hey guys welcome back happy 2023 uh I can’t believe 2022 is over and we are starting January 2nd off with a bang here uh This Is by The Chicago

Tribune it’s a column on opinion Geneva man with Parkinson disease has more awareness needed about role of service dogs and there he is with his dog Paul Ruby who has Parkinson’s disease relies on his service dog Roland to help him with his balance one out in public Paul Ruby wants no pity and like the dog lying quietly under the restaurant table when we met recently he really wants no

attention since he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2006 the 59 year old Geneva man just hopes to live as normal a life as possible that’s the reason he spent

twenty thousand dollars a year ago for Rowlett the highly trained black lab and

German Shepherd mix that has made it possible for Ruby who struggles with

balance because of his disease to get out in public that includes restaurants of course

which is why Ruby contacted me on November 26 he said he was refused service at Salerno’s on the fox in Saint Charles because Roland was with him and wife Linda an allegation that would be a clear violation of the law guaranteeing equal access to all people in public places under the Ada private businesses that serve the public including restaurants hotels retail stores taxis theaters concert halls and sports facilities must allow people with disabilities to bring their service animals onto the premises in whatever areas customers are generally allowed according to Ruby when

Salerno’s owner Joe Salerno found out Roland was not a seeing eye dog he ordered them out of the restaurant despite their attempts to explain the animal’s role as a working service animal and the Ada mandate which prohibits asking about a person’s disability Ruby contacted the Saint Charles Police Department once they were in the parking lot according to the police report responding officer Brad Schumacher probably butchering that immediately met with Salerno who began talking over me and incorrectly stated that only seeing eye dogs were allowed in the restaurant the owner also told the officer according to the police report that any

person can call a dog a service dog and went on to relay a previous experience

with a service dog that almost bit a waitress on the patio but also acknowledged Ruby’s dog was not being aggressive according to the police report Shoemaker

informed Salerno that he was incorrect and attempted to educate him on the law

he also advised the rubies to file a complaint with the United States Department of Justice according to the police report she maysher returned to the restaurant on

December 9th to get more information and during this interview Salerno told him

Ruby’s dog had been in the aisle blocking people from walking down it and when he asked the couple to move the dog he said they became belligerent which is why he demanded they leave so that’s different right um of course that’s a different report

sounds like he tried to backtrack and make a a legit reason why he kicked them out uh because if someone is being belligerent and your dog is blocking pads and access and is becoming a safety issue then of course that’s a legitimate reason to you know you refuse to do it to tell people to get out um but I’m not sure if that’s if he just

backtracked um because that’s not that’s not cool when I talked to Salerno he also said the incident had nothing to do with Roland being a service dog but that he

was blocking the aisle and said the rubies became rude and hostile when he

requested the animal move listen I’m I’m on starting to think I want to have

every recorded every outing recorded with the dogs that I take out because of

incidences like this if you have it on video you know put GoPro on the back of your dog I’m thinking about it I’m really thinking about just putting GoPros in the back of my dogs and being like this is just for your own safety and if you ever do need to you know move things forward and make a claim when people behave like that you told me we asked them to leave according to the police report it was determined Salerno committed an offense related to the access of service animals a Class C misdemeanor but because the rubies declined to press charges the case was

closed all ruby insisted his main reason for posting this incident on social media and contacting the Press was because despite its despite its longevity the Ada made into law in 1990 is still misunderstood by some people it’s misunderstood by a lot of people um and it’s really quite unfortunate too that people don’t even know what that they can and should be kicking service dogs out now I under uh buildings now I understand from a um I guess lawyer slash Court slash you know could you be sued perspective things it’s a complicated uh thing to do in order to keep both you and your dog safe because if people are negligent in in following through the law because

they are afraid you know that is a legit concern but at the same time you know

this is why this is why I’m considering putting GoPros on all my dogs because if you ever need to prove a point to see who was actually true and wrong and rather than he said she said situation um video is going to clear all that up unfortunately the issue has arisen more in recent years as legitimate service dogs were thrown into the mix of comfort or emotional support animals a trend that has proliferated and led to more abuse of the federal mandate and I have I’ve walked up to people in a Walmart

it’s always Walmart I swear to God it’s always Walmart and they’ll have a dog in

their cart barking at everybody and everything uh wearing an Esa vest I’m

like oh you know I actually trained service dogs do you need a service dog

and if that’s what you need you know let’s work something out because this

dog is not allowed in here and it’s actually bugging everybody including me

and I would encourage you to uh get out and not bring that dog in again because

the employees are not going to say it right they’re too afraid that they’re

gonna get fired they’re gonna get the the they’re trained not to sometimes

they’re trained not even to ask if it’s a service dog and just letting a dog in

um so you know somebody’s got to take it into their hands and be like hey listen

you’re being you you don’t understand the laws I’m here to help if you want to

um but if I see you hear it again like it’s it’s I’m not gonna be happy especially if I’m training a dog with me um okay emotional support animals while they do undergo training are used as a calming distraction to people in crisis so that’s not a hundred percent true they can go through training but they are not required to go through training providing them with healing contact to improve their physical social emotional or cognitive functioning these animals however are not not taught to perform a specific task for an individual with a disability why are there two knots there I’m not Roland for example had two years of training specifically for the needs of Ruby whose obvious balance issue led to many Falls prior to rule and entering

his life well then that’s a service dog because it’s task trained that it’s not

an emotional support animal that is a service dog so this article is really I don’t know I don’t know what’s going on here with this article uh Roland wears a service

dog vest at all times outside the home and when that vest is on he is working

said Ruby which means he is not to be pet in public so as to remain focused on

the job at hand my goal has always been to increase awareness about the rights

of the disabled in regards to service dog said Ruby hopefully the story will

prompt business owners and managers to take time to train their staff on Ada

laws they won’t they won’t because it’s too much of a liability um and if there’s any lawyers out there that have experience in the Ada please reach out to me because I have some questions that I would like answered um I do I have some questions that would like answered regarding this um because I have different scenarios in my

mind that I want to play out and I need someone to talk through those scenarios

with so if you uh have that knowledge I would greatly appreciate that meanwhile

uh you guys can also follow me on my other social platforms I am on Tick Tock

at Caitlin’s animals I am on Instagram at Caitlin’s animals I am on Facebook at

Caitlin’s animal training and where else am I at I think that’s it those are the

my those are the main platforms I also have a Facebook group for trading your

own service dog um it’s called service dog prep so if you’re interested I occasionally hold free workshops in that Facebook group and um hope to see you guys around thank you so much and I hope that was helpful guys see you next time