Warning!! Will Cause Intense Anger; Restaurant refuses Iraq War Vet. and service dog

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Steely Dan

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http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/oddnews...aq-war-veteran-and-service-dog-195925395.html

When James Glaser stepped into Big I’s Restaurant in Oxford, Massachusetts with his service dog Jack, he was quickly told to leave in no uncertain terms. Glaser, a 41-year-old Air Force veteran, was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder in November of 2011 when he retired and says that he does not leave his house without Jack by his side. The veteran explained what happened to WHDH 7 News, “I hear, ‘Get that fake service dog out of my restaurant!.’” Big I’s owner, Russell Ireland didn’t consider the canine a true service dog and said, “This is a post-traumatic stress dog. It's to give him emotional support. How much emotional support do you need when you are eating breakfast?”...

BBM

I had to wait a little while before posting this because I would have lost my ability to post here if I had responded to that bolded part. :stormingmad:

Here's more; http://www.myfoxboston.com/story/23...r-kicks-out-war-vet-service-dog#ixzz2dBQwo893

http://www1.whdh.com/news/articles/...eran-and-service-dog-kicked-out-of-restaurant
 
That owner knows not of what he speaks. I'm sorry that happened to Mr. Glaser and Jack. PTSD is a well recognized condition suffered by vets (and others) and those with support dogs are usually accepted, even in government offices.
 
I think there are a couple of problems that lead to things like this. One is that there are a lot of people who do have "fake" service animals; you can get certificates, vests, etc. online without any documentation of a disability. The other is that the animal has to actually perform a task for the person rather than just emotional support. According to the government site:

Service animals are defined as dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities. Examples of such work or tasks include guiding people who are blind, alerting people who are deaf, pulling a wheelchair, alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure, reminding a person with mental illness to take prescribed medications, calming a person with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) during an anxiety attack, or performing other duties. Service animals are working animals, not pets. The work or task a dog has been trained to provide must be directly related to the person’s disability. Dogs whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support do not qualify as service animals under the ADA.

If the dog is trained to remind him to take medication when his anxiety starts acting up, it would be covered. That site also says that:

When it is not obvious what service an animal provides, only limited inquiries are allowed. Staff may ask two questions: (1) is the dog a service animal required because of a disability, and (2) what work or task has the dog been trained to perform. Staff cannot ask about the person’s disability, require medical documentation, require a special identification card or training documentation for the dog, or ask that the dog demonstrate its ability to perform the work or task.

So, it would be illegal to refuse service to him if he said it helped him with medication or some other physical problem. Either way, I really think it sucks. I have a son with severe anxiety problems, including catatonic panic attacks, and his disability doesn't qualify him.

http://www.ada.gov/service_animals_2010.htm

ETA: I just read what I wrote and realized that since they revised the rules, calming a person with anxiety/PTSD is covered. Oops!
 
People in the area have started a facebook page and are boycotting Big I's in Oxford. I live pretty close to this area and people are very upset over this.
Big I's has released an apology here is the link http://www.telegram.com/article/20130828/NEWS/308289873/1116#.Uh4SQNOVWUE.facebook
I say too little way to late. This is very sad.

Thank you for posting this article. The veteran was very understanding and glad that the owner learned.
I like reading follow ups that show the person discriminated against has compassion and isn't surfing the media wave for monetary gain or to put someone out of business. Cynical me says the owner finally apologized because of business loss, but optimistic me says he might have actually learned a little. Jmo
 
When I first saw your post, I thought it was about this:

Bronx KFC turns away Iraq War vet over service dog: lawsuit

‘My wounds are invisible,’ says Charles Hernandez, a former Ground Zero worker who has post-traumatic stress disorder. Hernandez is suing for $1 million.

“Papi, there are no dogs allowed,” an employee allegedly told the vet on Feb. 26 when he tried to order a two-piece chicken meal and fries.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york...e-dog-lawsuit-article-1.1432999#ixzz2dJ9s1VW5

:notgood: I really hate hearing about these stories. :maddening:
 
People in the area have started a facebook page and are boycotting Big I's in Oxford. I live pretty close to this area and people are very upset over this.
Big I's has released an apology here is the link http://www.telegram.com/article/20130828/NEWS/308289873/1116#.Uh4SQNOVWUE.facebook
I say too little way to late. This is very sad.

Thank you for posting this article. The veteran was very understanding and glad that the owner learned.
I like reading follow ups that show the person discriminated against has compassion and isn't surfing the media wave for monetary gain or to put someone out of business. Cynical me says the owner finally apologized because of business loss, but optimistic me says he might have actually learned a little. Jmo

This is from the article above;

...On Tuesday, Mr. Ireland apologized on the radio during WAAF's "Hillman Morning Show" after some of the hosts questioned him about tossing Mr. Glaser and Jack, his service dog, out of the restaurant on Saturday. He apologized again in a telephone interview. He has said he just didn't believe that the small dog could possibly be a service animal.

