[nagdu] Restaurant acknowledges 'mistake' in ejecting guide dog

[Wayne Merritt]

While it is easy to come down on those that don't know the laws and to
say that they should, let's realize that the ADA and other similar
access legislation are not very old laws. In fact, in terms of laws,
the ADA hasn't really been around for very long. I'm not making
excuses, just saying.

Wayne

On 7/9/11, Steven Johnson <blinddog3 at charter.net> wrote:
> And that, my friends is the difference between the NFB and ACB.  Stand up
> for your members and push the letter of the law.  It is 21 years after the
> passage of the ADA, and if you don't get it by now, we will make you get it.
> No excuses.  And, get a better grip on your service dog terminology.
> On a related note, a friend of mine faced a similar situation with a
> recreational lodge here in WI.  The owners said that after they learned the
> law, it wasn't a problem.  However, their problem now is the lawsuit they
> are facing as my friend connected with myself as the President of WAGDU, and
> this is the best thing they could have done.  Sorry, I have no sympathy for
> you business owners anymore, and it is time to understand the law.
> Furthermore, if you read your freaking state restaurant codes, there is
> generally if not always, an exemption for service dogs.  Like Ricky Ricardo
> says...you got some splainin to do, and this is why we need to criminalize
> such acts.
> Steve
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
> Of Ginger Kutsch
> Sent: Friday, July 08, 2011 8:15 PM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> Subject: [nagdu] Restaurant acknowledges 'mistake' in ejecting guide dog
>
> Restaurant acknowledges 'mistake' in ejecting guide dog
>
> Updated: Jul 07, 2011 10:39 PM EDT
>
> By David MacAnally -
>
> http://www.wthr.com/story/15044969/restaurant-acknowledges-mistake-in-ejecti
> ng-guide-dog
>
> Indiana - Rick Ellinger is blind and uses a guide dog - a 5-year-old black
> Lab named Jarvis.
>
>
>
> On the 4th of July, he took his family to a south side restaurant for
> dinner.  Jarvis led the way.
>
>
>
> But he says the restaurant manager wouldn't seat the family unless Rick took
> Jarvis to the car.  Ellinger says he tried to explain the state and federal
> law which guarantees assistance dog access to any place the public is
> invited.
>
>
>
> When the manager told him he might seat the family in the corner, "away from
> the food and everything", Ellinger said no.  "I want to sit near the food so
> my wife can get my food for me," said Ellinger.
>
>
>
> The Ellingers left the restaurant.  He says he considered filing a formal
> complaint against the business, then decided he just wants to spread the
> news about the law.
>
>
>
> Don and Gerry Koors with the American Council of the Blind are not surprised
> what happened to Ellinger.  According to Don Koors, "as long as the dog is
> under control they're allowed to be in any public place."
>
>
>
> Gerry Koors says the assistance animals are not a nuisance.  "The dogs
> generally are well under control.  They're well trained."
>
>
>
> Eyewitness News went back to the restaurant with the Ellingers this week.
> Manager Joe Dong says he didn't know what the law required.  Dong said he
> assumed state health laws barred all animals from areas where food is
> served.
>
>
>
> He said he now understands the law and welcomed the Ellingers - and Jarvis -
> to sit anywhere they wished.
>
>
>
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