Service dog discrimination?

I have a service dog, a very small dog, who is clearly marked and is well trained. I guess because I am not obviously disabled (say, blind), I get thrown out of everywhere, grocery stores, restaurants, businesses, etc. My dog is ABSOLUTELY necessary to me and is invaluable. I live in the Detroit Metro Area. What do I do? I can't go anywhere without her.

Yes, she wears a little emblem from the certification, the traditional red lead and harness, and I have papers. And I still get chucked out on my ear.

Send me an email with specific locations where this is happening and I can most likely help.

Check with your state. In Illinois dogs do not need to have a license or even a marking. All we do is say they are service dogs. I have a dog for my autism. He goes with me and he is kind of big, not small but when people try to kick us out my mom asks "Are you saying you are not allowing a service dog in and therefore are discriminating against a person with a disability". They have always backed down. We have the certification and stuff but we have never had to show it.
Call your local department of human services and ask about service dogs in your state.
If they are kicking you out tell them that you want their name and the name of the manager because when you turn this over to the state as a complaint against a person with a disability you want to know who specifically to lodge the complaint against besides just he store. Do it all really smiling.
My mom says the key is to make sure that you go in as though you know you can take him in and anyone who questions you is automatically in the wrong.

My mom also just said it is the ADA and not just your state. They MUST let you in.

Here--I looked ths up for you because I was so pissed off abot this.
Print this out and carry it with you and ask them if they are in fact wanting to go against the law. Your dog is a service dog, not a guide dog. Therefore, as they can plainly see, you fall under the protection of the law.

http://www.animallaw.info/statutes/stusm...

Here is something else you might want to show them. They can be charged in court for not violating your rights.

And an actual misdemeanor prosecution. See this article. Some excerpts:

A disabled man who requires the assistance of a certified service dog called police after he was blocked from picking up his pain medication at a Rite Aid drug store because of the animal.
David A. Feldman, 48, of Southfield, who was paralyzed from the chest down in a 1999 car accident and uses a power chair, says he was told by the store manager that no dogs were allowed because there is food in the store.

But, under Michigan law and the Americans with Disabilities Act, a person with a disability who uses a certified service dog cannot be denied access to a place of public accommodation unless it puts someone else in an immediate life-and-death situation, said Michael Sapp, Paws With a Cause spokesman.

* * *

The manager, a 31-year-old Southfield man, faces charges for refusing an accommodation to a person with a disability led by a service animal, said Deborah Carley, chief deputy Oakland County prosecutor. The misdemeanor charge is punishable by up to 90 days behind bars and a $500 fine.

A Rite Aid spokeswoman said their policy is to be in full compliance with the ADA.

Then perhaps you need to go to the media and have them do a story that service animals like guide dogs are not mrerely pets like Paris Hilton's Tinkerbell, but are working animals. Many people do not understand this, despite the harnesses etc.

You could also complain to a human rights tribunal or start an ADA action but that takes a long time and a lot of money.

Summer's usually a slow time in journalism, so contact your local newspaper, radio station and or tv station and talk to them about the problem.

That is disgusting, here in the UK we have helping dogs accepted virtually anywhere, sorry not an answer, but do you have an organisation that could try and get it changed, may not help your immediate future, but would certainly help others later on if it be made to happen.

She should be allowed in most places and if shops dont let her in then tell them that she is necesary and they wont get your custom otherwise, they should listen, most of shops i know including the one i work in will let any dog with a florescent jacket thing on in the store.

It is completely illegal. Carry a card informing business of your dog's status as a service dog, and reminding them that they cannot kick you out of the business because of your dog without breaking the law.

when possible,call ahead.explain your situation and ask if it will be a problem. if the place knows ahead of time they may allow it more. this is a hassle but may be the only thing you can do.

Does the dog have any indication that its a service dog?