Service dogs come in tiny packages, too

Herald photo by Rose Hooper

Eddie, a 12-and-a-half-pound Papillon, is Marianne Hogue's service assist dog. It's his job to alert her to sounds and actions.

According to federal and state laws, including the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the 1973 Rehabilitation Act, and N.C. Sate Statues 168-4.2, just like a guide dog, Eddie is allowed to accompany Hogue in all public places, including restaurants. The N.C. Administrative Codes of Rules Governing the Sanitation of Restaurants and other Food Handling Establishments, states, "seeing-eye dogs accompanying blind persons and service dogs accompanying handicapped persons" are permitted in food establishments.

"Even if a county or state's regulations say no dogs are allowed in restaurants, the federal ADA law carries precedent," said Bill Wheeler, Jackson County's new ADA enforcer with Pathways for the Future.

Eddie usually wears a vest and tag easily identifying him as a service animal. Hogue suspects she has some access problems because people simply do not know the laws. "They don't realize there are other types of service dogs besides guide dogs. Service dogs come in small packages, too," she said.

Family, friends, churches and the Bryson City Rotary Club raised money to sponsor a hearing dog for Hogue. One sponsor, Clay Cable of South Carolina, made it his project to work out the details of getting Hogue a hearing dog after an agency in Michigan sent an untrained dog. When Hogue returned the dog, the agency kept most of the funds.

"I always wanted a hearing dog; I'd tried seven and a half years to get one. I tried flashing lights, but they didn't work for me because I'm not very sensitive to flashing lights... and it's impossible to rig your whole house for the sounds you really need," she said. "Plus, lights don't alert you to an intruder breaking into your house, sirens and other such dangers."

Cable worked with Patricia Treadway from Chantilly, Va., to find a suitable dog and train him. Treadway is former director of a service dog agency in the Maryland/Virginia area. Eddie came from Ric and Linda Cosner's kennel, Kimbriel's in Pennsylvania. Susan Hiller, a professional dog trainer in Maryland, trained Eddie in basic obedience commands like "sit," "down," "stay" and "heel." Then Eddie returned to Treadway's for advanced training in sound alert, with Hogue visiting and working with him each month.

Finally, in December 1998, Eddie, whose full name is Kimbriel's Special Edition, became Hogue's companion.

"Right after I got Eddie, we were in Wal-Mart and I was kneeling down looking at something on the bottom shelf when a forklift almost hit me," she said. "Of course, I didn't hear it and the driver couldn't see me, so if Eddie hadn't tagged me, I would have been hit."

Before she got Eddie, Hogue said she missed phone calls and visitors.

"But now Eddie alerts me to those sounds and many more. Once, when I was driving, he alerted me to a sound; he was very hyper and quite insistent about it," she said. "I couldn't see anything so I just pulled the car over and stopped at the edge of the road. At that very moment, an ambulance, with its lights flashing, cut right out in front of me."

Hogue sleeps peacefully now knowing that Eddie will alert her to potential intruders and the fire alarm.

"Pat said after hearing dogs are taught to alert to certain sounds, they realize that they have a job to do and alert to other sounds that they've not necessarily been trained for," Hogue said. Like her new bread machine. "It makes a little beep when it's ready for fruit to be added, and Eddie comes to get me then."

Some repetitive sounds that Eddie lets her know about she has had to teach him to ignore, like the water sprinkler coming on in the produce section of a grocery store.

"Last November, when I moved to the house I currently live in, I was the last house on the road since all of the summer residents returned to Florida for the winter," she said. "This spring, when they started arriving back to their homes, which are past mine on the lane, Eddie would alert every time a car drove by. It took him a while to realize not every car was a visitor for me. He takes his job very seriously."

Hogue admits Eddie doesn't pay attention in church, however, since he tends to sleep through the service. "Maybe he's just not a Baptist," said Hogue. He may not be a Baptist, but he dabbles in politics. Say to him, "I'm Charles Taylor's friend," and he'll extend his paw for a shake.

Even though Eddie is fully trained, Hogue said training is an on-going experience for hearing dogs to practice their skills and constantly learn new sounds.

