Dealing With The Eeoc

[KwanYingirl]

My dog is a PTSD service dog. Fortunately I am self employed, so if someone doesn't want her there, they are shown the door. I totally agree that taking a dig everywhere is more work than it may seem, but the payback is worth it. I have a stalker and she alerts me to anyone opening the door to my office building. No one comes into the building without her knowledge.

I filed a successful discrimination suit via the ADA against the hospital that poisoned me, rendering me permanently disabled. I filed a successful suit against the public school that denied my dyslexic son access to extracurricular activities. The school placed him in a private school that had the skill set to teach him, so they were required to allow him access to school activities not available at his private school.

I bring up these points because without the help I got from the Disabiluty Rights Iffice I could never have afforded to fight for my rights. It's part of the ADA that every state has a Dusability Rights Center to help citizens navigate the law. They had a pro bono lawyer help my son by means of an injunction against the school. They were ordered to allow him access to the public school.

It doesn't make sense to me why your employer is being obstructive. I guess employers just want flexible employees so they can take long lunches and wander the halls instead of actually doing a productive job.

If you want legal advice for free, then your Disability Rights Center is the place to go. Durable medical equipment!!! HAHA!!! They also helped me write a request for accommodation letter to the landlord of my old office that was polluted by mold. What I got was a free pass to move out and get my security deposit back.

 

[desiderata310]

JUST got off the phone with the Department of Justice ADA folks.
It seems I kinda do and kinda don't have a case... yet.
The EEOC was out of line for saying that I could not have a service dog except for seeing eye. well, I knew that. She was also out of line for making assumptions that he was an ESA- which I also knew.

HOWEVER, since Char is still training, he is not afforded the same rights as a full SD. Which is really the wall I expected to hit... not the one I slammed in to.

That said, he's learning fast. Stupid fast. He's 90% ready for CGC. I just need to feel more confident with him being able to pass CGC and make sure he can perform the tasks I need consistently and he's golden.

That said, I am hitting a wall with training. I need HELP and the trainer that was assisting me... well, she's not consistent in being available. So I am working with Char as much as I can as often as my brain will allow.

Once he is trained I think I will be filing a complaint. Thanks to my daughter's text yesterday, I feel a little more confident about fighting Goliath.

 

[KwanYingirl]

Is CGC canine good citizen? If it is, this is also where I'm at with Annie. She'll do commands for me, but the course is the dog being handled by a stranger, and they have to obey. Annie needs a lot more walking work. She's only 10 pounds, so if I take her into a store, I just put her in the cart. No one has ever given me a hard time. Keep me posted how that training is going. Annie doesn't walk well, she pulls on the lead. I take her to the beach and she's a looney tune!!

And who the hell gave the ADA the right to judge what type of benefit the service dog gets. The blind need super sophisticated dogs but that doesn't mean that othe disabled people need unique services. You"lol get her certificate, then file the claim. I wonder how NAMI stands on this?

 

[desiderata310]

@KwanYingirl yes CGC is Cainine Good Citizenship.
Have you tried working with a Gentle leader? It's really helped Charlie. We are just now transitioning out of it and back into a collar. For that we use a martingale collar. It's humane and makes a loud snap (I have the one with a chain) when I need to get his attention.
Actually, CGC is done with the handler and there is only one point when the dog is handed off to another person.
This is actually the test:

1. Accepting a Friendly Stranger
   The dog will allow a friendly stranger to approach it and speak to the handler.
2. Sitting Politely for Petting
   The dog will allow a friendly stranger to pet it while it is out with its handler.
3. Appearance and Grooming
   The dog will permit someone to check it’s ears and front feet, as a groomer or veterinarian would do.
4. Out for a Walk (walking on a loose lead)
   Following the evaluator’s instructions, the dog will walk on a loose lead (with the handler/owner).
5. Walking Through a Crowd
   This test demonstrates that the dog can move about politely in pedestrian traffic and is under control in public places. The dog and handler walk around and pass close to several people (at least three).
6. Sit and Down on Command and Staying in Place
   The dog must do sit AND down on command, then the owner chooses the position for leaving the dog in the stay.
7. Coming When Called
   This test demonstrates that the dog will come when called by the handler (from 10 feet on a leash).
8. Reaction to Another Dog
   This test demonstrates that the dog can behave politely around other dogs. Two handlers and their dogs approach each other from a distance of about 20 feet, stop, shake hands and exchange pleasantries.
9. Reaction to Distraction
   The evaluator will select and present two distractions such as dropping a chair, etc.
10. Supervised Separation
    This test demonstrates that a dog can be left with a trusted person, if necessary, and will maintain training and good manners. Evaluators are encouraged to say something like, "Would you like me to watch your dog?" and then take hold of the dog's leash. The owner will go out of sight for three minutes. The dog does not have to stay in position but should not continually bark, whine, or pace unnecessarily, or show anything stronger than mild agitation or nervousness. Evaluators may talk to the dog but should not engage in excessive talking, petting, or management attempts (e.g, "there, there, it's alright").

