In our state it wouldn't matter if you had another disability. The signs state seeing eye dogs only.

Kim we are all more than aware of what dogs CAN be trained to do, I guess we are all a bit confused as to why you make comment after comment about how all of your dogs are service dogs and yet you also post about how you cant get them to drop things, even though you have stated that getting your keys are one of the "services" you are unable to perform "normally" during your day.

You of all people always tell people to "stick to the thread topic" and yet in posts about flying with your yorkies and inquiring about airline procedure for a NORMAL yorkie you feel the need to post about your "service animals" which has nothing to do with the topic. I think its just time to move on and quit talking about the same thing over and over again??? Its obvious you are the only one on here who think they have disabilities bad enough to label their yorkies service animals, so I don't know what you think it is accomplishing to keep talking about it. The only possible outcome is someone without a legit disability using this law to their advantage wrongly which you have even stated you don't wish to do, so why keep talking about it over and over and over again?

WOW....I guess I'd like to say something simple.

A REAL Handicapped Person should be allowed to have a professionally trained Service Dog - I totally agreed with Minnimin ...

Having a 'Service Dog' just so you can take them everywhere just seems wrong to me - It DOES take away from the people with real handicaps who cannot function without help.

It's just my opinion but the words 'Service' dog get thrown around LOTS on this site and it sure gives the wrong idea that just anyone can train their dog just so they can have access to places where they normally wouldn't.

I've read a GREAT story about a service dog - Debbie at Cossetts Closet has a yorkie trained to dial 911. That is a real need - she has seizures.

Someone who has a headache or doesn't want to bend over isn't in need but that's just my opinion - In my own life right now - my REAL life and all the people I know - Not one of them would need a service dog - no one I know is that handicapped - but I CAN think of people in my life who would want to SAY their dog is trained for this purpose and just so they can have free reign anywhere they want to go.

Minniemn:

I totally respect your .02 and we can respectfully disagree on this point.

You are a perfect candidate for a service animal and I hope you do not mind me using you as an example. What if you were somewhere without your rottie and you fell? If he could have prevented the fall, then it would have been worth any inconvenience you may have caused others even if they do suffer from allergies to dog dander.

The other good fact is that a disabled person with a service dog can choose at will when and where to take his/her dog. They can decide not to take the animal if they are going somewhere where they themselves would not feel comfortable having the dog, but the fact is THE OPTION WOULD BE THERE. This option is not only legal, it is encouraged.

If you travel to France, Germany or England people there are used to dogs everywhere so if they can do it there, I just wish it were more accepted here.

I certainly wouldn't want people who could benefit from a service animal not to do it because they were worried about the negative reaction. I think it is a beneficial law for dogs and people and no one should feel guilty about using it to their benefit if their situation warrants it and they choose to.

This is a misconception and why I keep posting on the subject. Not everyone knows the law.

The service dog law is a Federal law and, as such, it applies and takes precedence over any local or state law. Even if a state law only allows seeing eye dogs, the federal law supercedes that and allows all service animals.

I usually avoid threads like these because I dont want to be bashed for having an opinion but I do find this thread very interesting and want to comment. Here it goes....

My Dad, Aunt & Uncle are all deaf, my dad can hear some with help of a cochlear implant he recently received but my Aunt & Uncle are completely deaf. I asked my Aunt her thoughts on this subject in an email today and have pasted her response below. I am sure there are deaf people out there who may agree with her and some who may not. We are all entitled to our opinion I am just glad to be able to share hers with you.

This is my aunts response to my email. I asking her what she thought about training her dogs to be service dog's and taking them with her to help her at Dr. apts, going to the store and out to dinner. She has a Golden Retriever & a Dachshund BTW.

Peanut and Cookie are very good to alert me when someone is at the door knocking, but I do not wish to bring them with me in stores, restaurants or my Dr. appointments. I am deaf and I am very proud that I can go to out in public just like you and not need any special assistance, us deafies not want to be looked at as incompetent we want same rights as you. I think service dog sounds like good idea for blind but us deafies have other senses that can help us in public, not need our dogs.

Kim:

Why not start your own webpage addressing this issue. The only problem is -- to reproduce all those articles you quote, you'll need to get permission to have them on your site.