Mr. Ireland said Tuesday he's not contrite because of threats on social media or harassing calls to his business but because he has new understanding of Mr. Glaser's situation since a few veterans have come in or called and kindly explained to him some things he didn't know....


I'll translate that for people, JMO; HOLY CRAP! I'm an internet villian, nay maybe an international villian. It's taking quite a bite out of my profits. You're radio station is rated #1 and I want as many people to hear this. "Ummmm... I'm kinda sorry, but don't take that too seriously."
 
I blame all the fakers who want to break the rules and bring their dog into every establishment

so here's a hypothetical: suppose another patron is allergic to dogs; suppose that patron is already seated, eating their meal - then what???

or suppose another customer simply does not relish the idea of dog hair landing on their food?

anyway - this is why I love English pubs (in England) - dogs, cats - whatever - they're all welcome and no one needs a service-dog vest or any paperwork
 
Not a vet of anything but domestic violence and agg assault, but as someone diagnosed a long time ago with PTSD, and still often suffering symptoms today, this infuriates me. What burns the most is the remark about "what emotional support do you need eating breakfast?".

Well you know what, you jerk? Sometimes you need a lot. Sometimes you need a lot just to get out of bed. Never mind have the courage (yes, courage) to leave your house and enter a restaurant, or any other public establishment. It's damn hard. And some days, I tell ya, if not for my kids and my cats (who refuse to be leashed like this sweet little service dog... Or I'd definitely take them out with me! Snooty kitties lol :snooty: ), I wouldn't leave the house, never mind have the mental strength to go to a restaurant.

I can totally forgive the skepticism of the dog being a service dog. Wrong, but forgivable... But the complete lack of simple human compassion in that one line about emotional support to eat breakfast... It's devastating. Really. To be so dismissive of another human being's pain and problems. :(
 
I need emotional support just to wake up in the morning. What a jerk.
I J I T
 
so here's a hypothetical: suppose another patron is allergic to dogs; suppose that patron is already seated, eating their meal - then what???

This reminds me of something I heard about recently. A young autistic girl required a service dog to accompany her to school, but her teacher had a severe allergy to dogs. Then it became a conundrum: both people have legitimate medical issues that are at odds, what do you do? The school district wanted to bus her to another school with a non-allergic teacher. The parent didn't want her daughter's routine disturbed, or her daughter bussed a greater length.

I never did hear how, or if, it got resolved.
 
"Fake" service dog? Is there some rampant problem with people trying to bring pets in places and claiming they're a service pet when questioned? I don't see the point of why people would lie about it. The thrill of bringing their pet into a place it's not supposed to be? I've seen lots of stories about people being told they can't bring their service pet inside a business, or even that their service pet is not allowed to live in the town(a man here in Iowa had to fight to keep his dog because it was part pitbull and the town had a ban on pitbulls and pitbull mixes), but I think this is the first I've read where the person was accused of having a fake service dog...
 
I think Gardenlady has covered everything I needed to say about this.

I too have PTSD and struggle to overcome social anxiety most days. How lovely, to have a dog to help you leave the house, cope with the panic attacks, when they happen.. wish I had a service dog.

Poor man. Good on him for speaking up. Sad thing is, you can't force people to grow the capacity for real compassion....
 
Not a vet of anything but domestic violence and agg assault, but as someone diagnosed a long time ago with PTSD, and still often suffering symptoms today, this infuriates me. What burns the most is the remark about "what emotional support do you need eating breakfast?".

Well you know what, you jerk? Sometimes you need a lot. Sometimes you need a lot just to get out of bed. Never mind have the courage (yes, courage) to leave your house and enter a restaurant, or any other public establishment. It's damn hard. And some days, I tell ya, if not for my kids and my cats (who refuse to be leashed like this sweet little service dog... Or I'd definitely take them out with me! Snooty kitties lol :snooty: ), I wouldn't leave the house, never mind have the mental strength to go to a restaurant.

I can totally forgive the skepticism of the dog being a service dog. Wrong, but forgivable... But the complete lack of simple human compassion in that one line about emotional support to eat breakfast... It's devastating. Really. To be so dismissive of another human being's pain and problems. :(

I've eaten breakfast in a restaurant, like actual breakfast at breakfast time, zero times in the past 5 years. Probably more. Eating breakfast at home is what most people do all of their lives except for vacation or drive through on the way to work. jmo
 
unfortunately this happens all the time. I have a family member who is blind and we were refused a hotel room once they found out we came with a service animal. This was a pricey top name hotel in Houston. They ushered us to the door with big burly doormen. I was frightened. Angry but frightened. This story about the vet makes me very angry and I feel the owner apologized because of his profits. JMO. Fake service animal? He knew better.
 
I eat breakfast out all the time cause I like to eat out and don't like to cook. JMO
 
If you have PTSD going out to eat is a big step and would be recommended treatment.JMO
 
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