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| James “Kimo” Rosen is a retired professional photographer living in Kapa'a with his best friend Obama Da Dog, Rosen also blogs as a hobby. Check out my column in the 06-30-14 edition of the Kaua'i Garden Island Newspaper, Please click on recommend if you like it! http://thegardenisland.com/news/opinion/guest/service-dogs-and-service-humans/article_515369ae-0003-11e4-9178-001a4bcf887a.html |
Everyone knows the term Service dog. Service dogs have become very popular the last decade.
Service dogs are as common as apple pie. There are service dogs for every ailment under the sun. The ADA cannot discriminate from a blind person to a mentally ill person and those in between.
The oldest form of service dog is the service guide dog for the blind, usually a German shepherd, however any breed of dog can be trained to guide or service. The American with Disabilities Act (ADA) allows for numerous kinds of services provided from dogs.Any dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability.
There are now many 'PSD dogs.' (Psychiatric Service Dogs,) not to be confused with PTSD. You need a confirmation from your MD or Psychiatrist that the dog is instrumental for your mental health. In many cases the dogs work better than the best anti-Psychotic medications. Dogs really are healing and for some people a matter of life and death.
If you see a dog wearing a service vest, do not pet that dog, that dog is working for that person, and not there for your entertainment. That dog needs to be focused on the person with the disability. Remember people with service dogs are not portable petting zoo's in the same essence would you want someone going up to your child or significant other and touching them without permission. It is also proper etiquette to not ask the person with a service animal what there disability is, unless of course that information is politely volunteered.
There was the recent incident where a service dog on US Airways Flight 598 from Los Angeles to Philadelphia had to make an emergency landing in Kansas City, Mo. after a dog twice defecated in the center aisle,since the smell was making passengers ill. Was that dog truly a service dog?
There are people abusing the system of service dogs, since anybody and their brother can buy a vest on the internet that reads "Service Dog." I believe most people with service animals are legitimate, however there are always a few that abuse the system. Just like the people who have handicapped parking stickers that are not handicapped. I never let that bother me, since I believe in karma, and karma will eventually come and bite them in the buttocks.
Similarly, and to have some fun, I too am a service. I am a "Service human" to my dog. Why not?
I am going to start wearing a vest that says "Service Human." I can see it now, my dog walking me with a leash and plastic bag in hand just in case I decide to do my business . She will also be able to teach me the proper greeting of smelling another in that special place.
Now I just need a note from my dogs veterinarian qualifying me as a service human! I am hoping eBay has the vests, if not there'a always Amazon.
Auntie Maile Kinimaka singing Hanalei on her 75th Birthday party at Kealia beach on Kauai.
"Hau`oli Lā Hānau" Happy Birthday! Maile was a regular on the old Magnum P.I. TV show starring Tom Selleck. She played Higgin's maid. Just click on YouTube link below!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RbNBQEKDDE
Hana Hou, (Encore) Shared from Facebook...
12 comments:
Good one. I like the 'service human' part...
via email;
I enjoyed your article and I agreed with you. Ada
Mahalo
You are most welcome. Ada
I could see being a service human to a dog!
I am one, I wait on my dog hand and foot! ;D)
Clever story--well done.
From TGI comments board,
"Great article Kimo! Today is Tuesday, I just had the opportunity to encounter a service dog and owner yesterday at the Post Office of which nobody bothered or engaged the dog, a Golden Lab."
from Garden Island News comments board,
"That's a great, fun article! However, where you describe Psychiatric Service Dogs (PSDs), I believe you are actually describing Emotional Support Dogs (ESDs). A PSD, the same as all other service dogs, must be trained to perform tasks to assist their owner. ESDs on the other hand only provide comfort. ESDs require a letter from a medical professional; service dogs don't. Possibly why there is so much abuse! Lastly, ESDs cannot be taken into businesses as service dogs can, but can live in no-pets housing and travel on airplanes as can service dogs"Thanks again, Peter www.TherapyDogInfo.net/servicedogs.html
via email,
"I loved your column and am sorry I didn't get a chance to tell you."
a letter to the editor appeared in the July 3,2014 edition of the Kaua'i Garden Island News in response to this article (blog)
http://thegardenisland.com/news/opinion/mailbag/letters-for-thursday-july/article_387c05b0-027b-11e4-ad26-001a4bcf887a.html
Laws are clear regarding service dogs
I realize that Kimo’s column in Monday’s Forum was meant to be humorous. However, all readers should be aware that the law regarding service dogs very clearly states the following (copied verbatim from the DOJ’s Disability Rights Section ADA website):
“A person with a disability cannot be asked to remove his service animal from the premises unless: (1) the dog is out of control and the handler does not take effective action to control it or (2) the dog is not housebroken.”
This means any dog in places of public access, regardless of how it is presented by its human, does not have the right to soil or otherwise cause a disruption to others, and the staff has every right to have the dog removed (even when it means making an unscheduled landing for a flight).
In addition, Kimo refers to needing a note from his doctor to confirm his disability; yet the ADA specifically states in the same section:
“Staff cannot ask about the person’s disability, require medical documentation, require a special identification card or training documentation for the dog ...”
The legal definition of a service animal is stated as follows:
“Service animals are defined as dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities.”
On the other hand, a service dog, as defined by the ADA, makes a distinction between a PSD and an emotional support dog in the same law:
“Dogs whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support do not qualify as service animals under the ADA.”
The law, as revised in 2010, is clearly written to avoid confusion, yet many are unaware of the wording. The paragraphs I put in quotes are copied directly from the federal government’s website. However, the italics are mine. The state of Hawaii also passed an updated version of this law to directly comply with federal laws.
Lucy Miller, Lihue
via Garden Island Newspaper,
""A letter from your Vet to be a service human" your better than Seinfeld !! Keep rockin Kimo."
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