[Nyagdu] A CCB resolution on changes to have certification for service dogs

Wed Apr 2 21:50:16 UTC 2014

Dear All,
	A resolution that would call upon the Department of Justice to
implement certification requirements for service dogs will be introduced at
the California Council for the Blind Convention next week. Below you will
find my response to this resolution. Please circulate it as widely as
appropriate.

Fraternaly yours,

Marion Gwizdala, President
National Association of Guide Dog Users Inc.
National Federation of the Blind
(813) 626-2789 (Office)
888-NAGDU411 (Hotline
President at nagdu.org
www.nagdu.org

	The National Association of Guide dog Users and the National
Federation of the blind is opposed to any effort to certify, license, or
otherwise regulate the service animal industry. Such regulation would only
serve to centralize more power with the service animal training programs and
this coalition which would likely have the ability to self-certify their
animals while adding another layer of governmental interference into the
lives of those who owner-train. Though most guide dogs are program-trained,
not all are. I have known a number of program-trained guide dog teams that
were not sound teams, I have never known an owner-trained team that was not
a sound team. Furthermore, a very large number of service dogs that are not
guide dogs are owner-trained, rather than program-trained.

	I also think that the so-called problem that exists is not as grave
as those wishing to implement such regulations in the interest of their
self-serving agenda. Though we have seen a great deal of media coverage
about this problem, it is very telling to note that, in nearly every case,
the subjects of these Stories had one common denominator: They were
associated with Canine Companions for Independence (CCI). This should raise
red flags, since CCI circulated a petition calling for the regulation of the
sale of service animal gear on the internet that was not well supported and
has been withdrawn. I believe the problem was created as a ruse to garner
publicity. Now Guide Dog Users Incorporated is promulgating the
misconception  that there is a serious problem without supporting evidence.
I am certain the Department of Justice is far more sophisticated than to
take action based upon such arbitrary inference. Without the support of the
DOJ, states will be powerless to enact legislation, as it will not be
congruent with the ADA.

	I think the only provision of this resolution that is worthwhile is
the one dealing with developing and executing an education campaign to
inform the public about the definition of a service animal, about the access
rights of service animal handlers and about the negative consequences of and
the legal penalties for service animal fraud where such remedies are
available.

I am of the opinion that the best way to curb the "problem" is to better
educate places of public accommodation about the rights and responsibilities
of the disabled who use service animals and the rights of public places to
ask that an animal that poses a direct threat or is out of control be
removed. If such places were more secure in their knowledge of their rights
and were to take action to protect those rights, those with pets and service
animals  that are not behaved would be less likely to cause problems. 

	Another avenue is the creation of state laws to penalize those who
attempt to pass their pets off as service animals. Though I doubt there will
be many prosecutions under this statute, I believe the mere presence of such
a law with criminal remedies may be enough to deter would-be offenders.

Fraternally yours,
Marion Gwizdala, President
National Association of Guide Dog Users
National Federation of the Blind
Office: 813-626-2789 
Hotline: 888-NAGDU411 (888-624-3841) 
President at nagdu.org
www.nagdu.org

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of L Gwizdak
Sent: Wednesday, April 02, 2014 2:45 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: [nagdu] A CCB resolution on changes to have certification for
service dogs

Here is something that will impact guide dog users and service dog users
that I got on another list.

This resolution to be presented at the CCB convention in California was
drafted to address the problems of fake service dogs.  What do you all
think?  Could this be a remedy to the problem of people passing off their
pets as service dogs in places of public accomidation?  I wonder if this may
be the only was or is there another way.

Here it is pasted below:

Whereas: Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act defines the rights
of people with disabilities to access places of public accommodation, and

Whereas: These access rights are extended to service animal handlers as
defined in the 2011 ADA Accessibility Guidelines, and

Whereas: These service animal access rights are also guaranteed by numerous
state and local statutes, and

Whereas, Due to weaknesses in the relevant legislation and the general
ignorance that exists about the legal definition of service animals and of
their access rights, there exists an epidemic of persons fraudulently
bringing their pets into places of public accommodation under the pretext
that they are service animals, and

Whereas, The presence and bad behavior of fake service animals in places of
public accommodation places the access rights of legitimate service animal
handlers at risk, Therefore be it

Resolved by Guide Dog Users of California meeting at the Arden West Hilton
Hotel in Sacramento, California on April 12, 2014 that this organization
shall strive to put an end to service animal fraud by  actively
participating in a coalition of like-minded groups to advocate for the
following changes in law and to engage in  other related activities.

1. The coalition shall seek changes to ADA regulations and to other relevant
federal statutes and regulations  as follows.

1.1. The ADA regulations must be amended to permit providers of public
accommodations to require service animal handlers to show documentation to
verify the status of their animals as a condition for extending their
accommodation rights to their animals.

1.2. Federal law must permit states and local governments to enact service
animal licensure requirements to make it easier for providers of public
accommodations to distinguish service animals from pets, provided that such
licensure requirements do not impede the access rights of service animal
handlers and that the licensure requirements are no more costly than those
imposed on pet owners..

1.3. Federal law must  restrict  the interstate sale of service animal
identification products to legitimate service animal training programs and
to individuals who can provide proof of the status of their service animals.
Vendors who fail to follow these requirements must be subject to fines large
enough to discourage the traffic in fake service animal products.

2. The coalition must develop model state laws and regulations as described
below and then advocate throughout the nation for the enactment of these
statutes.

2.1. States must implement service animal license laws compliant with item
1.2 above.  These laws must provide for the licensing of animals issued
through recognized training programs and also provide for the licensing of
self-trained service animals.

2.2. States must enact prohibitions on the intrastate sale of fraudulent
service animal identification products that are comparable to the
prohibitions described in item 1.3.

3. The Coalition shall develop and execute an education campaign to inform
the public about the definition of a service animal, about the access rights
of service animal handlers and about the negative consequences of and the
legal penalties for service animal fraud.

Frank Welte
_______________________________________________
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Gduc-l at ccbnet.org
http://ccbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gduc-l_ccbnet.org

Lyn and Landon
"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: "Mardi Hadfield" <wolfsinger.lakota at gmail.com>
To: <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, March 31, 2014 7:48 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] It's a go

> Jewel, good luck in your class.Hope you get that special dog and have 
> many years of partnership.I hope you won't get rained on to 
> much,lol.Have a great time in class. Mardi and Shaman and Neechee.
>
> --
> http://wolfsinger-lakota.blogspot.com/
> http://wolfsinger2-thegoldendragon.blogspot.com
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