ADA Service Dog Community needs your help on public comments...

[Guest guest]

A friend of mine, Joan, from Sterling Service Dogs, needs your help!

Please pass on to other groups, family & friends. You can contact

Joan at sterlingcf(at)aol.com

Thanks, Sandy McMurray - autism arts

Dear friends (from Joan, Sterling Service Dogs):

I need your help on issue of tremendous importance to the

assistance dog movement in the USA.

I'd sure appreciate it if you could help me out with this.

Disabled persons who work with assistance dogs receive public

access rights from the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). Since

the first definition of a Service Animal was published, extremists

took advantage of the vagueness of the language, so we have newspaper

stories of horses stabled in apartment living rooms over the

landlord's objections and people taking boa constrictors into

restaurants,calling it a " service snake. "

The ADA regulations must be reviewed every ten years, so I began

lobbying the US Department of Justice (DOJ) for a better definition

of a Service Animal in 2001 with my colleagues in the Coalition of

Assistance Dog Organizations. We had no idea it would take seven

years for the Review.

Finally we are in the homestretch! The DOJ issued the long

awaited Notice of Proposed Ruling Making on the ADA, with a new

proposed Definition. This summer, it seeks public comments on the

matter.

Our friends at the DOJ told us this Public Comment phase is

crucial! The assistance dog movement needs public comments from

Americans like you supporting " our side. "

It is " a Numbers Game. " The officials need to show their

political bosses through public comments that MORE people are in

favor of what we want, versus what someone else may want.

After reading all the comments submitted to date, I realized

we urgently need favorable comments on two issues in particular. I'm

coming to you for help with this. It is the last week of the public

comment period. You can do a lot to help me turn the tide. It will

only take five minutes.

If you want to submit a comment with minimal effort, please look

at the two Sample Comments in this email below my signature. Each

has a sample sentence on the two subjects that urgently need your

support. You can copy one of these if you use your own words at the

beginning or end of a sentence to personalize it a bit. Feel free to

expand upon either subject.

Instructions on how to submit your Public comment follows these

Samples. It is very easy to do!

Those who prefer to have a lot more information on the subject

before commenting are welcome to go to http://www.iaadp.org to the

Emergency Call to Action box and read the introductory letter and

CADO's Public Comment, and additional information I prepared for

visitors.

If you want to read the new proposed Service Animal definition,

I will copy it into this email at the very bottom. If you have a

friend or family member who might also be willing to put in a public

comment, I hope you will consider asking them. If we lose this

battle, it will take another twenty years before any changes could be

implemented. I think this will be my last advocacy campaign and I'd

sure like to leave the assistance dog field better off than when I

entered it, eighteen years ago.

So appreciative,

Joan

Sterling Service Dogs / IAADP

SAMPLE COMMENT ONE

I'm writing to discuss the proposed Service Animal Definition.

Please remove the phrase " DO WORK " from the new Definition to prevent

years of confusion.

Continue to educate the public that " task training " is the legal

difference between a service animal and a pet.

I also want you to know that I totally support the Department's

carefully considered decision that farm animals, wild animals,

reptiles, rodents and amphibians are not appropriate for use in

public as a service animal.

Thank you for this opportunity to comment.

SAMPLE COMMENT TWO

I'm writing to comment on your proposed ADA Service Animal

Definition.

Thank you for clarifying that farm animals, wild animals, reptiles

and rodents are unsuitable for working out in public as a service

animal. I fully support your stand on this issue!

Please eliminate the ambiguous phrase, " do work " from the

definition. It's elimination will prevent many people from confusing

their pet with an assistance dog! Continue to require service

animals to be Task Trained. I fully support the Coalition of

Assistance Dog Organizations on this important issue!

I appreciate the chance to give input to the Department.

TO SUBMIT YOUR COMMENT TO THE PUBLIC COMMENT WEBSITE ON THE ADA

1. Click on this Link below

2. Fill out the Form with your name and address. Do NOT put

anything in the box for " Organization, " since my sister will be the

official spokesperson for Sterling Service Dogs.

3. Write your comment in the General Comments Box

4. Scroll to the bottom of the webpage and click on the button

that says: NEXT

5. This next page lets you review your comment. If you like it,

scroll down and click on SUBMIT

Now you are done!

Your support at this critical time for the assistance dog movement

would mean the world to me. Your comment on these two issues will be

invaluable in off setting the opinions of people who don't want any

change to the old definition that has been misinterpreted,

accidentally and intentionally, in unbelievable ways over the last 15

years. Thank you for considering this request.

LINK TO PUBLIC COMMENT WEBSITE:

http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?

main=SubmitComment & o=090000648062a604

New Proposed Service Animal Defintion

PART 36-NONDISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF DISABILITY BY PUBLIC

ACCOMMODATIONS

AND IN COMMERCIAL FACILITIES

Subpart A-General

PROPOSED DEFINITION

Service animal means any dog or other common domestic animal

individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of

an individual with a disability, including, but not limited to,

guiding individuals who are blind or have low vision, alerting

individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing to the presence of people

or sounds, providing minimal protection or rescue work, pulling a

wheelchair, fetching items, assisting an individual during a seizure,

retrieving medicine or the telephone, providing physical support and

assistance with balance and stability to individuals with mobility

disabilities, and assisting individuals, including those with

cognitive disabilities, with navigation. The 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. The term service

animal does not include wild animals (including nonhuman prima tes

born in captivity), reptiles, rabbits, farm animals (including any

breed of horse, miniature horse, pony, pig, or goat), ferrets,

amphibians, and rodents. Animals whose sole function is to provide

emotional support, comfort, therapy, companionship, therapeutic

benefits, or to promote emotional well-being are not service animals.