You could however, provide a link to the original site for people to read it for themselves.

It seems that there are pages and pages and pages here at YT that you keep discussing the same thing -- even posting the same articles more than once. In the future, you could just direct inquiries to your website and set up an online chat to assist people that are needing help with this issue.

I completely agree with you, if someone needs this service, then they should use it.

I am just saying there is a line that should be drawn on the use of service dogs used in public... that is all. (all of our dogs do some sort of service to us, mostly with lots of love, hugs and kisses)

At first I thought my dog was "tripping" me since she was always there when I fell... I eventually realized she was "protecting" me... I never thought to have her be a service dog, she would of been a great one though.

Well, have a great weekend... I won't have computer access this weekend. (ok stop clapping now ;) )

I have a feeling this got WAY off the subject .....it's interesting.... but I have a feeling not alot of people really have the need here for the laws, as most of our yorkies are our loved family members -I'm happy just to be able to come home to mine - take them to Petsmart when I want and not worry about the rest.

I do agree that Service dogs provide valuable functions when needed.

....but..... I'm the Service Dog in my house - I'm trained to pick up...and and alert to any problems and the girls wouldn't have it any other way.

Oh and Missysmommie - your deaf aunt sounds like a truly wonderful person - how proud she is and that was so good to read

My son is hearing impaired and several of my dogs are trained to alert to sounds that he cannot hear. I feel this is necessary for his safety. If he is somewhere and doesn't hear the sund a big truck makes when it is backing up, he could be injured.

It is a safety issue for me.

:lol tears :lol tears :lol tears

You are too cute! It's been fun discussing one of my passions with you and I appreciate your point of view. Thanks for participating in such a kind and respectful way.

Have a great weekend.

Missy's mom- I also have an almost deaf neice- she is young still (6th grade) and learned to read lips at a very young age. The school has an interpreter for her (sign language) she won't even look at her, because she want's to looked at as "normal" and since she can read lips she is doing ok.

She also has hearing aids, but I am not so sure they work well in real public places like school since there are so many noises.

Thanks for sharing your aunts reaction... I think my neice will have the same reply.

:) thank you also for sharing your knowledge and respecting other points of view.....

My Passion
 

I became passionate about this issue after reading this article:
One man's fight for disabled rights

By: WILLIAM FINN BENNETT - Staff Writer

James Woodrow has lived with two kinds of pain for more than a decade. One is physical ---- the torture of two debilitating nervous system disorders, sometimes so bad "it feels (like) razor blades or battery acid under my skin."

The other is the anguish and indignation the disabled man feels every time he walks into a store or restaurant with his service dog, Rocky, and hears the words: "You can't come in here with that dog," the 54-year-old Temecula resident said.

While most businesses don't think twice about allowing a blind person to bring a guide dog into a store or restaurant, that is often not the case with service dogs that assist those with other disabilities, especially when the disability is not visible, experts say.

The animals help the disabled in a number of ways. Some are able to detect the onset of a seizure, or provide balance to those with trouble moving around. Others help those with psychological disorders stay calm. The Michigan-based International Association of Assistance Dog Partners estimates that 20,000 disabled people in the United States use service dogs, including guide dogs for the blind and signal dogs for the hearing impaired.

Rocky accompanies Woodrow wherever he goes. If Woodrow falls, he leans on Rocky to get back on his feet. When he struggles to walk, Rocky pulls him along.

"With my dog and my faith in God, I was able to walk again," Woodrow said on a recent morning. "He's everything to me."

In the early 1990s, Woodrow was diagnosed with reflex sympathetic dystrophy syndrome and fibromyalgia. Both of those conditions cause severe chronic pain.

When his suffering becomes unbearable, Woodrow locks himself inside the recreational vehicle he calls home, draws the blinds and prays for the torture to end ---- often for days at a time, he said.

Once his pain returns to a manageable level, Woodrow ventures outside with Rocky for a bit of shopping or a cup of coffee at a local restaurant. Often, he seeks nothing more than the solace of being around other people, he said.

But the simple, everyday pleasures most take for granted are anything but a given for disabled people like Woodrow.