In defense of the ADA, they are the reason that PTSD is listed as a disability and moreover, they are the reason that Service Dogs are recognized for PTSD, otherwise, the only governing body that would give us any leeway would be social security. I am not 'disabled' enough to recieve SS but I am disabled enough to "substantiallly limit one or more life activity" which is ADA's definition of disabled. They give me the right to a Service Dog because they recognize my disability.

Not sure where NAMI stands but PTSD is still not a well understood disability or mental impairment. I'll have to do some checking.

 

[desiderata310]

OH... and Charlie...
Charlie is ALMOST there on the lead. We can do. numbers: 1-3 no problem. 4 is MUCH better as is 5. 6 and 7 is great as long as we are in an enclosed space and I have him in the right mind set.
8 is a problem because he wants to play
9 and 10 are fine.

So we are almost there. We need more time in public which is REALLY difficult for me and more time with other dogs.
Char is a nut at the beach as well. Completely wild. That's a fight for later.

This is more info on the CGC test:
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[joeylittle]

We need more time in public which is REALLY difficult for me and more time with other dogs.

If you tell this to the trainer, will a more specific 'training task' motivate her to respond better? (training the trainer :facepalm:)

I know sometimes, when I'm overwhelmed with multiple projects, the client who describes their needs in the clearest, most direct terms - they get my attention first. Now, that's just me...but could be worth a shot?

 

[desiderata310]

@joeylittle
I've done this. The problem is she doesn't want to take him out anymore or work with him. She hasn't been willing to see him in about a month. She did a little work with me when I had Buddy as well this weekend and then she drug me out to Petco with Buddy and their brand new puppy and her SO and well.. that was bad news for me. I was completely stressed out.

 

[desiderata310]

OK... so this has wandered off topic a bit but I'm ok with that.
I found this on NAMI's site:
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Which is kind of cool. I've been very frustrated with the progress of Char, of self training, etc. But this actually praises and encourages self training because it let's the handler customize the commands and it's less expensive. I've been a bit afraid of the self-taught model since I wouldn't have the work of a school behind me and I worried about people questioning credibility and I REALLY don't know what to do to get him to help me when I am already sucked into a flashback.

I took Char to a board meeting for a volunteer board I am on the other day. He was PERFECT. He helped me through it. He did EXACTLY what I needed and acted like he already had this Service Dog thing down. The people on the board only know me as this very anxious, quiet person who shows up to the board meetings. They didn't know Char was there till the meeting was over and assumed that I was training for someone else. HE'd actually been helping me through the meeting- no training on that. He just picked up on my anxiety and started licking my pants.. gross but yeah.. it worked.

One of the ladies looked at me in awe and asked: "Is there anything you don't do?"
ummm... yeah... I never go out anywhere with other people ever if I can avoid it.

So... maybe I am looking at all this wrong. I'm working hard to make sure Char is credible, that he will work FOR me and not me spending all my time trying to control my anxiety and him. I'm so worried about being called a fake and that people will think I'm just trying to take my dog to work for the hell of it and the EEOC lady really enforced that anxiety.

Char will be CGC trained soon. I just need a little help there. He IS forcing me to get out more and that's been a little easier recently with more sleep.

After the CGC I can take my time and get him to really learn just ONE task and if I can do that then it'll be easier for me to go back and claim in good conscience Service Dog status.

 

[desiderata310]

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According to this site:


California and New York have some of the best state laws regarding service animals.

• Service dogs in training have the same access rights as full-fledged service dogs
  
  When I called the ADA they said no but didn't ask me what state I was in. At this point... I'm confused.
  

 

[joeylittle]

they said no but didn't ask me what state I was in.

With only two states having an exception, the rep you spoke with honestly might not have known. Not hard to call back tomorrow, re-check. Since they didn't ask what state you were in, odds are they assumed you were in their state. People tend to do that. Unless you were calling the California office of the ADA specifically, in which case, definitely call back because yeah, confusing.