[Tn-talk] Laws regarding service animals

Sun Jul 22 01:33:27 UTC 2012

Sheri,

This guy seemed to give a typical politician like spin.  I love how he said,
very nonchalantly, yeah, we decided to go ahead and comply with the ADA.

Best Wishes,
James
-----Original Message-----
From: tn-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:tn-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Sheri Anderson
Sent: Wednesday, July 18, 2012 2:36 PM
To: Tennessee Talk (NFB of Tennessee Discussion)
Subject: [Tn-talk] Laws regarding service animals

Service Dogs must be allowed to go anywhere their handler goes, including
restaurants, schools, buses, taxis, airplanes, stores, movie theatres,
concerts, sporting events, doctor's offices, and any other public place. It
is REQUIRED under federal and state laws that they be allowed. They do not
have to wear any specific identifying gear, including vests. Many Service
Dog users choose to dress their dogs in a vest or other identifying apparel
in order to make access easier, as it avoids many questions and
confrontations. This is a personal choice, and is NOT REQUIRED UNDER THE
LAW. It is illegal to ask for any special identification from Service Dog
partners. Some carry ID cards, and may present them voluntarily, but this
also is not required, and should not be expected. You may NOT ask for
"proof" or certification of the dog's training as a condition of entry into
your business.

http://www.servicedogssavelives.org/laws.html

On 7/18/12, Eric Calhoun <eric at pmpmail.com> wrote:
>
>
> Original Message:
> From: "Criminal Justice Major" <orleans24 at comcast.net>
> To: <Undisclosed-Recipient:;>
> Subject: [circkleofriends] Goodwill Changes Policy On Service Dogs
> Date:
> Wed, 18 Jul 2012 11:12:45 -0600
>
> Sent: Wednesday, July 18, 2012 5:11 AM
> Subject: Goodwill Changes Policy On Service Dogs Goodwill Changes 
> Policy On Service Dogs By Megan Brantley Jun 15 2012
> http://www.wcyb.com/Goodwill-Changes-Policy-On-Service-Dogs/-/14590664
> /15240
>
> 106/-/9ycsahz/-/index.html
> JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. -
> She claimed to be a victim of discrimination because Goodwill turned 
> her away and wouldn't let her service dog in the store. Earlier this 
> week we told you about a local woman and a controversy over her service
dog.
> Original story: Service Dog Owner Claims Discrimination Rose Hollowka 
> suffers from epilepsy and said her dog, which warns her beforehand 
> that she is about to have a seizure, was not allowed in a Johnson City 
> Goodwill store. The story said that was because she didn't have 
> documentation to prove Honey was a service dog.
> That story touched a nerve for many folks; it has been viewed over 
> 15,000 times here on WCYB.com. It also brought a flood of calls and 
> emails to Goodwill about disability discrimination.
> "Nationally we heard a lot. A lot of Goodwill [stores] across the 
> country do hear a lot. They want to comment on it. They want to know. 
> They really don't know how the Goodwill organization is set up," said 
> Bob Miller, CEO and President of Goodwill of Tenn/Va.
> We searched the law and found Tennessee does in fact allow businesses 
> to choose whether or not to ask for documentation when someone has a 
> service animal, but the organization is now making some changes. 
> Miller explained
> why: ?Even though we were already operating under the Tennessee law, 
> we decided that it would be best for us to go ahead and comply with 
> the ADA law."
> Miller told us that Goodwill will announce on its website the new 
> policy with service animals. Now it will only ask what service an 
> animal provides, but not ask for documentation. "I am glad that they 
> changed the policy, said Rose Hollowka. ?I am disappointed that it 
> takes someone going to the media to get this changed and taken care of."
> That's a change that backs up Goodwill?s mission to serve those with 
> disabilities.
> Original story: Service Dog Owner Claims Discrimination By Megan 
> Brantley
> POSTED: Jun 12 2012 05:48:52 AM EDT UPDATED: 5:43 AM Jun 12 2012
> http://www.wcyb.com/Service-Dog-Owner-Claims-Discrimination/-/14590664
> /15240
>
> 206/-/h8wnql/-/index.html
> JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. -
> A Johnson City woman claims that she was discriminated against for 
> bringing her service dog inside a store.
> According to the Americans with Disability Act, state and local 
> governments, businesses, and non-profit organizations that serve the 
> public must allow service animals to accompany people with 
> disabilities in all areas of the facility where the public is normally
allowed to go.
> One woman she was not allowed to do so when she was shopping at the 
> Goodwill. Rose Holowka is dealing with a disability. "I was in a car 
> wreck back in 1992 which caused seizures that developed into epilepsy 
> and have partial complex seizures," she explained.
> Her service dog Honey makes things a little easier, but we learned 
> that the law makes it a little harder. ?About a month ago my husband 
> and I went to the Goodwill, and we were approached by their 
> supervisor. We were told that we had to leave or show certification or
documentation for the dog,"
> said Holowka.
> Unlike being blind, Holowka doesn't have a visible disability and she 
> says that makes it harder to convince people.
> Federal law does not require folks to show proof an animal is a 
> service dog.
> State representative Jon Lundberg says places are not allowed to ask.
> ?You can't ask to see that,? says Lundberg, ?This is not like 'let's 
> see you driver's license, let's see your dog credentials.' It doesn't 
> work that way, it wasn't designed to work that way."
> Although it wasn't designed that way, it's put places like Goodwill in 
> a very tough position. With the animals not being required by law to 
> wear a vest or dog tag, it makes it hard to tell which dog is a 
> service dog and which isn't.
> We spoke with a representative from Goodwill who said that with the 
> right paperwork they'd be happy to allow them in, but until then, 
> their policy says no pets allowed.
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>

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