[nagdu] Grant County among most jails statewide notallowingservice dogs

Sat Sep 20 23:21:59 UTC 2014

I agree with the policy here. For the most part, you would have no reason for the animal anyway. You couldn’t take it out to relieve it and so it would make extra work for staff and, as has already been stated, when you have landed yourself in jail, your rights have flown the coup. Obviously, basic humanitarian rights are in place, but not extras, and in this case, it would be extra.

Cindy

On Sep 20, 2014, at 5:56 PM, L Gwizdak via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:

> I have a friend who made some bad choices and did some jail time.  Her guide dog was taken from her and sent back to the school.  It is not appropriate for an inmate to have a service dog in jail.  In jail, you can't properly use or care for the dog and it is not the staff's job to take care of a dog.
> 
> I agree this policy is right.  You lose many rights when you go to jail. Best thing is to stay out of jail in the first place.  A service dog - and any other dog - needs a stable life to thrive.  Some homeless folks have dogs but they rely on programs that assist them in the care and food for the dogs and it seems to work.
> 
> Lyn
> "Asking who's the man and who's the woman in an LGBT relationship is like asking which chopstick is the fork" - Unknown
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Julie J. via nagdu" <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> To: "Ginger Kutsch" <Ginger at ky2d.com>; "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2014 9:10 AM
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Grant County among most jails statewide notallowingservice 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-11e
>> 4-a938-0019bb2963f4.html
>> 
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