The ADA, DOJ And Other Alphabet Soup Names Still Protect The Rights Of Service Dog Teams To Have Fre
Everyone knows that there are folks that are out to 'stir the pot' so to speak on the internet. If you post that the sky is blue, they'll come back with the negative and fight till their dying day that it's brown....They get a kick out of making people's blood pressure boil and eyes bulge out.
The thing is, if folks would step back for a minute, they would notice that the people who are making everyone crazy with their negative posts aren't people who normally post on LinkedIn. That's a clue that they're trying to get your goat. Plus if they are arguing about something that 98% of the people reading the article feel is opposite to their position, that's a good clue too.
In the press these days, access and service dogs are constantly in the news. It makes those of us with licensed service dogs from accredited schools want to beat their heads against the walls. Unless you've lived under a rock for the past fifteen to twenty-five years, you are aware that the states and the Federal government protect the rights of service dog teams in regard to access and other various legal type things. And federal law trumps state law.
Basically, a service dog team is allowed access to all venues unless it is a sterile area (like surgery for example). Again, unless you've not read a magazine, paper, i-phone, or computer in the past twenty years, this particular topic has been visited and revisited. And nothing has changed. A service team is allowed access. Period.
Even if you don't like dogs. Or have allergies. Or just like to make disabled people miserable.
I realize many folks grew up in families where the dog and cat were outside type animals. This is a cultural thing. It's still very prevalent among farm families. When they see a service team together in a restaurant, shopping center or hospital, they freak out. Education is the key here. And staying calm, when the other person may not be. Most public spaces are very aware of the Federal and State laws protecting service dog teams, and will back up the team, and explain to anyone who doesn't understand the law. Because a venue can be charged many thousands of dollars from the state and federal government if it discriminates against a service dog team. A person who is persistent in discriminating against a team, despite being given the DOJ and state laws and information is opening themselves to a world of hurt from the Federal government suing, the State suing, and a private lawsuit from the team.
People freak out about allergies. There was a huge study years ago about animal dander. They cultured new buildings that had never been occupied. They were full of all sorts of animal dander. Then they cultured all sorts of venues. Dander everywhere. If your allergies are that unstable, you need to get to an allergist post-haste and start allergy shots and antihistamines. The likelihood of you reacting to a service dog located at the far end of a restaurant (and they will make sure you are seated far away!) is slim and none.
I hate to bring this up, but here I go. As a retired nurse I still feel compelled to point this out. If you have a medical condition, like allergies, YOU need to take some PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY, and get it under control. There are medications and doctors all over that can help you with this. If you have little money, the over the counter medications work well, and have for over twenty years. If certain places irritate your allergies....don't go till you have them taken care of. There are also service dogs that assist children with violent peanut allergies! They make sure wherever the child is, there hasn't been peanut residue.
At some point, those with relatively minor issues, like general allergies, not the severe ones just discussed, need to yield to the need of someone who needs access to the outside world through their service dog. Their dog is how they are able to continue being an active and vital member of society....surely people can 'get' that! Blind people, people with seizure disorders, diabetes and blood sugar issues, trouble walking, movement disability....they deserve and have every right in the world to be able to bring their service dog with them. It's not because they want to bring a dog with them everywhere they go~ it's because the dog facilitates their ability to be in the world again.
If you are one of those folks that doesn't understand, sit a moment. Think. Close your eyes. Imagine that when you open them, you still see darkness. And you are told it's not gonna go away. How are you going to get to work? Church? School? How will you make it to the bathroom in your own home? What if there is an emergency and you have to leave your house? Can you get out by yourself?
Sit in the chair again. Open your eyes. All you see are bits and pieces of the room about you. The world jitters by like a film catching over and over again. You smell a horrible smell. It slams into your nostrils and pushes into your brain....Your head explodes with pressure and pain....bright lights flare all around you. You try to speak, but you are incapable of speaking. You feel your heart beating out of your chest with fear...you try to move an arm or a leg for help, but instead feel them jerking out of control, as you fall senseless to the ground.
But you aren't alone. Your service dog is there. He rolls you on your side, so if you vomit, you won't choke yourself. He licks your face, makes sure you are breathing. If no one is there, he goes for help. He can bring your cell to you so you can activate 911. Or if you have a push-button emergency call button, he can be trained to push that.
I could put you back on that chair and give you so many more scenarios. I could tell you that between both my service dogs, my life personally has been saved at least five times. There is no price too high or emotion too deep that I could explain to you what it means being a service dog team. If you cannot understand these words, these feelings, then you are lost.
Then all I can say is you have to follow the laws of the land in re: to service dogs. I've left them for you at the end of this article. I'm always left sad at this point, because I've spoken to, given speeches to and have had close friends too that just 'don't get it'. Or maybe more to the point, don't want to get it for whatever reason. I would hope that you would never be in a situation where you need a service dog. But if someday you are....you will become a believer too. I just pray for you that it never comes to that.
Date:
July 7, 2004
Source:
NIH/National Institute Of Environmental Health Sciences
Summary:
Scientists at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), one of the National Institutes of Health, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development have found that detectable levels of dog and cat allergens are universally present in U.S. homes.
Date:
June 9, 2004
Source:
NIH/National Institute Of Environmental Health Sciences
Summary:
Scientists at the National Institute of Environmental Health Science (NIEHS), one of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), have found that detectable levels of mouse allergen exist in the majority of U.S. homes.
https://www.ada.gov/service_animals_2010.htm
http://www.fairhousing.com/index.cfm?method=page.display&pagename=fha_index
https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/cfr/
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/07/040707090427.htm
http://www.theasthmacenter.org/index.php/newsletter/pet_allergy/
https://www.ada.gov/pubs/adastatute08.htm
http://www.anythingpawsable.com/federal-service-dog-law-in-plain-english/#.V1OMXK32Zdg
