Page 25 - Inspire Health January/February 2017

They also learn about 30 commands prevents the lift from going down if there is
before the 16-month foster program is over,
he says.
The hardest part, though, is saying
goodbye when it’s time for the dogs to
move on to the next stage of training, which
is much more intensive, lasts six months
or more, and takes place at a CCI regional
center. It’s one of the final steps before the
dog is matched with a recipient.
“My wife, when people ask her how she’s
going to handle it, says ‘we don’t need this
dog; someone else does,’” Pestcoe says.
Someone like Melissa Nunn, 24, of
Warminster, who suffered a spinal cord
injury in 2008. In February 2016 Canine
Companions matched her up with Fliegel,
a male Labrador and golden retriever mix.
“We are able to get such an amazing gift
with these dogs,” she says.
Although Nunn, a quadriplegic, was
independent enough to go out without
assistance, she still had trouble with
certain things — “mostly while out in the
community and up on my school’s campus,”
she says. “I didn’t have the endurance to
push far distances. I was always worried
that I would drop something and not be
able to pick it up.” unfamiliar with ADA regulations, so many
With Fliegel, those worries are a thing
of the past. So far, she says, the 3-year-
old knows 42 commands (and is learning
more). He helps by “picking items up off
the ground, opening doors, turning lights on
and off, pulling my wheelchair, pressing the
automatic button for doors, carrying bags
and paying cashiers.”
Service dogs need to be smart (just 40
percent make it to graduation), and Fliegel is
no exception. “In my house I have a lift that
takes me from the first floor to the second,”
Nunn says. “It has a safety feature that
Melissa Nunn
meeting her
new best friend. training with me,” Nagy says. “A college kid
Photos courtesy Canine Companions for Independence
extensive training and breeding required to
something under it. One day there was a
toy under it, so I got Fliegel to go down the
stairs and under the lift to retrieve the toy
so I wouldn’t be stuck. … I also taught him
specific people’s names, I can say ‘go find [a
person]’ and he will go and look … so far,
he knows three people by name.”
Still, life with a service dog comes with
its own set of challenges. “It can be difficult a person to leave if a dog is interfering with the
if a place is crowded because I have to
worry about navigating my wheelchair
around people and at the same time
making sure he [Fliegel] has enough room;
people aren’t walking into him, stepping on
him or petting him,” Nunn says.
And then there are the questions. While
Nunn says she’s never been denied access
anywhere, she has been asked to show her
service dog “permit” — something that’s
against ADA regulations.
The lack of a registration requirement
seems to be both a blessing and a curse.
On one hand, it ensures those who train
and rely on service animals don’t need
to jump through excessive hoops to take
their companions everywhere. However,
it’s often easier to show a “pet ID,”
rather than argue with a business owner
who use service dogs carry some sort of
paperwork. “Although not required by
law, CCI provides an ID card, a vest … and
a letter on our letterhead that specifies
that it’s a dog that CCI trained and placed
with that particular person,” says CCI
Program Manager Ellen Torop.
The problem is, carrying ID opens
the door for imposters. A plethora of
websites offer identification papers for
your “service animal,” no questions asked
— leading scores of pet owners to obtain
fake credentials so they can take the
family dog everywhere.
“I was at the Easton Public Market over
the summer and I had one of my dogs in
from Lafayette came up and said ‘Oh, you
have a service dog. We have one of those.
We travel a lot, so we got a certificate just
so we can take him on the plane.”
While that may seem harmless, it
actually threatens much of the progress
made in getting widespread acceptance
of service animals. Pets generally lack the
produce a calm, obedient and responsive dog. If a
service animal imposter is disruptive — or worse,
bites someone — it’s going to cause a ripple
effect, complicating things for those who truly
need them.
While a business owner can’t ask a person
about their disability or ask for a demonstration
of what the dog does, Torop says, they can ask
nature of the business — and such incidents will
make them less trusting the next time a real
service dog comes along.
“It’s a shame that people feel that selfish that
they would ruin it for other people,” Nagy says.
treats!
A few tips and
regulations pertaining
to service animals:
n If you see a service dog, do not approach,
greet or pet the dog without first greeting
the owner and asking if the dog is working.
n Businesses may ask if an animal is a service
animal or ask what tasks the animal has been
trained to perform, but cannot require ID
cards or ask about the person’s disability.
n People with disabilities who use service
animals cannot be charged extra fees,
isolated from other patrons, or treated less
favorably than other patrons.
n A person with a disability cannot be
asked to remove his service animal from
the premises unless: (1) the animal is out of
control and the animal’s owner does not take
effective action to control it (for example, a
dog that barks repeatedly during a movie)
or (2) the animal poses a direct threat to the
health or safety of others.
For more information on service dogs
or to get involved, visit cci.org.
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