[nagdu] Grant County among mostjails statewide not allowingservice dogs

Thu Aug 14 01:19:57 UTC 2014

JMHO, as with most news stories, there is a lot of information missing, so
it is hard for any of us to give a very educated opinion. If a person has a
guide dog, a dog to help with a physical impairment, or a hearing dog, then,
yes, I think that the personnel at the prison would probably perform any
duties that the dog would regularly perform, but it might require some extra
training. If it is a medical alert dog or a dog to help with something like
PTSD, then I think that the entire situation needs to be re-evaluated as a
regular prison may not be a suitable place for the person. Whether or not
the dog was then allowed to accompany the person in the alternative place
would then depend on whether or not equivalent services could be provided.
For example, I have heard that there is no way to detect with the same
accuracy as a dog when a person is going to have a seizure. So, perhaps, if
someone had seizures and had a dog to alert for them, the person could serve
time somewhere besides prison and be able to keep the dog, with the
understanding that the dog was necessary for the well being of the person.
Getting back to the article, the person did not say what the disability was,
so it is hard to make any type of judgment.

Nicole

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Star Gazer via
nagdu
Sent: Wednesday, August 13, 2014 8:33 AM
To: 'margo and isis'; 'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide
Dog Users'; 'Marion Gwizdala'
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Grant County among mostjails statewide not
allowingservice dogs

	Do we know this woman had a home? I mean, she may have been
homeless, and committed a crime so that jail would become her new home.

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of margo and isis
via nagdu
Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2014 4:50 PM
To: 'Marion Gwizdala'; 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of
Guide Dog Users'
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Grant County among most jails statewide not
allowingservice dogs

Then it would seem reasonable depending on the crime for the person to
receive a sentence of home detention.

Margo and Isis

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Marion Gwizdala
via nagdu
Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2014 3:40 PM
To: 'Julie J.'; 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog
Users'
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Grant County among most jails statewide not
allowingservice dogs

Julie and All,

	The implementing regulations of Title II of the ADA state,
"Individuals with disabilities shall be permitted to be accompanied by their
service animals in all areas of a public entity's facilities where members
of the public, participants in services, programs or activities, or
invitees, as relevant, are allowed to go." 28 CFR Section 35.136(G) Even if
it were construed otherwise, e.g., that the inmates were "invitees", these
implementing regulations also state, "A public entity is not responsible for
the care or supervision of a service animal." 28 CFR Section 35.136(E) While
incarcerated, the inmates do not have the capacity to care for their animal,
such as relieving. JMHO!

Fraternally yours,
Marion

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Julie J. via
nagdu
Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2014 12:11 PM
To: Ginger Kutsch; NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog
Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Grant County among most jails statewide not
allowingservice dogs

Oh my!  I think what the Sherriff said is correct...that the public is not
allowed back in the cells and therefore it isn't a place of public
accommodation.  However, I think there is a much bigger reason.  When you go
to jail you are forfeiting many of your rights.  You are no longer free to
choose how to spend your days, what food you'd like to eat, or who your room
mate might be.  You simply do not have the same rights and freedoms as a
person on the outside.  To me, that would include the right to have a
service dog.  Maybe I'm being unreasonable here and I could be totally off,
but it is my honest opinion.

Julie

-----Original Message-----
From: Ginger Kutsch via nagdu
Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2014 9:41 AM
To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: [nagdu] Grant County among most jails statewide not allowingservice
dogs

Grant County among most jails statewide not allowing service dogs

By Justin Brimer,

Herald staff writer | Posted: Monday, August 11, 2014

CBH Columbia Basin Herald Local News

EPHRATA - Grant County jailers recently denied an inmate's request to have
her service dog join her in jail. The county is not alone, as few jails in
the state have ever had an inmate make such a request.

In a letter to the Columbia Basin Herald, Kimalee Delacruz said jailers and
a nurse at the jail denied her requests to allow her service dog in the
facility.

"In writing this, maybe I can finally get what I've wanted, an answer to why
I can't get my service dog in here," she stated in her letter.

The Grant County Sheriff's Office answered her question in the form of an
official policy banning service dogs from the jail, but allowing them in the
visitation area.

"A jail environment is not an appropriate place for service animals. Under
the Americans with Disabilities Act, state and local governments,
businesses, and nonprofit organizations that serve the public generally must
allow service animals to accompany people with disabilities in all areas of
the facility where the public is normally allowed to go. The public is not
normally allowed to enter the main confinement areas of a jail, and
therefore a service animal is not allowed," Sheriff's Office spokesman Kyle
Foreman stated. He added jail officials are concerned about sanitation and
feeding of the animal and states the jail is just not set up for dogs.

Delacruz stated she has been in jail for a month and would not say why she
needed the aid of a service dog.

Grant County is one of the only jails in the state that has addressed this
issue, according to research.

Chelan County Jail Administrator Ron Wineinger said his facility has never
had a request for service dogs and said he knows people other than the blind
need the assistance of service animals.

"In 2014, we're not just talking about service dogs for the blind, but
people dealing with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Diabetes, seizures all
types of things," he said.

"You know before you asked the question, I hadn't given it much thought, but
we just don't have the facilities," he said.

Adams County Sheriff John Hunt echoed Wineiger's comments that the issue has
just not come up. He said if it did, he would ask the court to allow the
disabled person to serve his or her time in home detention.

Yakima County Detention Center Lieutenant Marty Cagle agreed jails are not
set up for service dogs and her office would also ask the court that an
inmate needing the assistance of a service animal be allowed to serve time
under home monitoring.

Even large jails in Spokane and Seattle have not had to deal with this
situation.

Steve Falcon, confidential secretary at King County Sheriff's Office, said
that even though his facility has never had a request for service dog in his
tenure, he believes that like Grant County, service dogs are allowed in the
visitation area, but not in the inmate area.

Karen Westberg, of the Spokane County Jail, said no one that she is aware of
has ever asked for a service animal in jail, but that guards monitor inmate
24 hours a day and are equipped to deal with any medical emergency.

Brenda Murphy, of Coyote Ridge Corrections Center in Connell, said that
while her facility does send inmates to area animal shelters to socialize
dogs to improve their adoption chances, service dogs are not allowed in
prison.

Foreman added the jail does not have the room to store dog food, and inmates
are not allowed to bring outside food into the jail. He said visitors are
allowed to bring a service animal into the visitation area as long as it
does not cause a problem with staff or other visitors.

Source:
http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/news/crime-fire/article_c0bb222e-1f4c-11
e
4-a938-0019bb2963f4.html

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