Walking in a familiar neighborhood, a service-dog handler with service dog and spouse enters a favorite brew pub for pizza. Handler directs service dog to “place” under the table, as usual. The service dog complies. Waitperson arrives at table and insists they show “documentation” that the dog is a service dog. Waitperson orders handler, spouse, and service dog to leave the premises.
It happened last week.
In my city.
I read about it on the Facebook page of a local service-dog support group. The handler was upset and so were the commenters, who became more incensed when the handler said they’d been told that the city’s health department insisted that no dogs were allowed on the premises ever, period.
This business was a favorite for many of us and we were all extremely disappointed.
Disappointed—and angry.
We all knew that what had happened to this handler and service dog was totally wrong. The reasons given for ousting the dog were ridiculous!
No documentation is required as “proof” that a dog is a legitimate service dog.
No local health department is going to demand that businesses in its jurisdiction ban all dogs, including service dogs, without exception—in contradiction of federal law!
ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) is a [1990] civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, and all public and private places that are open to the general public.
https://adata.org/learn-about-ada
No Paperwork Required
Does the ADA require that service animals be certified as service animals?
No. Covered entities may not require documentation, such as proof the animal has been certified, trained, or licensed as a service animal, as a condition of entry.
No ID Required
Do service animals have to wear a vest or patch or special harness identifying them as service animals?
No. The ADA does not require service animals to wear a vest, ID tag, or specific harness.
What Two Questions Can Be Asked?
What questions can a covered entity’s employees ask to determine if a dog is a service animal?
In situations where it is not obvious that the dog is a service animal, staff may ask two specific questions:
1) Is the dog a service animal required because of a disability?
2) What work or task has the dog been trained to perform?
Staff are not allowed to request documentation for the dog, require that the dog demonstrate its task, or inquire about the nature of the person’s disability.
https://www.ada.gov/regs2010/service_animal_qa.html
Photo by Laura Renz
Simple enough, you say. Why, then, did this business get it so wrong?
Ignorance, no doubt. Certainly ignorance of health department rules!
Willful ignorance, I’d say, if I could imagine that even the most naive staffer thought that violating a federal civil rights law could occur without repercussions. What happened was most likely the unfortunate result of a thoughtless employee in a business that clearly needs more information and better training for its management and staff.
Commonly, in this country, when legitimate service dogs and their handlers are kicked out of businesses for no reason other than the word of a staffer, local health department rules are blamed because, “Everybody knows you can’t have animals around food preparation and serving!”
When these issues of access are eventually resolved—usually after much ugly back-and-forth on social media—it often turns out the business has had some bad experiences with “fake” service dogs disrupting their commerce. Someone has decided to avoid the question entirely by banning all dogs.
That is not a choice that’s allowed under the ADA.
The good news is that these choices are allowed:
Can service animals be on chairs or fed at the table?
Are restaurants, bars, and other places that serve food or drink required to allow service animals to be seated on chairs or allow the animal to be fed at the table?
No. Seating, food, and drink are provided for customer use only. The ADA gives a person with a disability the right to be accompanied by his or her service animal, but covered entities are not required to allow an animal to sit or be fed at the table.
Are stores required to allow service animals to be placed in a shopping cart?
Generally, the dog must stay on the floor, or the person must carry the dog. For example, if a person with diabetes has a glucose alert dog, he may carry the dog in a chest pack so it can be close to his face to allow the dog to smell his breath to alert him of a change in glucose levels.
What does under control mean? Do service animals have to be on a leash? Do they have to be quiet and not bark?
The ADA requires that service animals be under the control of the handler at all times. . . .
The service animal must be harnessed, leashed, or tethered while in public places unless these devices interfere with the service animal’s work or the person’s disability prevents use of these devices. In that case, the person must use voice, signal, or other effective means to maintain control of the animal. . . .
Under control also means that a service animal should not be allowed to bark repeatedly in a lecture hall, theater, library, or other quiet place. However, if a dog barks just once, or barks because someone has provoked it, this would not mean that the dog is out of control.
What Can Staff Do When a Service Animal Is Being Disruptive?
If a service animal is out of control and the handler does not take effective action to control it, staff may request that the animal be removed from the premises.
https://www.ada.gov/regs2010/service_animal_qa.html
Yes, that’s right. Disruptive dogs out of their handlers’ control can be asked to leave, even if they are service dogs!
Ask the two questions you’re allowed to ask and decide based on the answers given and the behavior of the dog in front of you. Whether it’s a legitimate service dog or not, you can request that any disruptive dog be removed immediately from the premises!
Don’t let “fakers” misrepresenting their untrained pets as service dogs make life harder for your business or for the people who work there—or for legitimate service-dog teams!
Need more information?
ADA Website:
Frequently Asked Questions about Service Animals and the ADA:
https://www.ada.gov/regs2010/service_animal_qa.html
What happened with the handler and service dog kicked out by the local brew pub? There were more posts on social media, including one from the handler, calling out the business for its inappropriate—in fact, illegal—refusal to allow a service dog on its premises. There were phone calls to the business (one reportedly from an attorney) reminding it of the ADA rules.
It’s been only a few days since the handler and dog were told to leave the brew pub, but it currently looks as if there will be an apology from the business for what happened.
I’d very much like to think this incident will highlight for all businesses the importance of educating staff and management about how using the ADA rules knowledgeably can improve their ability to deal with both legitimate service dogs and their handlers . . . as well as with people misrepresenting their pets as service animals.
