[nagdu] COMMUNITY COMMENTARY 'Emotional support dogs' endanger somein public

L Gwizdak leg1950 at cox.net
Fri Feb 27 00:33:28 UTC 2015


Wonder what the point was for this person.  She's a person with asthma who 
is allergic to dogs.  My question for her is:  What is the difference 
between the dander from a fake service dog, an "emotional support dog" and a 
trained service dog for a person with a disability??? This is a slipperly 
slope for sure and what people say to try to get legitamate service dogs 
banned from the public sector.

Lyn and Oliver
"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: "Ginger Kutsch via nagdu" <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, February 20, 2015 11:49 AM
Subject: [nagdu] COMMUNITY COMMENTARY 'Emotional support dogs' endanger 
somein public


> COMMUNITY COMMENTARY 'Emotional support dogs' endanger some in public
>
> Wednesday, February 18, 2015
>
> http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20150218/GJOPINION_0102/15
> 0219360/0/SEARCH
>
>
>
> This is an open letter to the owners and managers of businesses, stores,
> offices, restaurants and public places to please consider the dangers to 
> the
> public of allowing customers to bring fake service dogs, or "emotional
> support dogs," into your buildings. This growing trend of customers 
> bringing
> pets outfitted with jackets, vests, tags or badges into stores and 
> claiming
> they are "service dogs" puts the safety and lives of those of us with
> severe, life-threatening dander allergies and asthma at risk. It also is
> quickly shrinking our ability to shop in and interact with our own
> communities as more and more places are allowing dogs into their 
> buildings.
> Not only do emotional service pets expose allergy and asthma sufferers to 
> an
> immediate source of dander, but one incident of an animal being brought 
> into
> a store permeates microscopic dander protein in the air and on the store's
> products (especially books, clothing and furniture). For highly sensitive
> and anaphylactic people, this could mean they cannot safely enter the 
> store
> and purchase products from the store again for up to 20 months.
>
>
>
> Many store owners are confused about the differences between true service
> dogs and "emotional support" dogs and I am writing this to help clarify 
> the
> differences. Service dogs, such as dogs who assist people with blindness,
> are dogs who are trained to perform a specific task that a disabled person
> requires. Service dogs are workers, not pets, and are able to recognize 
> the
> need to assist a disabled person and are trained to respond. Emotional
> support dogs are pets that owners bring along with them for companionship
> and emotional comfort. The Americans with Disabilities Act does not
> recognize emotional support dogs. According to their service animal policy
> online, "Dogs whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional 
> support
> do not qualify as service animals under the ADA." However, the Americans
> with Disabilities Act recognizes asthma and allergies as disabilities and 
> in
> fact allows sufferers the right to reasonable accommodations at work, at
> school and even in some public settings as well as redress for
> discrimination.
>
>
>
> New Hampshire statutes also do not recognize emotional support dogs. In
> fact, according to NH law, "It is unlawful for any person to fit an animal
> with a collar, leash, vest, sign, or harness of the type which represents
> that the animal is a service animal ... if in fact said animal is not a
> service animal."
>
>
>
> Business owners and managers have the right to ask customers bearing 
> animals
> two questions: 1. Is the dog a trained service dog required due to a
> disability? 2. What task or work has the dog been trained to do? If the 
> dog
> has not been trained to perform a task or job or the dog is an "emotional
> support" dog, the business person has a right to ask the customer to 
> remove
> the dog from the store.
>
>
>
> In my experience, I have found business managers and pet owners to be
> hostile when I have addressed the issue of my family having 
> life-threatening
> asthma and allergies to dander. As someone who works in the field of 
> mental
> health, I certainly understand the seriousness of anxiety disorders.
> However, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), relaxation
> breathing and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) are the effective
> treatments for anxiety and trauma, not bringing pets into public 
> buildings.
> Not only does bringing dogs in public buildings put the health and lives 
> of
> people with dander allergies, asthma and anaphylaxis in danger, these pets
> can in fact increase the anxiety of people with Obsessive Compulsive
> Disorder (OCD) and Autism as well as children and adults with fears of 
> dogs.
> The trend of flooding public places with emotional support pets could also
> make it difficult for disabled people with legitimate trained service
> animals to have access to public spaces.
>
>
>
> Ironically, while I was refilling a prescription for my asthma inhaler at 
> a
> grocery store pharmacy, I encountered a woman in the store with her
> emotional support pet dog. I don't know what was worse about the 
> experience,
> the fact that I had repeated asthma attacks the rest of the day, or the 
> fact
> that the staff at the store acted with dismissive indifference - as if the
> dog had more of a right to be there than I did as a human being.
>
>
>
> Laurie A. Couture is a resident of Newmarket.
>
>
>
>
>
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