[nagdu] Service dog owners still hounded despite change in law

Sat Mar 8 15:16:55 UTC 2014

Service dog owners still hounded despite change in law

Tony Gonzalez, The (Nashville) Tennessean 11:28 a.m. EST March 7, 2014

Source:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/03/07/service-dogs-law/616321
1/

NASHVILLE -- Tennessee law changed last year to make travel with service
dogs easier - but if a law changes and few people know, has it really
changed?

The new law aims to protect people with disabilities from having to show
documentation about their disabilities or their service dogs when entering
businesses. It's a change that brought Tennessee in line with long-standing
protections in the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, the landmark
1990 federal law that gave equal standing in public accommodations to
disabled people.

But some Tennesseans with disabilities continue to be asked for proof,
forcing them to argue that the law is on their side. Attorneys at the
Disability Law and Advocacy Center worry that not much has changed. Among
the concerns still rolling in: a man with a service dog asked by staff to
leave a funeral home; a woman with epilepsy told not to bring her dog to
medical appointments.

EARLIER: Restaurant refuses to seat ex-Marine with service dog

"The complaints seem to be coming in at about the same rate regardless of
the change," said Martha M. Lafferty, advocacy center legal director. "It
may be that businesses are not yet aware."

The advocacy center and the Tennessee Disability Coalition want to change
that in a way that will make the new law stick. They'll soon host classes
about protections within state and federal laws for people with
disabilities. The state chapter of the National Federation of the Blind is
hosting a training session in Nashville, with local police and emergency
response officials scheduled to attend.

"We've been finding that even some of the police don't know what the current
laws are," said Jimmy Boehm, a 34-year-old student at Middle Tennessee State
University and a leader in the state's chapter of the National Federation of
the Blind.

Boehm, who is blind, often gets the chance to spread the word about
Tennessee's law change. It even came up while he searched for a hotel to
host the guide dog conference.

A hotel employee tried to remind him that attendees would need to bring
paperwork about their animals. He explained that the law had changed and
offered to give a talk to the staff.

"We don't just say, 'Hey, you're wrong,' " Boehm said. "We try to educate."

Restaurants, movie theaters

Many people who use service dogs don't carry any kind of documentation.
There's no standard format.

But for years, people with disabilities have run into challenges,
particularly at restaurants, movie theaters, hospitals and hotels.

One conflict still sticks with James Brown of Antioch, Tenn. His dog Jordan,
a German shepherd, helps with his travel around downtown Nashville, where he
works and exercises at the YMCA on lunch breaks.

A few days before the documentation law changed on July 1, Brown was turned
away from a downtown Italian restaurant. He called the police, who
eventually helped him get his meal - after a delay of about 30 minutes.

"I don't get upset about it, but it's another nuisance I have to go
through," said Brown, president of the Tennessee affiliate of the National
Federation of the Blind. "The law's on your side, but that doesn't mean
you'll be able to go inside and enjoy a nice meal. You might get that later
on."

Brown never has problems at the YMCA, where he's a regular. He checks in
without hassle, and Jordan guides him through the locker room and then to
the gym.

Understanding the ADA

For years, the wording of Tennessee law planted the idea that people with
disabilities could be questioned by business owners, said Lafferty, the
disability rights advocate. A Tennessee attorney general's opinion in 2001
added to that thinking by supporting the state law despite its difference
from the federal disabilities act.

Understanding of the disabilities act has now evolved, Lafferty said. Last
year's change, which firmly established in law that such questions were
inappropriate, sailed through the legislature. The new law also gives
business owners the ability to ask that service animals be removed when out
of control.

Lafferty says people have to change the way they think about service dogs.

"Look at the dog like it's a wheelchair," Lafferty said. "Would you ask
someone a bunch of questions about a wheelchair? No. You'd let them come
into your business."

Boehm, in his fifth semester at MTSU, doesn't often encounter problems when
he travels with his service dog, Shep. Shep knows how to guide Boehm to door
handles and elevators, and straight to his classroom desk. The other
students have grown accustomed to Shep's quiet presence.

The two of them also roam around Murfreesboro, often aided by taxis. Boehm
shops for groceries and frequents a barbershop and restaurant.

At the mall, Shep guides Boehm to the shops, where Boehm listens for the
cash register area and asks employees for the name of the store. If it's one
he wants, he asks for shopping assistance. If not, they move on.

"I view it like we're explorers," Boehm said. "That way, it doesn't get
frustrating or anything. We just travel a little bit different."

Boehm uses all his senses when he travels - sometimes in ways hard to put
into words.

"You can hear a building," he said.

"You'll hear an echo or feel the wind. Or the sun, sometimes, the way the
sun's hitting me."

Together, man and dog travel freely and mostly unassisted. But a bit of
understanding from others, especially about the inherent challenges of
traveling without sight, does help, Boehm said.

At the Boulevard Bar and Grille, owner Jeff Nebel offers his elbow and
guides Boehm to a spacious table where Shep can curl up, practically
invisible, down below.

When people do see Shep - a skinny German Shepherd - they tend to be
friendly.

Service dogs actually aren't supposed to be petted while they "work," but
Boehm doesn't mind.

He prefers the feeling of being welcomed to the sting of being questioned.

Service animals: Myth vs. fact

Myth: Only people who are blind or deaf use service animals.

Fact: People with many types of disabilities can use service animals.

Myth: Any animal can be a service animal.

Fact: In Tennessee and under federal law, only dogs are service animals. The
federal law does treat people assisted by miniature horses similarly to
those assisted by dogs.

Myth: Service dog users must show documentation to prove a disability to
enter businesses.

Fact: It is illegal for business employees to ask service dog users for
documentation since Tennessee law changed in 2013 to match federal law.

Myth: Housing providers follow the same service dog guidelines as other
businesses.

Fact: The Fair Housing Act applies to the use of service animals by people
with disabilities, and is actually broader than the American Disabilities
Act and Tennessee law. The housing act allows people with disabilities to
have untrained assistance animals in housing, and a variety of animals in
addition to dogs and miniature horses.

Source: Disability Law & Advocacy Center