Posted on 07/21/2011 11:43:22 AM PDT by rawhide
A Marietta McDonald's manager is accused of punching a mother who brought a service dog and autistic children into the restaurant.
A Cobb County warrant charges Tiffany Denise Allen with simple battery, simple assault fear and disorderly conduct.
According to the warrant, Jennifer Schwenker entered the Marietta McDonald's located at 1291 Bells Ferry Road with her children and service dog on July 12.
Allen, off-duty at the time, became irate that the dog was in the restaurant, the warrant says.
Schwenker explained to Allen the dog's purpose and told the manager the dog was legally allowed to be inside the establishment.
Allen continued to berate Schwenker, following her around the restaurant and even into a bathroom. During the incident, one of Schwenker's twins disappeared. The mother threw her cup to the ground and ran outside to look for her child, the warrant says.
Allen believed the cup was thrown at her and followed the mother into the parking lot, where she is accused of hitting her in the face.
Surveillance video shows several McDonald's employees holding Allen back, according to the warrant.
The warrant for Allen's arrest was signed July 15. She is not listed as having been in custody at the Cobb County jail.
An owner of the McDonald's, who did not want to be named, declined an interview but did say Allen no longer works at the restaurant.
An owner of the McDonald's, who did not want to be named, declined an interview but did say Allen no longer works at the restaurant.
Umm, yes . . . if you love your child. I know my autistic son has an almost instant ability and desire to run away the second someone distracts the adult who is with him. Secondarily, he does not understand that standing in front of cars is dangerous, so one of the first places he would go would be to the parking lot to enjoy the visual stimulus of seeing cars come at him. The mom behaved in exactly the way I would expect. The McDonald's worker distracted her and her special needs son took advantage of the distraction to escape. If her son is like mine, she took off immediately to potentially save her special needs son's life.
This woman is a manager and she doesn’t know the law?
Ahh... the old ‘my child is autistic’ excuse.
“Autism is such a complex disorder. It is easily misdiagnosed,” said Allen, a speech and language pathologist with Henry Ford Health System.
Sounds as if she’d make a perfect unionized LEO, imo.
I agree.
In Florida service dogs are not required to wear a vest or any kind of “garb” that would immediately identify them as a service dog. It’s up to the service dog user as to whether they want the dog to wear anything.
Yep, Tiffany be fired. Look for her on the TSA feeler line up at Atlanta International.
Thank you for the link to that video. What wonderful dogs! They have such a short life span, however - it would be so hard to get attached to them, and lose them so soon, particularly those who are already struggling with neurological issues affecting emotions.
But, the advantage of having such a big dog for stability is obvious!
So if I imagine my dog is a service dog, then it is a service dog. Sounds like a fail to me.
U.S. Department of Justice
Civil Rights Division
Disability Rights Section
COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT
SERVICE ANIMALS IN PLACES OF BUSINESS
1. Q: What are the laws that apply to my business?
A: Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), privately owned businesses that serve the public, such as restaurants, hotels, retail stores, taxicabs, theaters, concert halls, and sports facilities, are prohibited from discriminating against individuals with disabilities. The ADA requires these businesses to allow people with disabilities to bring their service animals onto business premises in whatever areas customers are generally allowed.
2. Q: What is a service animal?
A: The ADA defines a service animal as any guide dog, signal dog, or other animal individually trained to provide assistance to an individual with a disability. If they meet this definition, animals are considered service animals under the ADA regardless of whether they have been licensed or certified by a state or local government.
Service animals perform some of the functions and tasks that the individual with a disability cannot perform for him or herself. Guide dogs are one type of service animal, used by some individuals who are blind. This is the type of service animal with which most people are familiar. But there are service animals that assist persons with other kinds of disabilities in their day-to-day activities. Some examples include:
_ Alerting persons with hearing impairments to sounds.
_ Pulling wheelchairs or carrying and picking up things for persons with mobility impairments.
_ Assisting persons with mobility impairments with balance.
A service animal is not a pet.
3. Q: How can I tell if an animal is really a service animal and not just a pet?
A: Some, but not all, service animals wear special collars and harnesses. Some, but not all, are licensed or certified and have identification papers. If you are not certain that an animal is a service animal, you may ask the person who has the animal if it is a service animal required because of a disability. However, an individual who is going to a restaurant or theater is not likely to be carrying documentation of his or her medical condition or disability. Therefore, such documentation generally may not be required as a condition for providing service to an individual accompanied by a service animal. Although a number of states have programs to certify service animals, you may not insist on proof of state certification before permitting the service animal to accompany the person with a disability.
There's more to this story...
The dog actually helps him walk. He has been able to switch from his walker to a cane, and it has really helped his gait. The dog’s gait encourages him to get a rhythm going, and the leash seems to help with the freezing.
He has never been much of a dog person, but since the depression and anxiety have set in, he feels he has lost everything he once valued, like his ability to work. Taking the dog for a walk seems to give him a sense of purpose and security.
His parkinson’s specialist has referred him to the Mayo Clinic in September, to see if they can do anything to help with his autonomic nervous system failure, or if there are any other options to treat his medication-resistant depression.
If the dog gives him any comfort, I think it is worth getting him qualified, and as I said before, the dog would be in one of those carriers with rollers (when in public places), which my husband could also use to improve his stability.
The last sentence does it
“you may not insist on proof of state certification before permitting the service animal to accompany the person with a disability.”
I don’t have an issue except for one question. How is your Havanese with children, other animals and adults? The reason I ask if every service dog that I have encountered has gone through “training”. I have never seen one bark or make a disturbance at all. I believe part of the training is human interaction. Since Service Dogs are out in the public, children (being friendly) tend to run up to them and pet them. (not my kids since I have trained them to always ask the adult first before ever getting close to a dog they don’t know). However, I have witnessed little ones literally running up to some and putting their hands on them in the blink of an eye.
That's not what I said. Dogs simply are not required to wear vests.
“Allen believed the cup was thrown at her and followed the mother into the parking lot, where she is accused of hitting her in the face.”
The name isn’t typical but the behavior is - let me guess the profile....she “dissed” her and that “warranted” beating her up.
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