Over the last few years, Woodrow says he has been barred from entering dozens of stores, restaurants and other businesses in Riverside and San Diego counties. And while federal law stipulates that such licenses are not necessary, Woodrow took out a state service-dog license for Rocky in 2003, just to try and avoid conflict with business owners, he said. Rocky wears the tag around his neck.

Yet, despite that precaution, Woodrow continues to be barred from some local businesses, he said. And on several occasions, he has made a citizen's arrest of managers who refused to allow him access with Rocky.

Discrimination common

Woodrow is not alone in his plight, says a spokeswoman for the statewide disabled-rights advocacy group Protection & Advocacy, Inc.

"We see it as a widespread problem," said staff attorney Diana Honig. "Based on the number of calls we get, there is a high level of frustration at the lack of access."

She said she attributes much of the discrimination to ignorance of the law and ignorance of the fact that many people suffer from disabilities that are not visible.

Discrimination of all types against those with hidden disabilities is especially common, according to Marilyn Golden, policy analyst with the Berkeley-based Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund.

"(It's) a huge issue," she said. "They encounter this all the time."

Businesses that evade the federal law or choose to ignore it do so at their own peril, she said.

"(They) are usually the ones who end up being sued," Golden said.

The U.S. Census bureau pegs the number of disabled in the country at 49 million people. Of those, about 12.6 million are categorized as severely disabled.

Whenever Woodrow enters a business with Rocky for the first time, he said, he explains that he is disabled and presents the manager with printed information on the Americans with Disabilities Act requiring that businesses allow disabled people access with their service animals. Even then, however, some employees still refuse to serve the man and ask him to leave, Woodrow said.

And that's when things begin to escalate, he said, as he insists they obey the federal law. Tempers flare and accusations begin to fly. Woodrow calls the police, saying he is making a citizen's arrest, and managers call the police, too, asking officers to arrest him for disturbing the peace. On more than one occasion, both have occurred.

(continued on next post)

Who's to blame?

Some of the business managers Woodrow has clashed with over the last several months say the man is out of control.

One of the most recent incidents occurred Feb. 6, when Woodrow went into Siggy's Restaurant in Murrieta.

Owner Jim Spiropoulos said that when he saw Woodrow enter the restaurant with Rocky, it was at the peak of lunch hour business. Woodrow was standing in line with his dog at the self-service counter when Spiropoulos spotted him, he said.

"I politely told him, 'no dogs allowed,' and he wouldn't take no from me and started calling me names and using profanity," Spiropoulos said.

"He went off on me right away; he might have said something (about Rocky being a service animal), but I didn't hear it," the restaurant owner said, adding that Woodrow then stormed out of the restaurant.

Coincidentally, two animal control officers were sitting on the patio near the entrance at the time, Spiropoulos said. When they saw a visibly upset Woodrow exiting the restaurant with his dog, they approached him and asked what the problem was. At that point, one of the officers went back inside and informed Spiropoulos that Woodrow was disabled and that Rocky was his service animal, requiring that the man be served.

Spiropoulos said that he then went outside and asked Woodrow to come back in the restaurant, so he could serve him. But Woodrow cursed him, he said, and told him he was going to sue him, before leaving.

Later in the day, Woodrow returned to the restaurant with a Murrieta police sergeant and made a citizen's arrest of Spiropoulos.

The restaurant owner said he had no idea Woodrow was disabled and that Rocky was his service dog, in part, he said, because Rocky had no special harness or vest like the ones that guide dogs for the blind typically wear. Under federal law, no special tags, collars or other identifiers are necessary for those accompanied by service animals. Nor are the disabled required to present proof of either their disability or documentation of the animal's status as a service dog.

Woodrow tells a different story about the altercation.

He said that when he first entered the restaurant, he immediately approached Spiropoulos, identified himself as having a diagnosed disability and told him that Rocky was a service dog, protected under the Americans with Disability Act.

"I bent down and showed him the certification tag to show him Rocky was certified by the state as a service animal," Woodrow said.

He said that Spiropoulos began yelling at him to get out of the restaurant. "It didn't matter what I told him," Woodrow said. "He was practically jumping over the counter."

