The Americans with Disabilities Act is 22 years old. It could buy itself a drink, and really kind of needs to right now. I recently had an, erm... run-in with animal control. They found out we had dogs, and insisted we license them. I asked for their waiver for the fee for my service dog, and they insisted we just needed to pay them $82, and that it being illegal to ask for the fee wasn't their problem.
Animal control insisted the LAW wasn't their problem. However, the law was their problem when it came to licensing every pet in the county.
I contacted the mayor's office as soon as a citation warning was issued to me by animal control. It took me a while, but the disabled aren't always known for their ability to be super on top of things at all times. Especially this girl in fall. The change in light as summer ends wreaks havoc on my brain in a really bad way. I got a reply backing me up, and there's going to now be a waiver in Whatcom County for service animal license fees. That saves us $82 a year, so squee!
The issue? NOBODY has brought this up to them. They've been illegally charging service dog handlers pet license fees for 22 years. Their lawyer agreed it was illegal within 2 days of my email even going out, so clearly it's not something that needs lots of deliberation. I'm thankful Bellingham isn't like some towns that try to deny service animals the right to even live in their city limits (yay Aureilia, Iowa) but still, it really puts the problem out there. It's a 22 year old law. Everyone put ramps outside their places of business, and government buildings are wheelchair accessible. However they seem to be willfully ignorant of the service animal portion of the ADA. Illegal policies regarding service animals are everywhere in local governments, and the attitude towards you if you have a service dog without an obvious physical disability is still very archaic.
I won the battle of the ADA being followed. It happens way more than it should. What's so difficult about complying to a 22 year old federal law? I really, really want to know. They managed to put ramps up to their buildings in a matter of months, but a piece of paper that waives a fee or just NOT saying, "you can't have your dog in here, only REAL service dogs" takes 22 years to figure out?
You don't harass service dog handlers. You allow well-behaved dogs who are said to be service dogs access to all places. You waive all "pet" type fees and charge no more taxes or fees than you would for a wheelchair. It's super simple stuff. Most handlers want to be left alone in ALL ways, honestly. Treat us like normal people and ignore the dog. The dog's there to help us function safely and normally, and should be ignored in all ways, including in fees and stuff.
If it took you less than 22 years to read this post, great job! You're smarter than most local governments!
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