The Nerve of Some People
 

Went to Toojay's the other evening for dinner. Standing in line behind us was a group of 15 people, one of the women had a small white dog on a leash in the restaurant with a vest on and a patch saying "Comfort Dog." I am not a dog fancier and don't like them in restaurants, with the exception of TRUE service dogs. "Comfort Dogs" are not recognized as service dogs and as such are not allowed in restaurants. I would guess that the staff at Toojay's wouldn't say anything for fear of getting sued, even though the suit would be tossed out as being without merit. Now that I know, I'll say something the next time!!

The Nerve of Some People
 

I love dogs but I do agree with you, dogs don't belong in restaurants. Obviously the offender thinks she is entitled to whatever society will tolerate. BTW, she had no right under the ADA to bring her animal into a restaurant.

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Dogs rule the world...We had friends in Florida that would NOT go anywhere without their dog...including restaurants...

I love. LOVE, dogs but that is really pushing the envelope. It does not help with those who are on the fence or lukewarm to dogs to help them understand why we dog and cat lovers care so deeply about our pets. It just seems pushy to me. So different from a dog for the blind, which I really haven't seen here.

Now I will be beat upon. I hate pushy and I hate selfish and I hate those who just do things because the rest of us are so nice.

I like dogs so much better than people some times. and I love kitties too.

Aim and throw.

I love dogs and I took mine many places but not to the squares when they are busy and not to restaurants. In general as a courtesy I never took them where there was going to be a lot of people-a courtesy to the people and my dog.

I wonder if this is an issue with whoever does health inspections. Full disclosure: I love dogs.

Did you ask to speak to the manager? If you found their answer didn't satisfy you and the dog situation was bothersome to you, I hope you left and went to another restaurant.

The issue is beyond a love of dogs and if they should or should not be permitted in a restaurant. You have to ask yourself when something occurs and is not within your power to change, do you continue on the course and accept or do you become agitated? I personally roll with the punches and wouldn't let this ruin my meal. If I couldn't enjoy my meal because of the dog and couldn't shake the frustration, I'd go elsewhere. Life is too short to allow a situation that is frustrating to harbor within you.

Sadly, she can get away with it. All she has to do is claim the dog is an emotional support dog. Of course, the restaurant can legally ask for proof, but who's going to risk that mess?

ES dogs are trained. They are especially helpful for people suffering from PTSD. Those dogs (and other animals) are recognized by the ADA when the individual has a note from a doctor, therapist or psychiatrist stating there is a need for the animal.

On the plus side, at least she wasn't carrying a pig.

Hmmmmm!
 

Doesn't Toojay have outside seating.....Maybe, just maybe, that would have been tolerated a little easier.

After reading all comments, I did some research, and here is the link to the ADA document for service animals. From what I read, we the other patrons and the facility owner/personnel would have no choice but to allow the person and their animal in. Full disclosure, I love cats.

This was interesting reading.

Revised ADA Requirements: Service Animals

I have never heard the term "Comfort Dog". Is that actually a "Service Animal"??

All I can envision is being seated and ready to dig into my meal and little Fido proceeds in a squat position....end of my meal...check please

Wait until it's not a dog, but a monkey, miniature pony, pig, etc that is brought into the restaurant - or even on a plane. The PC police at the ADA have recently approved additional animals.

That is what I got from the ADA document.

Unless there have been recent revisions, a comfort animal is not covered unless it is also an emotional support animal. Tricky and good luck differentiating. A comfort animal does not require a letter or note from a certified professional. It requires no training. An ES animal is trained to sense when it's master is becoming distressed or emotional and reacts accordingly. A CA simply makes the owner feel good and a declaration by the owner is sufficient to get a CA classification.

As to the animal not having to be a dog, blame the courts. It took a lawsuit to change from dog to animal. Not everything is the fault of PCness or even we liberals.

:bigbow::bigbow:
I knew you would have the best take on this.

So, do CAs quality to be on an airplane, in restaurants, etc.??

I agree you don't bring a dog in a restaurant. [seeing eye dogs, the exception]
I also would never buy a used mattress.

But when you think about it, if there is a dog in the house, and that's where you eat, isn't that the same?
And someone pointed out to me a little while ago that when you sleep in a hotel you are sleeping on a used mattress.

In Sonny's on Sunday I was utterly amazed to see a dog in a stroller and owner being shown to a table - I had to do a double take.

I was watching a story on television on one of the nightly news shows about "Comfort Animals". The story was about one person who wished to travel on a plane and bring her dog with her. She didn't want her dog in the cargo hold, so she went on-line and found an organization, that, for a fee, gave her a certificate and a "Comfort Dog" harness so she could have her dog on the plane next to her. She didn't need to provide any documentation, medical or otherwise to prove that she needed a comfort animal. Only requirement was that her check for payment cleared.

Good thing it was a "Comfort Dog" and not a "Comfort Rhinoceros"

Technically, no but I'd be hard pressed to argue with someone about it if I were the manager. It is just too murky of a law and confidentiality makes it difficult. ES animals are to be treated the same as seeing eye dogs.

