[Nyagdu] [Nyad] Video of Counterfeit Service Animal

[heather.l.bird at gmail.com]

Good morning. What can we do regarding this specific situation? Can and
should we contact the business to support them in this? We should all
probably be logging into YouTube and replying to the video with support for
the business and to clarify the issue. What else? Videos like this do a lot
of damage because the uninformed or worse, partially informed public views
this crap and gets even more misinformed than they were before. Please
advise. At minimum I'm going to respond and get many of my friends and
family to respond. 

Thanks much,
Heather with Ilsa,

-----Original Message-----
From: Nyagdu <nyagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of NAGDU President via
Nyagdu
Sent: Wednesday, December 5, 2018 7:12 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>; 'Colorado Association of Guide Dog Users List'
<coagdu at nfbnet.org>; flagdu at nfbnet.org; New Jersey Association of Guide Dog
Users <njagdu at nfbnet.org>; nyagdu at nfbnet.org; oagdu at nfbnet.org;
txagdu at nfbtx.org; Michigan Guide Dog Users Committee List
<micgdu at nfbnet.org>; vagdu at nfbnet.org; blindtlk at nfbnet.org
Cc: NAGDU President <blind411 at verizon.net>; marion.gwizdala at verizon.net
Subject: [Nyagdu] Video of Counterfeit Service Animal

          The National Association of Guide Dog Users believes the best way
to STEM the use of counterfeit service animals is through education. This
education includes helping public entities and private entities providing
public accommodations learn how to evaluate whether a dog is a legitimate
service dog or a counterfeit. Because documentation can be purchased for a
exhorbitant fee with no proof required that the dog has been trained, the
guidance from the United States Department of Justice prohibits entities
from requiring such documentation, relying instead upon what is known as
"credible assurance. Such credible assurance is obtained by asking the
following questions:

 

1.    Is this a service dog required because of a disability?

What work or  tasks has the dog been trained to perform?

 

The implementing regulations concerning service animals under Titles II &
III of the Americans with Disabilities Act are attached to this message.

 

Most guide and other service dog users do not mind answering the questions
that are allowed by law and can do so credibly. Most guide and other service
dog users will generally not produce documentation for their service dogs. 

 

          We want to provide you with a video of a person apparently
attempting to pass her pet off as a service dog in order to gain access to
Tulsa Drillers Oneok Field in Tulsa Oklahoma by presenting documentation
from United States Service Dog Registry which she refers to as USSDR. She
cannot credibly answer the legally allowed questions and continually asserts
the dog provides emotional support, something the implementing regulations
specifically state does not qualify as a service dog. The staff person knows
and understands the difference, asking her several times what tasks or work
the dog has been trained to perform. All the woman in the video can state is
that the dog provides emotional support, has undergone 120 hours of training
(something the staff member knows is not sufficient to train a service dog),
and presents the phony USSDR identification card. This woman attempts to
intimidate the staff member but he holds fast to his denial and refunds the
woman's admission fee. All we can say is "Kudos!" to the unidentified
staffer for turning away this counterfeit service animal. We wish more
businesses would assert their rights under the ADA by denying access to the
counterfeiters who attempt to appropriate our civil rights which put our
legitimate service dogs at risk due to lack of training and cause those of
us with legitimate service dogs to be questioned more frequently. Click on
this link to view the video inaccurately entitled, "Tulsa Drillers Oneok
Field Denies Access to Woman AND Her Trained Service Dog", since no evidence
is offered in the video that the dog is truly trained.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4X-DnPfLo4&feature=youtu.be

 

                For more information about guide and other service animals
or the National Association of Guide Dog Users, please visit our website

 

http://nagdu.org

 

With warm regards,

Marion Gwizdala, President

National Association of Guide Dog Users Inc. (NAGDU)

National Federation of the Blind

(813) 626-2789

President at NAGDU.ORG

Visit our website <http://nagdu.org/> 

Follow us on Twitter <http://twitter.com/nagdu> 

The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the
characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise
expectations because low expectations create barriers between blind  people
and our dreams. You can live the life you want! Blindness is not what holds
you back.