TO ALL BUSINESSES IN PORTLAND:
people bringing animals into your stores and claiming they are service animals IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY! The ADA gives BUSINESSES the tools to determine whether an animal is a service animal or a pet. Under the ADA, a business can ask 1) “Is that a service animal?” And 2) What service does it provide?” when reasonable answers are not given, YOU CAN deny entry. when an animal starts PROVING it is not a service animal by attacking other animals, barking repeatedly, urinating on the floor, YOU HAVE THE RIGHT to have the offending animal removed. If you dont want to do YOUR JOB, STOP COMPLAINING ABOUT IT!!!! I have Bi Polar Disorder and PTSD. I have a letter from my psychiatrist stating my dog is a service animal. Asking me to pick up my service animal and carry it is OFFENSIVE!! You wouldnt ask a blind person to pick up and carry their seeing eye dog,, so stop doing it to me just because you cant SEE any OBVIOUS disabilities!!! THEY ARE THERE!! this whole thing is ON YOUR SHOULDERS! YOU are the ones letting people bring in animals that are NOT service animal. LEARN THE LAWS!!! Service animals DO NOT need identification, documentation, certifications, jackes. STOP ASKING FOR THEM!!! You are DISCRIMINATING AGAINST DISABLED PEOPLE! Do you not understand how MESSED UP that is???? LEARN THE LAWS LIKE I HAVE TO!
I feel for you. I am disabled (though I do not have a service animal). You are, however, mistaken about what you know about the ADA. People are not allowed to question people about their disability or their service animals. And under the current federal government administration, they are gutting the ADA and making it so that is the burden of the disabled to educate businesses about violations they are making to the ADA (which means we as disabled people have to read and know every single in and out of the law) and ask the politely, in writing, to remedy their violations. Then we have to wait six months for them to respond and all they have to say is “they’re working on it” with no proof whatsoever.
One prevalent violation of the ADA Portland businesses do every single day is refusing the disabled use of their bathrooms. If you are a business and you serve the public and you have a restroom, you are required by federal law to allow a disabled person who needs to do so to use that restroom, without requiring them to buy something. As someone whose disability involves bladder and bowel urgency, let me tell you, trying to get this through people’s heads before you have an accident on their floor is at best infuriating and at worst humiliating.
People like me (with disabilities) screaming about their animals always make me feel sad for them because clearly the dog isn’t fucking helping if you’re this fucking distraught over something so trivial.
Also, Oregon needs to adopt licenses for REAL service animals because too many people abuse the system and pretend their comfort dogs (like in this case) are Service Animals.