[mtdjed]

Originally Posted by villagetinker

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

Well , I read the ADA bulletin and I see "Dogs whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support do not qualify as service animals under the ADA." So I do not have the same interpretation that a comfort dog must be admitted. A person playing this game is the same as somebody who cuts in line. Just plain rude.

[Bonny]

Too Jays or any other restaurant cannot ask to see documentation.
That could be a lawsuit.
Here is one of the paragraphs......

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.

[dbussone]

Originally Posted by Bonny

Too Jays or any other restaurant cannot ask to see documentation.
That could be a lawsuit.
Here is one of the paragraphs......

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.

Thanks, Bonny, for the correction. This must be relatively new because one of the original,purposes of the card was to use as proof that the dog and owner were legitimate as a pair. I've seen it requested in hotels, restaurants and other establishments over the years.

[TheVillageChicken]

Originally Posted by George Bieniaszek

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"

She got away with one. Travelling on planes with comfort animals is not part of the ADA, but rather the Air Carrier Access Act. Legally, the lady would need a letter from a mental health professional currently treating her for a mental illness listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association. Under this provision, the animal needn't be a dog. It could be a gecko if that is what the shrink says the passenger needs.

[joldnol]

way too many "comfort dogs" in TV. IMHO and I love dogs

[kcrazorbackfan]

Jeez, give it up. If the dogs aren't peeing, pooping, barking, whining or begging for food from others than their owner, LET. IT. GO.

I don't like CERTAIN people but I've learned to tolerate them.

[graciegirl]

There is a bigger percentage of the population of The Villages who are ballsy, pushy and in your face and will do what they want to do no matter how it inconveniences or aggravates others, far more then where I came from.

I HATE that about The Villages.

It is the first time I have run into this behavior on a regular basis.

I don't know whether it is age or how they were raised.

Thank goodness that because the place is so big we can choose not to hang out with them. Tons and buckets full of nice and kind and polite and caring folks.

[tomjbud]

Originally Posted by graciegirl

There is a bigger percentage of the population of The Villages who are ballsy, pushy and in your face and will do what they want to do no matter how it inconveniences or aggravates others, far more then where I came from.

I HATE that about The Villages.

It is the first time I have run into this behavior on a regular basis.

I don't know whether it is age or how they were raised.

Thank goodness that because the place is so big we can choose not to hang out with them. Tons and buckets full of nice and kind and polite and caring folks.

I quite agree with you, Gracie - in the midwest we were taught not to be self-centered, but to be mindful of others. I don't see much of that attitude in the stores and restaurants here. Thank goodness we have found lots of wonderful friends to hang out with here in The Villages. You can have lots of fun without being obnoxious!

[2BNTV]

Maybe the dog is the only one to agree or approve of, it's owner.

[tomwed]

In the northeast we are taught to be self-centered and not mindful of others. That takes many years of practice and studying but as soon as we pass the test they ship us to Florida. That's why we make up 40% of the population and don't see it on a regular basis.

[tomjbud]

Originally Posted by tomwed

In the northeast we are taught to be self-centered and not mindful of others. That takes many years of practice and studying but as soon as we pass the test they ship us to Florida. That's why we make up 40% of the population and don't see it on a regular basis.

It's more about how you were brought up and not where you were brought up! Didn't mean to offend anybody.

[tomwed]

Originally Posted by tomjbud

It's more about how you were brought up and not where you were brought up! Didn't mean to offend anybody.

I wasn't offended. I was just trying to be satirical.

Last week was all about not whining, being happy to be alive and how wonderful it is to live here.

[CFrance]

Originally Posted by tomwed

In the northeast we are taught to be self-centered and not mindful of others. That takes many years of practice and studying but as soon as we pass the test they ship us to Florida. That's why we make up 40% of the population and don't see it on a regular basis.

That's funny, and I appreciate the humor. But there is some bit of truth in there. Northeasters, especially because of the overcrowded conditions, tend to be more self-centered--and I do not mean "self-absorbed" at all. It's not all about them. It's all about their attempts to get around.

We lived in north Jersey for three years after being raised and living in Pittsburgh, one of the friendliest cities in the US (had to get that in). We noticed how difficult it is to accomplish daily-living chores in north Jersey, such as grocery shopping, driving from point A to point B on overcrowded highways, getting to the post office (you think the lines here are long???). Even to the point of there not being enough grocery carts at Pathmark for all the customers, and lines to check out snaking down the aisles. And don't even think about going to a shopping mall during Christmas and expect to find a place to park, much less checking out with less than an hour's wait.

After the first year, when we got involved in the schools and talked to people at our little neighborhood beach and bus stops, people got to know you and loosened up. What we had been seeing was the general public. Then we got to know the people around us. Great people.

Sorry if I'm off topic. Now back to The Nerve of Some People...

[tomwed]

What we had been seeing was the general public.

Isn't the general public the same people who live in other little NJ neighborhoods including mine?
"The Census Bureau has defined the Northeast region as comprising nine states: the New England states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont; and the Mid-Atlantic states of New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania." Besides, Pittsburg, PA is in a Northeast State." You really never left the region.

[buzzy]

I don't understand the big surprise at finding pushy, selfish, and entitled people around here. By the time people are retired, they may feel that they have made enough compromises in their life so now they are going to do things their way. They have followed all the rules until now, and from here-on it's time to have more fun. They have worked hard to retire in style, and they have no use for the people around them who have not. Maybe they are just more grumpy because of the aging process. Maybe they resent the injustices in society, and want to strike back in some way. We may not find many of these personalities where we came from, because of population diversity. But, a retirement community does have a high concentration of them.