Veteran considers legal action after service dog denied from store

It didn't start out well," said David Long, describing Monday, when he and his service dog, Harry, went to a Circle K on Two Notch Road.

Long was looking for a cup of coffee but found a fight.

"The clerk noticed Harry, didn't see his vest, and said, 'You're going to have to take your dog outside,'" said Long. "I said, 'He is a certified service dog, it's legal for him to be in here, so that's the way it's gonna' be,' and she didn't want to hear it. She said 'Obviously you're not blind, so he needs to wait outside.'"

http://www.ktre.com/story/21760128/vet-considers-legal-action-after-service-dog-denied-from-store

This man is a vet, he was on the search and recovery team at the Pentagon after 9/11....he was almost killed in Iraq...he suffers from true PTSD... but no...he's not blind as the clerk ever so ignorantly stated when she told him to take his service dog out of the store! :banghead:

It still astounds me that people cannot identify a service dog, it's not like the man woke up and decided the dog was going to wear a smart vest that day.

The clerk...ugh. I hope Circle K has to pay him a lot of money.

Exactly what qualifies as a service animal? I saw a woman browsing in a drug store once with a little dog in the child seat of shopping cart who was claiming it was a service animal - what kind of service is that? The problem might be people like her who are abusing the practice. Another time, I saw a woman in the same store with a k9 harnessed up like a seeing eye dog but the animal was so filthy that it stunk up the entire store. I think that poor animal needed some service itself.

Not saying this man is stretching the truth (as he probably isn't), but there are MANY folks out there who claim their dog is a service dog...and is not. And they litigate shop owners and make a living out of having things settle out of court because it's more expensive to fight the lawsuit - even+ if you're in the right - than to settle it.

I know this first hand...one guy (who shall remain nameless...ahem...) that I am aware of files 350 suits per year (stated as much to someone else I know), and settles 85% of them...and gets +/- $4,000 per suit. You do the math...that's a great living.

I wish there was a national database of dogs who are legitimate service dogs, and their owners. I wish there was a uniform way to identify the dogs from a distance - e.g. a neon yellow vest or something - that was issued from a national database that wasn't a purchase on-line with no proof kind of thing. A national test to certify the dog, with the vest as part of the completion of the exams or something like that really needs to get into place.

If there was, a lot of these suits would go by the wayside, legitimate service dogs would get the respect they deserve, and their owners/handlers would be far easier to accommodate.

(Sorry; this is a sore nerve thing with me...I'm off the soapbox now...)

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Herding Cats

HC,when this was posted,I immediately thought of you, Truth is, I didn't even read the article.