[nagdu] Just Sent To My Local Paper

[Lisa Belville]

Very nice, Buddy.  Accurate without being too whiney or preachy.  Hopefully 
it will be published and the comments from the general public will show a 
modicum of understanding.

Lisa
Lisa Belville
missktlab1217 at frontier.com
A bus station is where the bus stops. A train station is where the train
stops.  On my desk I have a work station...


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Buddy Brannan via nagdu" <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Cc: "Buddy Brannan" <buddy at brannan.name>
Sent: Thursday, September 24, 2015 12:56 AM
Subject: [nagdu] Just Sent To My Local Paper


> Just sent the following to our local paper. Hopefully where I sent it will 
> get it to the right place.
>
> Today, I experienced something very unusual, more unusual because it 
> happened twice in rapid succession. In fact, this is the first time I've 
> had this experience during the 13 years I've lived in Erie. Frankly, it 
> really surprised me; for the most part, Erieites are wonderful folks. Rare 
> as this occurrence is, it seems like a good time to call it to the 
> public's attention, since September is National Guide Dog Month.
>
> Twice today, I was told that I was not allowed to enter a restaurant with 
> my Seeing Eye® dog. On one occasion, the hostess or waitress actually went 
> out of her way to inform me of this potential refusal. The second time, 
> the "misunderstanding" was cleared up and I was able to have lunch, but it 
> should never have happened in the first place.
>
> In my travels downtown, I went in search of lunch. I found myself first at 
> Tandoori Hut. I ducked in, not knowing what the restaurant was, decided I 
> didn't want to have lunch there, and left after less than a minute. While 
> I was tying my shoe outside the door, someone came out and told me that I 
> couldn't bring my dog into the restaurant. I explained that yes, he was a 
> Seeing Eye dog, and I was allowed to bring him into restaurants. She 
> insisted I could not. I asked if they would like to discuss with the 
> health department. Eventually, she left, and I didn't press the issue, 
> since I didn't want to have lunch there anyway.
>
> I then went next door to 28 North Gastropub, which had, near as I could 
> tell, just two customers at one table. I asked them where I was, and after 
> they answered, a gentlemen, who turned out to be the waiter, asked if he 
> could help me. I told him I was looking for somewhere to have lunch. He, 
> also, told me I could not have my dog inside the restaurant. We had the 
> same discussion, and he went off to discuss with, one supposes, his 
> manager. He came back, told me to sit anywhere, there was no problem, he 
> just didn't know, he "just works here". I told him that he clearly needed 
> further training. While taking my order, he let me know that he didn't 
> know, and "didn't intend to deny me access". One wonders what he calls 
> what had just happened.
>
> In 13 years living in Erie, I've never had this happen. In one day, on one 
> stretch of road, in fact in less than a hundred feet,  it happened twice. 
> Guide dogs have been out and about with their blind owners for 86 years. 
> Other service dogs assisting with other disabilities have been around a 
> long time, too. If restaurant owners are not made aware of their 
> responsibilities, and their rights, under the law regarding access to 
> public places for people with disabilities and their service dogs, they 
> should be. If they are made aware and don't pass this knowledge on to 
> their staff, they are negligent in their duties. In brief, a person with a 
> disability is allowed to be accompanied by a trained service dog in all 
> public places. Service dogs are well trained and should not be disruptive. 
> If it is unclear that a dog is a service animal (in my case, it was very 
> clear), there are two questions that can be asked:
>
> 1) Is this a service dog needed to assist with a disability? If answered 
> in the affirmative,
>
> 2) What tasks has your dog been trained to perform?
>
> You may not ask the nature of the disability. You may not ask for ID or 
> certification, because there aren't any that are worth the paper they're 
> printed on anyway. You may, however, have a disruptive, aggressive, or out 
> of control dog removed from the premises whether or not it's a service 
> dog. Parenthetically, I ask, please do ask, even insist, that such dogs be 
> removed. Nobody likes growling, lunging, out of control dogs. For more 
> information on this, please see this page:
> http://www.ada.gov/regs2010/service_animal_qa.html
>
> Finally, if you're one of those people who brings your untrained pet into 
> public places, claiming it's a service dog, please don't. For one thing, 
> you are by extension claiming you have a disability. For another, you're 
> making my life more difficult, as well as the lives of all people with 
> disabilities who legitimately need their service dogs. Your 
> thoughtlessness, indeed your selfishness, could literally cause someone 
> real injury. We don't have these dogs because they're cute (even though 
> they are), and most of us would swap the need for a service dog for your 
> not needing one if we could.
>
>
> --
> Buddy Brannan, KB5ELV - Erie, PA
> Phone: 814-860-3194
> Mobile: 814-431-0962
> Email: buddy at brannan.name
>
>
>
>
>
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