
> accommodation, and
> 
> Whereas: These access rights are extended to service animal handlers 
> as defined in the 2011 ADA Accessibility Guidelines, and
> 
> Whereas: These service animal access rights are also guaranteed by 
> numerous state and local statutes, and
> 
> Whereas, Due to weaknesses in the relevant legislation and the general 
> ignorance that exists about the legal definition of service animals 
> and of their access rights, there exists an epidemic of persons 
> fraudulently bringing their pets into places of public accommodation 
> under the pretext that they are service animals, and
> 
> Whereas, The presence and bad behavior of fake service animals in 
> places of public accommodation places the access rights of legitimate 
> service animal handlers at risk, Therefore be it
> 
> Resolved by Guide Dog Users of California meeting at the Arden West 
> Hilton Hotel in Sacramento, California on April 12, 2014 that this 
> organization shall strive to put an end to service animal fraud by  
> actively participating in a coalition of like-minded groups to 
> advocate for the following changes in law and to engage in  other related
activities.
> 
> 1. The coalition shall seek changes to ADA regulations and to other 
> relevant federal statutes and regulations  as follows.
> 
> 1.1. The ADA regulations must be amended to permit providers of public 
> accommodations to require service animal handlers to show 
> documentation to verify the status of their animals as a condition for 
> extending their accommodation rights to their animals.
> 
> 1.2. Federal law must permit states and local governments to enact 
> service animal licensure requirements to make it easier for providers 
> of public accommodations to distinguish service animals from pets, 
> provided that such licensure requirements do not impede the access 
> rights of service animal handlers and that the licensure requirements 
> are no more costly than those imposed on pet owners..
> 
> 1.3. Federal law must  restrict  the interstate sale of service animal 
> identification products to legitimate service animal training programs 
> and to individuals who can provide proof of the status of their service
animals.
> Vendors who fail to follow these requirements must be subject to fines 
> large enough to discourage the traffic in fake service animal products.
> 
> 2. The coalition must develop model state laws and regulations as 
> described below and then advocate throughout the nation for the 
> enactment of these statutes.
> 
> 2.1. States must implement service animal license laws compliant with 
> item
> 1.2 above.  These laws must provide for the licensing of animals 
> issued through recognized training programs and also provide for the 
> licensing of self-trained service animals.
> 
> 2.2. States must enact prohibitions on the intrastate sale of 
> fraudulent service animal identification products that are comparable 
> to the prohibitions described in item 1.3.
> 
> 3. The Coalition shall develop and execute an education campaign to 
> inform the public about the definition of a service animal, about the 
> access rights of service animal handlers and about the negative 
> consequences of and the legal penalties for service animal fraud.
> 
> 
> Frank Welte
> _______________________________________________
> Gduc-l mailing list
> Gduc-l at ccbnet.org
> http://ccbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gduc-l_ccbnet.org
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Lyn and Landon
> "Asking who's the man and who's the woman in an LGBT relationship is 
> like asking which chopstick is the fork" - Unknown
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mardi Hadfield" 
> <wolfsinger.lakota at gmail.com>
> To: <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Monday, March 31, 2014 7:48 PM
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] It's a go
> 
> 
>> Jewel, good luck in your class.Hope you get that special dog and have 
>> many years of partnership.I hope you won't get rained on to 
>> much,lol.Have a great time in class. Mardi and Shaman and Neechee.
>> 
>> --
>> http://wolfsinger-lakota.blogspot.com/
>> http://wolfsinger2-thegoldendragon.blogspot.com
>> _______________________________________________
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> 
> 
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