[Cagdu] FW: [nagdu] Woman with guide dog says civil rights were violated

[tina thomas]

Woman with guide dog says civil rights were violated
6/2/2009 1:15 PM
By: Brandi Powell


 Rusty, the leader dog.
Texas Hearing and Service Dogs says guide dogs have been helping people with
visual challenges ever since World War I, but those who use them still face
some challenges.

One Central Texas woman who uses what's called a "leader dog" said her civil
rights have been violated.

Though some people may not know, there are certain legal rights and
responsibilities of those who use guide dogs.

Copperas Cove resident Nanette Ballou relies on her leader dog, Rusty, to
help her get around.


Ballou said she has very limited vision so her guide dog's always by her
side.

Ballou said she and Rusty have had trouble at some establishments and said
it was no different on May 7.

"[We] went to Taco Bell with my daughter and two grandchildren,"
Ballou said. "Got dinner sat down to eat it. Manager came out. She asked me
if the dog was a seeing eye dog. And of course, my dog is a leader dog."

A leader dog is a guide dog, just trained at a different school.

"At the end of our discussion, she told me she was going to call the cops,
and I invited her to do so," Ballou said.


 Copperas Cove resident Nanette Ballou.
Ballou said when the Copperas Cove Police arrived, "They just walked over
and said, 'Lady, you and the dog gotta leave.'"

Ballou went on to say, "And so I argued with him adamantly, and when I could
see that this man wasn't going anywhere with my comments, I finally said,
'Here's the law book, do you want to read it?' He refused."

Ballou said one of the officers did eventually read her law book.

Ballou showed News 8 the harness that identifies Rusty as a certified guide
dog, and the identification card that identifies them as a team.

Texas Hearing and Service Dogs said this is not required by law, but that's
why the organization's big goal is education.

"But no matter what kind of credentials any kind of professional dog has, if
it is misbehaving in public, if it's dirty, if it's interfering with the
goods and services that the business is providing, then no matter what kind
of credential it has, it shouldn't be allowed there," President of Texas
Hearing and Service Dogs Sheri Soltes said.

Ballou said that wasn't the case with her.

"It's very typical that law enforcement is not notified about it because it
is not a law that comes up a lot in their day-to-day activities," Soltes
said.

But, Ballou said she feels her civil rights were violated by Taco Bell and
the City of Copperas Cove.

So she said she is going to sue them both, on the state and federal level.

"The government needs to be involved with this sort of thing because it does
happen around the country," she said.

Ballou said she's already filed a complaint with the Texas ACLU.
She said she's been told the city attorney is not going to pursue any
charges against Taco Bell.

The city has not returned News 8's call to confirm.

The Copperas Cove Police Department also did not return News 8's call asking
for comment.

For more information on rights and responsibilities of guide dog users, log
onto www.servicedogs.org, or call (877) TEX-DOGS.




 Taco Bell's Response



  "Taco Bell welcomes all customers into our restaurants, including those
with disabilities. This includes customers who require the use of service
animals, and from time to time, we have a customer who is accompanied by a
service animal into the restaurant. Our managers are instructed to
accommodate our customers' needs for a service animal.

In this particular case, the customer's need for a service animal was not
readily apparent, and out of concern for our other patrons, our store
manager asked the customer to provide some confirmation that the dog was a
service animal. Because the disturbance continued even after the Copperas
Cove police arrived, the police officers asked the customer to leave and
eventually escorted her from the premises. We regret that this disturbance
occurred, but Taco Bell firmly believes that our manager acted reasonably in
this situation."

Don Barton
Austaco, Taco Bell Franchisee

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