Dear Lawyer,
Due to multiple sclerosis, I have had increasing difficulty keeping my balance when walking. My doctor recently suggested that I consider getting a service dog. I would like to continue to be as active as I can, and I enjoy socializing with friends at restaurants, art shows, and even traveling on short sightseeing trips. I’m worried that having a service dog might actually restrict my activities. What happens if someone doesn’t admit pets, is afraid of dogs, has allergies, or is a neat freak? What would I do? — Confused
Dear Confused,
I am happy that you are considering adopting a canine helper to assist you in maintaining your independence and mobility. You need not have any reservations about your access to all the public places you enjoy. Your dog can go with you, and no one can prevent that!
The Americans with Disabilities Act, the federal law requiring public access for disabled people, includes accommodation of service animals. The ADA supersedes any state or local laws that are more restrictive, though in our state the law similarly protects service dog access. According to the ADA, a service dog can be brought into any public institution or privately owned business, including buses, taxicabs, airplanes, and trains.
Originally these laws applied to any service animal, but ADA restricted the provision in March 2011 to dogs and miniature horses (“where reasonable”).
Any animal individually trained to provide assistance to an individual with a disability can be designated a service animal. The ADA forbids a business owner from compelling you to prove your animal is a service dog, and you need not have any license or certification. You cannot be charged additional fees, and “No Pets” signs do not apply, since your service animal is not a “pet” when on the job.
Of course, owners are responsible for keeping their service animal quiet, calm, and under control. The only restriction on access is where the presence of an animal creates a “fundamental alteration to the nature of the business.” Perhaps you would not be able to bring your dog to an allergists’ office, a clean room in a nuclear laboratory, or to a group therapy meeting for dog phobics.
If a business owner or employee violates the ADA by refusing to accommodate a person with a service animal, a misdemeanor charge can be brought under state or federal law. This happened in January in downtown Albuquerque when a restaurant refused service to a woman with a service dog. Not only were the customer and her dog kicked out, she was verbally harassed. A complaint was filed with the U.S. Attorney’s office, and a settlement was reached.
Many people are simply not aware of the ADA provisions, and may need to be educated. Though you certainly shouldn’t feel compelled to do so, you may want to carry a copy of the law with you, with the penalty section highlighted. Also, it doesn’t matter if someone working in an art gallery has canine allergies, if a restaurant owner is phobic about dog hair, or if a bus driver is deathly afraid of dogs. Your rights as a disabled person, and your attendant right to have your service dog accompany you, override any public sensitivity to dogs.
Service animals are wonderful creatures that are happy to have an important job to do. However, don’t forget that at home they need love, affection, play time, exercise, and rest. I’d be willing to bet you two will be inseparable in no time! Good luck!
Ed Goodman worked for more than two decades as a trial lawyer in Massachusetts. A painter, screenwriter, and novelist, he lives in Corrales with partner Ennio Garcia-Miera and their six dogs, four turkeys, four chickens, and a parrot.