During a similar confrontation at the Temecula Target store on Dec. 23, Woodrow made a citizen's arrest of a store employee who allegedly denied him entrance to the store and assaulted him. Store managers also called the police, and officers issued Woodrow a citation for disturbing the peace and threatening store employees.

Educating business owners

Willa Bagwell, the manager of Animal Friends of the Valleys, the local animal shelter, said last week that she recently drew up a brochure explaining Americans with Disabilities Act requirements after Woodrow appealed to her to do something to help him and others who use service animals. In recent weeks, she said, she has distributed many of the brochures to local businesses and city officials.

Spiropoulos said that he was unaware of the law, and that if he had known ---- and Woodrow had not lost his temper so quickly ---- things might have gone differently.

"Now I am fully aware," he said. "There's no way everyone can be aware of every single law in the United States; I bet you 95 percent of business owners (don't know about) the law."

Recently, the cities of Murrieta and Temecula worked with Animal Friends to develop brochures on businesses' obligations under federal law, relating to the disabled and service animals, officials said last week. Both cities now include the brochures in their business-license renewal packets, they said.

"It is something that we weren't real familiar with, in terms of service dogs," said Murrieta Human Resources Manager Chris Paxton.

And in the case of Temecula, a city official said last week that Woodrow was part of the reason the city decided to create its brochure.

"Woodrow raised this as an issue and requested the city provide the information to the community," said Grant Yates, assistant to the city manager.

The Americans with Disabilities Act allows businesses to ask if an animal is a service animal and what task the animal has been trained to perform. But neither owners nor employees can ask for proof of the person's disability nor ask questions about the disability.

Businesses may only ask the person to remove the animal if the animal owner is not able to control it or if the animal poses a direct threat to others. The federal law takes precedence over any local heath codes that may restrict animal access to restaurants and other types of business.

Just like guide dogs for the blind and signal dogs for the hearing impaired, service animals are allowed access with their disabled owner to all businesses open to the public, including restaurants, hotels, grocery stores, hospitals and medical centers.

Those who violate Americans with Disabilities Act requirements may be required to pay monetary damages and penalties, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Protection & Advocacy Inc. attorney Honig said that in her opinion, discrimination against those with service animals is just as egregious as "a sign on the door saying, 'No blacks allowed.'"

Crusading for disabled rights

The pastor of Temecula's Hope Lutheran Church, Skip McComas, said last week that he has ministered spiritual guidance to Woodrow for the past two years and has gotten to know him fairly well.

He attributes much of Woodrow's anger to the years of discrimination the man has suffered, the clergyman said.

"After so many years of piling up, I think it has led to maybe a shorter fuse than he had in the beginning," McComas said.

Woodrow's appearance may be adding to the problem, he added.

"When you first look at Jim, he looks more homeless than disabled, and I think that may be the cause of their reaction," McComas said.

But he certainly doesn't expect Woodrow to fold up his tent and disappear into the night, he said.

"He's on a crusade to educate ... the community about the disabled and their service animals," McComas said.

Woodrow said that someone has to stand up for the disabled.

"One reason I am involved is to end this ignorance about the disabled," he said. "In America, we are better than that. As long as I have a breath, I am going to fight these people."

Contact staff writer William Finn Bennett at (909) 676-4315, Ext. 2624, or wbennett@californian.com.

Americans with Disabilities Act and service animals

Definition of disability: "a person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities ... "

Definition of a service animal: "any guide dog, signal dog or other animal individually trained to provide assistance to an individual with a disability. Service animals perform some of the functions and tasks that the individual with a disability cannot perform ... "

ADA rules applying to businesses and other organizations open to the public:



businesses and organizations must allow people with disabilities to bring their animals into all areas where customers are normally allowed to go.


law applies to all businesses open to the public, including restaurants, hotels, grocery and department stores, hospitals and medical offices.


businesses may not require special ID cards for the animal or ask about the person's disability


businesses can only ask for the animal's removal, if it is out of control or if the animal poses a direct threat to the health or safety of others.


businesses that sell or prepare food must allow service animals in public areas even if state or local health codes prohibit animals on the premises


violators of the ADA can be required to pay money damages and penalties.