This just made us sick, but one of the girls who has a GSD service dog in the same obedience class as Boris (our Doberman) had the following incident at a sport and travel show recently.
I've just copied and pasted it since you need to create an account to view the whole thing otherwise.
Have any of you run into this sort of thing in your area, or is it just a few ignorant people around here?
Quote:
Woman with service dog treated badly at Home, Sport Show
She was wrongly told to leave; apologies sent to her
By JIM ROMSAAS
City Editor
Published: Saturday, April 19, 2008 10:28 PM CDT
VIRGINIA — Maureen Rooney felt “terrible’’ and “humiliated’’ after having to leave the Iron Range Home, Sport and Travel Show late last month.
Rooney, who has Devic’s Disease, entered the show with her husband and service dog Blade, but was soon told the dog could not be in the building due to a city ordinance. The disease attacked her spinal cord and optic nerve, leaving her with bad mobility and blind in the left eye.
“He didn’t believe it was a real service dog,’’ Rooney said of Bob Cap, show coordinator. He also said only a service dog for the blind was allowed in the show, according to Rooney.
*
Show officials did not want to comment on the specifics of the incident but said they would be sending out a short letter of apology to Rooney.
The letter from Cap states: “I apologize for any misunderstanding we had when you were attending the Iron Range Home, Sport and Travel Show. I hope you enjoyed the show.’’
The city has already issued its own letter of apology, according to Mayor Steve Peterson.
Rooney of Virginia said her main goal in bringing the issue forward is to let people know there is more than one kind of service dog. Others are for the hearing impaired, for a persons in a wheelchair and therapy dogs.
Such animals are individually trained to perform tasks for people with disabilities. Blade was trained by Judy Grumdahl and is very calm around others.
In addition, a person with a disability cannot be asked to remove his or her service animal from the premises unless:
• The animal is out of control and the animal’s owner does not take effective action to control it.
• The animal poses a direct threat to the health or safety of others.
Rooney said neither was the case with 2-year-old Blade, her 120-pound German shepherd. She has had Blade since the dog was a puppy and began working with him one year ago to help her get around.
“It ended up being a miracle for me,’’ she said.
At the home show, Blade was wearing his red service dog vest, she said, and was doing his job to help stabilize her. The vest clearly states the dog is working and should not be petted.
In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, businesses may only ask two questions:
• Is this a service dog?
• What task does the service dog perform?
Businesses may not:
• Require special identification for the dog.
• Ask about the person’s disability.
• Charge additional fees because of the dog.
• Refuse admittance, isolate, segregate, or treat this person less favorably than other patrons.
Rooney depends on the federal law being followed because it is nearly impossible for her to get out of the house without Blade.
After first being diagnosed with neuromyolitisoptica (Devic’s Disease) in June 2005, she is lucky enough to be walking again, even though her body is “kind of numb’’ from the waist down. She said there is not much feeling in her feet and she gets “tippy’’ sometimes.
Blade gives her the stability she needs and will even help her up if she is on the floor. He also has no harness, but Rooney holds onto a special part of his collar to help with mobility and because he is so big.
Rooney has put the experience behind her and just wants to make others more aware of service dogs. She also wants to let others know they will be seeing Blade around with her.
Rooney also complimented other area businesses that have supported her.
“I’ve had no other trouble,’’ she said. “People have been just wonderful.’’
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I just can't believe the ignorance that's still out there in this day and age. These are the nicest people in the world and it just sickens me that someone could be ignorant enough to actually make them leave an event they were trying to enjoy.
If the incident alone wasn't bad enough, the comments left by a few who are apparently friends of the guy who asked them to leave are absolutely appalling..... I didn't include the comments here, but if you create an account (which is very short and simple) you can see the mess. I give our trainer (juel) credit for doing a great job of getting the facts out there and trying to set things straight.
Here's the direct link.
Mesabi Daily News
And the link to the the website of the lady and her service dog.
My Service Dog
Service dog discrimination 
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