[nagdu] when dogs are working?

[Ann Edie]

Hi, Abby and Everyone,

I agree with others who have stated that the dog does not have to be wearing
a harness in order to be considered a service dog under the ADA. However, I
also agree that the law does insist that the dog be on leash and under the
control of the handler at all times, unless the dog's work requires that it
be off leash, which guide work obviously does not.  So, while it is
perfectly all right for you to remove your dog's harness while in the group
"safe" room and let the dog rest and relax, in my opinion (and it seems the
law would imply this, also) you have no right under the law to allow your
dog to roam about in a public place (which the room on the college campus
is), no matter whether or not you believe that your dog is under your verbal
control at all times .  The law requires that places of public accommodation
modify their "no pets" policies in order to permit persons who have
disabilities to gain access to the places and services they provide
accompanied by their service animals.  The law does not require the
management to modify other policies, such as to permit you to let your dog
romp and play, seek attention from other persons, or interact with other
service animals in the facility.

How often have we read on these lists the complaints of guide dog handlers
that their guide dogs have been attacked or interfered with by other service
dogs (or pets being fraudulently claimed as service dogs) while in places of
public accommodation?  No matter how well-behaved and friendly my service
animal may be, and no matter how well-behaved and friendly all the other
service dogs are (or how friendly their handlers think they are), I think
you may be courting trouble by allowing your service dog to behave as if
this room were your private dwelling. You never know when one animal may
decide that it has been offended by something another animal has done and
might retaliate before either you or the other animal's handler has time to
react to separate the two of them. I think the college has the right to
protect itself from a lawsuit claiming that it permitted dogs to run loose
within the facility and injure another animal or person. Secondly, no matter
whether all the other members of the group have agreed that it would be fine
for you to allow your dog to go free in the room, there may be some people
who feel pressured by the group not to express that they might not really
want to be licked by your dog or may not want the smell of dog on their new
clothes or may not really want dog hair on the suit that they are about to
wear to a job interview or to defend their thesis or whatever. In other
words, the right to be accompanied by a service animal does not mean that
you have the right to use the space as if it were your private living
quarters. You may be on a break, but your dog is still working. It is in
that space only to afford you access to the college. Yes, it can be resting;
and yes, you can take off the harness without causing it to lose its status
as a service animal. But I think that's about as far as it goes.

Also, I would advise you to be careful not to be too influenced by
non-guide-dog-handlers' opinions about how you should treat your dog or what
you should or should not allow your dog to do. Many things that people think
you should let your dog do might not be in the best interest of the dog or
the working team. For example, your friends think that since you are
relaxing in the room, that your dog should be allowed to relax as well.
Following this same line of thought, they might see you eating some nice
snack, like ice cream or a burger, and they might think you are mean for not
sharing your snack with the dog, which is probably staring at the food in a
most piteous way, according to the well-meaning observer. Even if we explain
why we might do things differently than the other person might choose to do
with their pet dog, the person might still feel that we are being unfair,
and might even try to win the dog's favor by sneaking it a morsel now and
then when they think we're not paying attention. I think it is important to
maintain good discipline and keep the line clear between the working service
dog and a pet or group mascott.

Personally, although I am a dog lover, I would not want to be confronted
with someone else's loose guide dog in the student center of the college or
in the cafeteria of my school or place of business, even if the dog were
friendly and "well behaved" by pet standards, especially if I were
accompanied by my own service animal at the time. I remember reading of a
situation where a large service dog grabbed and seriously injured a tiny
service dog during a public event to which both service dog handlers were
invited and where both dogs were "under the control of their handlers." This
situation was tragic, to say the least.

Aside from all of the above, it seems to me that it would be very risky to
permit the dog to behave as would a pet in this place, because the dog might
very easily get the idea that it is okay to seek attention and to greet
other people and animals in other places and at other times when you may
need the dog to be focused on its work. In my experience, guide dog training
programs instruct their students to provide their dogs with adequate rest,
social time, and play time in their own homes or in other safe and
non-public places, such as the fenced yard of their own home or a friend's
home, or perhaps in a place where pet dogs are permitted, such as some parks
or dog parks, but not on the streets or in places of public accommodation
where pets are not permitted. I think there is good reason for this policy.

