Service Dog Etiquette

[Saydrah]

After a recent thread on service dogs gots lots of responses, I called a few people I know through my job with Disaboom and wrote an article on helping customers with service dogs- etiquette and also what you need to know about the ADA and service dogs in retail stores/restaurants/etc.

http://disaboom.com/Blogs/saydrah/ar...estaurant.aspx

Disclaimer: I do work for Disaboom. I do not get paid based in any way on whether or not you click this link.

Permissions: Copyright me 2008; however, so long as you link back to the original post, PLEASE feel free to repost anywhere and everywhere. I hear too many stories of bad experiences with SDs!

[wolfie]

Just curious, but what happens when a service dog triggers a case of conflicting rights. For example:

- An older highrise condominium (i.e. HVAC system circulates air between units) has a "no dogs allowed" clause in the declaration.
- Someone with a service dog (specifically excluded from "no dogs" rules by human rights legislation) moves in.
- Someone else, who's allergic to dogs, chooses the building because of the "no dogs allowed" clause, and moves in.
- If management tries to enforce the "no dogs allowed" clause and expel the service dog, they're in trouble because it's exempt from such clauses. If they fail to order the service dog removed from the premises, they're also in trouble, because their failure to enforce the rules is causing health problems for a resident.

A similar situation would arise in a small store (i.e. only 1 employee on duty at any time) where the person on duty is allergic to dogs - would they be within their rights under the ADA to require that the service dog (and therefore its owner) leave the premises as a reasonable accomodation for their disability?

[draggar]

- An older highrise condominium (i.e. HVAC system circulates air between units) has a "no dogs allowed" clause in the declaration.
- Someone with a service dog (specifically excluded from "no dogs" rules by human rights legislation) moves in.
- Someone else, who's allergic to dogs, chooses the building because of the "no dogs allowed" clause, and moves in.
- If management tries to enforce the "no dogs allowed" clause and expel the service dog, they're in trouble because it's exempt from such clauses. If they fail to order the service dog removed from the premises, they're also in trouble, because their failure to enforce the rules is causing health problems for a resident.

A similar situation would arise in a small store (i.e. only 1 employee on duty at any time) where the person on duty is allergic to dogs - would they be within their rights under the ADA to require that the service dog (and therefore its owner) leave the premises as a reasonable accomodation for their disability?

Service dogs are exempt from laws, period.

If the person who is allergic to dogs moves in afterwards, management should let them know (this usually comes up in conversations).

As long as the owner of the service dog keeps it clean, it should not affect the other person's allergies.

Saydrah, good article, just one thing:

Ask if the handler needs any special arrangements to accommodate his or her partner.

Diners with service dogs may request corner seating to minimize distractions to the dog. Similarly, moviegoers with dogs may need seating further away from speakers, so as to protect the dog’s sensitive hearing. A bowl of water may be welcomed for the dog. Offer your assistance and meet the team’s needs as best you are able.

A lot of people with service dogs do not like being bothered about their dog. Asking them, while seemingly innocent, may annoy some people with service dogs (my wife excluded). Truly responsible service dog owners will be up front about requests (reasonable requests), seating in a corner, a bowl of water or ice, etc...

One hopes that any dog identified as a service animal will be well behaved, but unfortunately, this is not always the case. In the rare event that a service animal is disrupting the operations of the business, such as barking during a movie or threatening to bite customers, you are within your legal rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act to insist that the dog be removed from your place of business.

Thank you for including this, many people don't realize it and people often claim their pets are "service dogs" ruining it for the rest of us. If the dog is destructive in any way (allergies are not being destructive), barking, acting aggressive, threatening the staff or patrons etc.. the establishment is in its legal rights to ask for the dog to be removed (and the owners of the dog, too).

One other thing:

COMPANION DOGS ARE NOT SERVICE ANIMALS.

[Saydrah]

Thanks for the feedback, Draggar I asked for responses from a lot of folks with SDs, and it was pretty 50-50 on who would like to be asked if they need extra accomodation or not... in the end I decided to go ahead and put that in there, for the simple reason that some people using SDs have psychiatric disabilities with an anxiety component that might make it difficult for them to feel comfortable asserting their right to ask for special seating or other accomodations. Perhaps I should edit it to note that many SD handlers prefer you treat the dog as a mobility device; that is, don't ask about it unless you need to.

Wolfie-

In that situation, if the person with allergies has such severe allergies that they are life-limiting and require them to stay completely away from dogs, they are responsible for asking for that accomodation upon leasing the apartment. Severe sensitivities to environmental allergens can be disabling, but that doesn't mean someone else with a disability must relinquish their living aid for the other person's comfort. In that case, reasonable accomodation might include giving the person with allergies a unit on a different floor for the same price, even if the normal price is higher, or some similar accomodation; however, there's no hierarchy of needs. One person's need for an environment free of allergens, while important, does not come before another person's need for mobility, seizure alerts, and other services dogs can provide.

[PuckishOne]

COMPANION DOGS ARE NOT SERVICE ANIMALS.

I worked briefly at a social-services agency that worked with the homeless mentally ill. One of the residents had a dog that she claimed was a service dog. The dog was aggressive towards people and unresponsive to commands. I suggested to the director of the agency that a call to the Delta Society might not be a bad idea, to make sure that the dog was, in fact, a service animal. For whatever reason, that call was never made. Soon after, the dog attacked another resident at the facility. I don't know precisely what legal fallout there was from that, but I know that there was some, and it could have been avoided with one phone call and a little learnin'.

There is a lot of ignorance about regarding service animals, and sometimes it has nasty consequences. Cheers to both of you for working to educate people on this issue.