Not all service animals  wear a harness or a vest

On Facebook, a friend posted: “This afternoon, (a local restaurant) denied access to a visually impaired woman and her guide dog while she was there for lunch.” The diner called the police to the scene to explain the law to the owner. I wrote. “Very uncool but it can be difficult if someone does not “look or act impaired.” A very obviously blind friend had a guide dog and for years we were questioned at every new location. We simply carried around extra copies of Florida Statute 413.08 that is referenced in the sign on their door.  And with all due respect, I do not know her but went to her FB page. She not only does not look remotely impaired, she’s photographed with a gun doing pretty well at target practice. The venue should know the law.  You cannot know someone’s disability by looking at them. But I understand the owner’s concern.” 

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) explicitly states that “service animals” must be allowed in restaurants (though prohibited from kitchens and storage areas.) Service animals are defined as those that perform tasks for people with disabilities. These animals aren’t legally required to wear any identification, nor are their owners required to carry any documents showing their animals’ special status. A person who’s allergic to animals can’t complain and get them kicked out of a restaurant. And though restaurant operators can ask a patron if his or her animal is a service animal, they can’t legally ask for proof or an explanation of what service the animal is providing.

Restaurant owners and managers simply need to make sure they are familiar with the law.

Enjoy this Youtube Video Published on May 15, 2013 Norwegian association of the blind — Could have been worse
A commercial for Norwegian association of the blind. Puts focus on admission for guide dogs. Audio description of the film «It could have been worse»: A taxi driver drives with a goose in the back seat of his car. The goose honks and startles the driver.

A man stands outside a bus shed waiting for the bus. Next to him is a donkey wearing a leading harness. A green bus stops and the back door is opened. The man tries to get the donkey to enter the bus, but the donkey refuses to budge.

A young woman is out shopping for clothes with her sheep, wearing a leading harness. The man working in the shop is observing them as the sheep lets its droppings role out onto the floor beneath a row of shirts.

Back to the taxi: The driver ducks down as the goose flaps its wings. Now we see there is a woman next to the goose, and that the goose wears a leading harness.

A man is at the reception desk in a hotel talking to a female employee. He has an alpaca with a leading harness next to him. The man lets go of the leading harness while looking for something in his pocket. The alpaca notices its freedom and sets off out the door.

Back to the donkey refusing to enter the bus: The female bus driver has come to help the man. The donkey on the other hand, pulls the man with him in the opposite direction behind the bus shed. The driver shouts after him: “Does that usually end well?” “Oh, yes” the man says, as he hangs onto his guide donkey.

A maxi taxi has difficulties backing out into a busy street. We can see that it is difficult for the taxi driver to look out the window at the back. In one of the seats there is a woman, and behind her there is a big moose. There is a leading harness in one of the seats.

Back to the donkey and the bus: Three people have now come to help the man and the driver to get the donkey to enter the bus. All together they try to push the donkey in the back door of the bus, but the donkey still refuses to budge.

People are eating in a restaurant. At one of the tables there is a man and a woman. Next to them there is a big bull chewing hay. We can see that the waiter is cleaning bread crumbs off one of the tables. He then swings a clean, red table cloth over the table to put it on. The bull looks up, stops chewing and bellows. The waiter looks up from his table terrified. Then we hear the sounds of people shouting and glass breaking.

A woman is at a taxi stand with a golden Labrador wearing a leading harness sitting next to her. On the screen it is now written: “It could have been worse”. We see the golden Labrador close up, then the text: “It is only a dog we would like to bring with us”. The taxi driver opens the door for the woman, and her dog who is wagging his tail.

We now see the logo of The Norwegian Association of the Blind and Partially Sighted.