I don't see any harm in situations such as that described by Julie J., where
she takes the harness and leash off of her guide dog in her office where the
dog has a resting place under the desk. This is presumably a confined space
which is either solely Julie's work space, or perhaps a space shared with
only a couple of other people, and the dog does not get up and wander
outside of the office or go and socialize with other people. Although I have
always kept my service animals on leash in these circumstances, I can see
where this might be a personal choice, as long as the other employees or the
employer do not object. But I don't think the employer is obligated under
the ADA to permit off-leash dogs within the facility, whether the dogs are
service dogs or not, unless it is a service dog which needs to be off-leash
in order to perform the tasks for which it is trained.

I also agree with Marion's assertion (from past discussions on this topic)
that he does not have to have his guide dog in harness in order to be
granted access to a beach where there is a "no dogs" policy.  But I disagree
with him, if I have understood his position correctly, that it is okay for
him, once on the beach, to permit his guide dog to run loose, off leash, to
dig, swim, play, and perhaps interfere with the enjoyment of the facility by
other people.  If I think my service animal needs this type of exercise, I
think I should take it to a place where pets are permitted, since the
purpose of that trip would be to allow the animal to exercise and recreate,
rather than for me, as a person with a disability, to gain access to the
beach to get exercise and recreation for myself, or with my family, or my
friends. While I might, or might not, take the harness off my service animal
while we were on the beach in order to make it easier for the animal to rest
comfortably, I would keep it on leash. I would provide a shady, clean place
for my animal to rest and would either be holding the leash, or attach the
leash to a stationary object such as a picnic table or a tree, or leave the
animal in the control of a member of my party whom I could trust, while I
entered the water to swim or play. If, however, I wanted to take a nice,
long walk along the beach, I would definitely do this guided by my guide
animal in harness. Again, while I think it's fine to take a service dog to a
campground or hiking trail where pets are permitted and let the service dog
run off-leash, if you think the benefits outweigh the risks to your animal,
I do not think one should let a service animal run loose in such places if
there is a "no pets" policy, while one uses some other mobility technique to
walk the trails or get around the campground, as some guide dog users have
said they do, no matter how "in control" they think their dogs are. And I
don't read anything in the ADA that would imply that the management of any
such facility has to permit such behavior.  If we permit our service animals
to be off-leash in public places where pets are not permitted, I believe we
would be taking unfair advantage of the other patrons and of the business
management and their ignorance of their rights under the ADA.

The above is, as always, my considered opinion, and nothing more or less. I
apologize if I have misrepresented the views of any others who have
participated in the discussion. There is certainly room for differing
opinions and choices within the law and in real life circumstances.

Thanks for the interesting question and for all the thoughtful replies.

Best,
Ann with Panda

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Abigail Bolling
via nagdu
Sent: Tuesday, September 30, 2014 7:04 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: [nagdu] when dogs are working?

hey all!

So I recently started hanging out with a group of students called the
rainbow alliance on campus. 
Being a student organization, we have a room in the student union which is
considered a "safe space" where we can relax and be ourselves. 
h=The alliance has made it clear to me that if I am on break, then,
obviously by decision but my dog should get some down time too. I agree
completely. my dog is easy to control off leash and harness. They are
completely comfortable with me taking my dog out of harness and all of the
people who hang out in the room love dogs. There are at least 3 other people
with service dogs who frequent that room, so it is nothing new to have a pup
running around greeting people.

Today, we had an advisor come in the room and tell us that our dogs are not
considered service animals if they are not in their full working gear.
My question is what should I do about this situation?
Should I fill out an incident report and have this advisor informed about
the laws and regulations about service dogs, or is he correct?

Thanks,

Abby and Puppy Jada

Abigail Bolling
Wright State University: Social Work

"Keep a smile on your face and  a song in your heart, and just let the music
play." (Julie Anderson-Diamond)
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