Eddie's breed of Papillon - French for butterfly, was named because the dog's ears look like butterfly wings. "He a cute little dog and everybody wants to pet him, but he's a working dog and it's important he not get distracted."

This little Papillon is so clever, he even knows some sign language. Hogue says he's "really smart and learns fast. He thinks with his stomach - the treats are his salary." As for meals, Eddie enjoys ABADY all-natural dog food. Hogue doesn't like for him to have "people food" because it teaches him to beg, plus some of it could make him sick. He does enjoy carrots and broccoli ("no tops, please.")

He hates his weekly baths, but he loves to have his teeth brushed with poultry-flavored toothpaste, recommended by his vet, Dr. Samuel Potter of Sylva.

It not all work and no play for this service dog. When it's play time, Eddie's favorite sport is chasing Frisbees.

One of the funniest comments made to Hogue about Eddie was someone who said, "Oh, he's your 'seeing-ear' dog!"

For my business, I would like to know . . .

Q: What are the laws that apply to my business?

A: Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, privately-owned businesses that serve the public, such as restaurants, hotels, retail stores, taxicabs, theaters, concert halls and sports facilities, are prohibited from discriminating against individuals with disabilities. The ADA requires these businesses to allow people with disabilities to bring their service animals onto business premises in whatever areas customers are generally allowed.

Q: What is a service animal?

A: The ADA defines a service animal as any guide dog, signal dog, or other animal individually trained to provide assistance to an individual with a disability. If they meet this definition, animals are considered service animals under the ADA regardless of whether they have been licensed or certified by a state or local government.

Service animals perform some of the functions and tasks that the individual with a disability cannot perform for him or herself. "Seeing-eye dogs" are one type of service animal, used by some individuals who are blind. This is the type of service animal with which most people are familiar. But there are service animals that assist persons with other kinds of disabilities in their day-to-day activities. Some examples include:

Alerting persons with hearing impairments to sounds.

Pulling wheelchairs or carrying and picking up things for persons with mobility impairments.

Assisting persons with mobility impairments with balance.

A service animal is not a pet.

Q: How can I tell if an animal is really a service animal and not just a pet?

A: Some, but not all, service animals wear special collars and harnesses. Some, but not all, are licensed or certified and have identification papers. If you are not certain that an animal is a service animal, you may ask the person who has the animal if it is a service animal required because of a disability.

However, an individual who is going to a restaurant or theater is not likely to be carrying documentation of his or her medical condition or disability. Therefore, such documentation generally may not be required as a condition for providing service to an individual accompanied by a service animal. Although a number of states have programs to certify service animals, you may not insist on proof of state certification before permitting the service animal to accompany the person with a disability.

Q: What must I do when an individual with a service animal comes to my business?

A: The service animal must be permitted to accompany the individual with a disability to all areas of the facility where customers are normally allowed to go. An individual with a service animal may not be segregated from other customers.

Q: I have always had a clearly posted "no pets" policy at my establishment. Do I still have to allow service animals in?

A: Yes. A service animal is not a pet. The ADA requires you to modify your "no pets" policy to allow the use of a service animal by a person with a disability. This does not mean you must abandon your "no pets" policy altogether but simply that you must make an exception to your general rule for service animals.

Q: My county health department has told me that only a seeing-eye or guide dog has to be admitted.

If I follow those regulations, am I violating the ADA? A: Yes, if you refuse to admit any other type of service animal on the basis of local health department regulations or other state or local laws. The ADA provides greater protection for individuals with disabilities and so it takes priority over the local or state laws or regulations.

Q: Can I exclude an animal that is disruptive to my business?

A: There may be a few circumstances when a public accommodation is not required to accommodate a service animal - that is, when doing so would result in a fundamental alteration to the nature of the business. Generally, this is not likely to occur in restaurants, hotels, retail stores, theaters, concert halls and sports facilities. But when it does, for example, when a dog barks during a movie, the animal can be excluded.

This information was taken from the Disability Rights Section of a U.S. Department of Justice publication. For more information about service animals or other requirements of the ADA, call the U.S. Department of Justice's toll-free ADA Information Line at 1-800-514-0301 (voice) or 1-800-514-0383 (TDD.)