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

[Tracy Carcione]

Good work Jimmy, and the NFB of Tennessee!  Wow, a newspaper article that
gets it right!
Tracy

> 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
>
>
>
>
>
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