[nagdu] Deborah Kendrick commentary: Service dogs come with responsibilities

[Tina Thomas]

 Good for Deborah. With rights come responsability and as of late, there has been abuse oh those access rights. 
Tina 

Sent from my iPhone

On Sep 9, 2013, at 6:36 AM, "Ginger Kutsch" <GingerKutsch at yahoo.com> wrote:

> Deborah Kendrick commentary: Service dogs come with responsibilities
> 
> Sunday September 8, 2013 7:37 AM 
> 
> http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/editorials/2013/09/08/service-dogs-c
> ome-with-responsibilities.html
> 
> 
> 
> A lot of people in Oxford, Mass., are pretty stirred up right now about a
> restaurant owner, Russell Ireland, who greeted customer James Glaser and his
> dog at the door and told him the dog wasn't welcome. 
> 
> 
> 
> Glaser is a retired Air Force veteran and Jack, his Jack Russell terrier, is
> his service dog. 
> 
> 
> 
> From Facebook and Twitter to threatening phone calls, sympathy seems to be
> pooling pretty much in Glaser's camp.  People are outraged that a restaurant
> owner wouldn't know that service dogs are protected by the law and wouldn't
> show respect for a veteran. They have reportedly threatened his
> establishment and his life.
> 
> 
> 
> Seriously? 
> 
> 
> 
> The reactions seem excessive considering the crime. And are we even sure
> that a "crime" was committed?
> 
> 
> 
> I worry that the implication of this incident will be misconstrued.
> 
> 
> 
> I don't know James Glaser or his dog, but when Ireland says that the dog
> smelled bad and ate from a person's plate and that the dog didn't lie
> unobtrusively out of pedestrian traffic as other service dogs have done in
> his diner, well, it raises some questions. 
> 
> 
> 
> Dogs are trained to do remarkable things and have a proven track record as
> support partners for people with a variety of disabilities.  The most
> visible ones are the dogs trained to guide blind people.  Others alert deaf
> handlers to a baby's cry, a doorbell or an intruder.  People with epilepsy
> and diabetes express gratitude for their dogs' abilities to detect changes
> foreshadowing  seizures or insulin shock. 
> 
> 
> 
> James Glaser had his dog trained by a San Antonio organization called Train
> a Dog, Save a Warrior, where dogs are specifically trained to provide a
> calming influence for veterans experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder.
> 
> 
> 
> That organization's website supports the same standard of conduct espoused
> by other reputable training organizations.  To be acceptable in public
> accommodations as a service dog, an animal should be clean, well-groomed,
> calm and unobtrusive.  It should not vocalize unnecessarily and should
> respond quickly to such basic obedience commands as "sit" and "down."  It
> should remain with its handler and not solicit attention from others.  Oh
> yeah, and it should go potty on command in appropriately designated spaces
> and should eat only its own food when given by its human handler. 
> 
> 
> 
> Now, these are my words, of course, but they are a fair enough
> representation of what the Texas nonprofit serving veterans with PTSD and
> any other self-respecting service-dog training organization will tell you. 
> 
> 
> 
> The Americans with Disabilities Act and other laws protecting the civil
> rights of people with disabilities do not waive rules and replace them with
> placating entitlements. 
> 
> 
> 
> The law says a person with a disability can be accompanied by a trained
> service dog in any public place that the person might otherwise go.  But the
> rules - both legal and cultural - still apply. 
> 
> 
> 
> With rights come responsibilities, and each of us, whether we have a
> disability or not, needs to play by the rules.
> 
> 
> 
> I have benefited from the partnership and confidence afforded by beautifully
> trained guide dogs all my adult life.  Sometimes they (and I) make mistakes,
> and I hope we own them.  I have seen hundreds of other well-behaved service
> dogs in the hands of their human handlers and never yet found myself to be
> immune to the awe such partnerships can inspire. 
> 
> 
> 
> But just plain having a disability and just plain having a dog to go with it
> is not a free pass.
> 
> 
> 
> I have been in facilities where a "service" dog was left tied to a chair to
> bark and whine while its handler socialized at the bar. 
> 
> 
> 
> I have seen originally well-trained animals leap and lick and sniff
> inappropriately while their human handlers smiled indulgently. 
> 
> 
> 
> Maybe Glaser's dog is perfectly behaved and Ireland made an assumption and
> needs his fingers slapped accordingly.
> 
> 
> 
> And maybe Jack needs additional training. 
> 
> 
> 
> What matters most here is that well-meaning supporters understand the
> balance between rights and responsibilities in the formula for equality.
> 
> 
> 
> I have a fondness for that country expression, "I've got no dog in that
> fight."  Usually, its meaning is metaphorical, but in this instance, we
> literally do. Any of us who wants genuine equality will look at both sides
> of a dog's tale before barking up the wrong tree.
> 
> 
> 
> Deborah Kendrick is a Cincinnati writer and advocate for people with
> disabilities. 
> 
> 
> 
> dkkendrick at earthlink.net 
> 
> 
> 
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