Also, ES animals do not have to have any special visible identification although most handlers do have vests or collars advising this is a working animal. ES animals are used primarily for persons with autism, vets suffering PTSD, agoraphobics and other mental illnesses where an animal can be of extreme benefit. As was pointed out, a CA requires nothing more than some money to get an online vest and certificate. The sad thing is that those skirting the law are creating extreme hardship for those who truly need these wonderful service animals.

If you cant beat them join them. Buy a bull mastiff, train him to attacking mops, order your online vest and take him to Too Jays for lunch.

Full disclosure: I am joking, I love dogs, despise cats, think little of rude people who have no medical issues and want to take their pets to dinner...would laugh my ass off watching a bull mastiff (Turner and Hooch) destroying the restaurant chasing that rude person's mop dog (schitsonyou).

provided it was trained by qualified personnel to perform a specific service task, those who abuse the rules know they are doing it for selfish reasons. it's on them

From what I gather, an owner of a service or comfort animal doesn't need to prove any disability...there are many "services" on line that will register a dog just for a fee. I know someone who did that so their min pin could fly in the airplane cabin with them. Probably easier than getting a handicap sticker for a vehicle.

It appears the ADA law invites abuse.

And a CA classification is something you can purchase on line with the animal having no special training. If people were not so concerned about the PC police I doubt the courts or the Internet vendors would get away with this. Please don't mistake my comments as being opposed to the appropriate recognition of handicapped status. My wife has MS and uses a 4 wheel walker. And she's tougher than I am - believe me.

Excellent analysis.

A service dog is required to have documentation. It can be a simply worded letter from a certified therapist stating that the animal is needed for emotional support. Anything more detailed would be in violation of the HIPPA laws. Again, a comfort animal is NOT qualified to be an emotional support animal although an emotional support animal may also be a comfort animal. Those who get the online certificates know they are frauds. What they don't understand is the harm they are doing to those who truly need ES animals -- they are being accused of the abuse perpetrated by these frauds and condemned and vilified because of it.

I sincerely wish that public domains would have the gumption to stand on their hind legs and demand to see proof that the dog is more than just something to pet. The ADA laws need to be properly enforced, whether it be handicapped parking, wheelchair access or ES dogs. Scofflaws should face very heavy fines and social ostracization. (Get the feeling I feel very strongly about this?)

Side note to this thread.
Is there a ADA expert on this forum ?
I would like to talk to one.
Not about a dog.

My first encounter with a CA occurred on a group in trip France. It was a small white poodle, very well behaved. The dog could sense when her mistress's blood pressure went up and reacted. Holding the dog brought it down. (Of course, the mistress's cigarette chain smoking could not have been doing her blood pressure any good.) The French love dogs, especially poodles. The pup was no problem at all and very popular wherever we went, even in Versailles!

Oh Cisco!

Cisco is serious

Not an expert, but the ADA document (I posted the link earlier) appears to be very clear, you cannot do anything with respect to a service animal or apparently a comfort animal.......
The way this document is written, I would be real nervous even telling a person with a CA that I was leaving because of their animal.

The Nerve of Some People
 

And rightly so. I've talked with numerous "experts" about comfort animals, and the responses are all over the board. I think we need to have an opinion from the attorney for the ADA agency to settle this.

Service Animals and Emotional Support Animals

Who is the ADA National Network?

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The ADA National Network consists of 10 regional centers and an ADA Knowledge Translation Center. The regional centers are distributed throughout the United States to provide local assistance and foster implementation of the ADA. Funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR), the ADA National Network provides information, guidance and training on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), tailored to meet the needs of business, government and individuals at local, regional and national levels. The Network is not an enforcement or regulatory agency, but a helpful resource supporting the ADA's mission to "make it possible for everyone with a disability to live a life of freedom and equality."

Emotional support animals, comfort animals, and therapy dogs are not service animals under Title II and Title III of the ADA. Other species of animals, whether wild or domestic, trained or untrained, are not considered service animals either. The work or tasks performed by a service animal must be directly related to the individual’s disability. It does not matter if a person has a note from a doctor that states that the person has a disability and needs to have the animal for emotional support. A doctor’s letter does not turn an animal into a service animal.

This will not end the discussion regarding CA or ES identified animals.

You are entirely correct. We even saw a dog on a cruise ship recently for the same reason: emotional support. Lucky dog

There was a thread about renting houses to people with service animals. Even if you advertise no pets, they can rent and aren't responsible for additional cleaning fees. It was an emotional discussion. There was a poodle in church a few weeks ago. Sat on the woman's lap. She came in late and left at communion. It wore a vest but I couldn't see if there was wording on it. She sat in front of us and I hate to admit how distracting it was even though well behaved.

Go to the websites of the major airlines and you will see their policies on allowing Emotional Support Animals to travel with the passenger.

It is not like just showing up at the airport with your dog. The airline must know about it in advance.

Personally, I would rather sit next to a well-trained dog or cat on the plane than next to a crying child. And do not tell me I am alone on the preference!