ptsd Service dog discrimination

[Medic455]

This does not fit the forums but want to let all veterans aware of this issue. I had to get a rental car from Enterprise car rental in Mattoon, Illinois while mine was repaired following an accident. I have a Service dog for my PTSD. I picked up the vehicle with my SD with no issues however when I returned the vehicle (cleaner then when I got it) the man was threatening to charge me extra for having a pet in the car. I explained to him that the the animal was a service dog and he stated that it did not matter because other customers might be allergic. After several go around a with him I walked out. so if you have s service animal do not rent from Enterprise or you will be charged extra.

[pumibel]

I would think twice, personally, about using Enterprise after reading the OP. I was always partial to Budget anyway, but now I know to steer clear of  "E" unless there is a very impressive redress for the incident. I don't mean firing the guy. I think the company should evaluate the current policy regarding service animals or create a clear-cut policy to address this issue, and then make internal memorandums to educate employees as well as a press release to inform the public. Just making a policy is usually not enough- you have to get the word out as well. Perhaps this has never been addressed by Enterprise execs before, but then again it could be in writing already. If so, it is time to give employees a refresher course! 

[pumibel]

I want to clarify some of the information that I have shared on this thread because I may have posted some misleading info. According to http://servicedogcentral.org/,  if you have an emotional support animal (ESA), then the only accommodations your letter provides are to allow your pet in pet-restricted housing and in the passenger area of an airplane. That is it, period. Service animals are another story altogether. They are specially trained and certified animals that have a lot of paperwork. I call my Dee a "service dog" but technically she is not. However, I do not try to take her inside shops and restaurants, either. 

Another thing, there are a lot of websites that claim to be official service dog and ESA registries, and they are mostly scams. You pay for a certificate and vest and a listing in their database, etc. If you have an animal that was officially trained by a reputable organization then you do not need anything from one of these sites. If your ESA is prescribed with  a genuine doctor's letter  (psych type, not the PCP), then you don't need anything from this site, either. If you want to scam business owners into letting your animal in and are willing to pay a $200 or more to get some official looking letter and badges, then these sites are for you. I am not encouraging that kind of thing, of course. 

To be clear, there is nothing wrong with buying patches, vests, ID tags and other items for a legitimate ESA or service dog- that is a good idea, actually. But it is not okay to pay for a prescribing letter from some remote Internet doctor or certificates of training from a faceless online "expert".  This is illegal. Furthermore, anyone who uses their ESA letter and "props" to bring their pet into a restaurant  or store is wrong, and they are abusing the system. 

Here is a passage quoted from the site I mentioned

"According to the U.S. Department of Justice, which regulates and enforces the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA):
"The Department is proposing new regulatory text in § 36.104 to formalize its position on emotional support or comfort animals, which is that ''[a]nimals whose sole function is to provide emotional support, comfort, therapy, companionship, therapeutic benefits, or promote emotional wellbeing are not service animals.'' The Department wishes to underscore that the exclusion of emotional support animals from ADA coverage does not mean that persons with psychiatric, cognitive, or mental disabilities cannot use service animals. The Department proposes specific regulatory text in § 35.104 to make this clear: ''[t]he term service animal includes individually trained animals that do work or perform tasks for the benefit of individuals with disabilities, including psychiatric, cognitive, and mental disabilities.'' This language simply clarifies the Department's longstanding position."
The ADA gives the disabled owner of a service dog the right to be accompanied by his or her service dog to most places where the public are permitted, even if dogs are not generally allowed. However, the owner of an emotional support dog has no particular right to public access and must ask permission of the management to enter with an emotional support animal.
Under the Fair Housing Amendments Act, a qualified person with a disability may request a reasonable accommodation in the form of a modification of rules against the keeping of pets in order to keep EITHER a service animal or an emotional support animal.
Under the Air Carrier Access Act, a qualified person with a disability may be accompanied in the cabin of an air craft by either a psychiatric service dog or an emotional support animal if they have the proper documentation from their doctor."

So my ESA paperwork only gives me leverage when I request accommodation from my landlord or the owner of a business where I may want to take my pet. I have to ask if I want to bring her into a public area where dogs are not normally allowed. They can say no without violating the ADA. Airlines will want a prescribing letter as well. Legal service animals are more protected under the ADA because they serve to perform tasks that the disabled owner cannot do or could not do if they had a medical emergency, like call 911 if the person has a seizure or a diabetic crisis. Trained PTSD dogs are psychiatric service dogs, not ESAs.

 

 

Edited October 25, 2015 by pumibel
More info!

[Vync]

If you are interested in an emotional support animal (ESA), you can have a household pet certified as long as the animal has at least the most basic obedience training from the owner, if applicable. If you have a dog that is already well behaved, sits and lays down on command, and good on the leash, then that animal can be your ESA as long as you have the official prescribing letter on hand. You can adopt a shelter dog or cat to be your ESA, so no need for charities to pry and deny you. Of course this is not the case if you need a specially trained animal to alert EMS when you have a medical crisis. That is a whole different scenario.

My two cats are unofficial in this capacity. They are great while at the house, but am still working on the "well behaved, sits and lays down on command" part.

[pumibel]

Hi Vync- I wish you luck with the behavior training for your cats, lol. Someone once told me that, unlike dogs, cats actually domesticated themselves. I have not verified this assertion, but I believe it!  They do make good emotional support animals, though. When my cats give me the adoring looks, the head butts, and the purrs, I feel loved, even if sometimes they are really trying to get me to share my food!

[jbasser]

I have a cat that will roll over when I tell her to. I will shoot for a video.

[pumibel]

Jbasser, I would love to that video! I have had 2 cats that would fetch. One was a male cat, Sultan, who would only go after the little clear plastic caps that cover spray pump tops on hair sprays and stuff like that. My cat Tina was partial to pompoms. Neither would fetch any other type of object but the one they preferred.