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

Mon Mar 10 16:41:53 UTC 2014

What a fantastic article!  I had the honor of attending the NFB of
Tennessee convention and their guide dog seminar.  It was fabulous!
We need more articles like this to educate.

On 3/10/14, Tracy Carcione <carcione at access.net> wrote:
> 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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-- 
Julie McG
National Association of Guide dog Users board member,  National
Federation of the Blind performing arts division secretary,
Missouri Association of Guide dog Users President,
and Guiding Eyes for the Blind graduate 2008
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that
everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal
life."
John 3:16