Today I signed the lease for my new apartment. They have this written
service dog policy that they had me sign. Most of the things in it were
normal "service dog rules," like the dog must be on a leash at all
times except if doing a task that requires him to be off leash, you must
pick up after the dog, etc. But one of the things was that the service
dog must be no more than 24 inches from me at all times. I asked if
that meant I could not take him out for a walk on the property on a
longer leash and let him sniff around and stuff. The property manager
seemed confused and said he didn't know. So I asked if they have that
same policy for tenants with pets, because the property does allow
pets. He said he didn't think so, then he looked up their pet policy
and it says nothing about how close a pet dog has to be to its owner.
So then we had this conversation.
Me: So my dog has to be within two feet of me because he's a service dog?
Manager: Yeah, I guess so.
Me:
What if I hire a dog walker? I plan to hire someone that can take him
for a run sometimes. Will the dog have to be that close to the dog
walker, too? Or can he be on a longer leash with the dog walker?
Manager: I don't think he'd have to be that close to the dog walker. The dog walker won't be signing this list of rules.
Me:
So other tenants with pet dogs don't have to keep their dogs that close
to them, and a dog walker won't have to keep my dog that close to her.
The rule just applies to me? And of course anyone else that is
disabled and has a service dog.
Manager: Yeah.
Me: And that is because I have a disability?
Manager: I guess so, yeah.
Me: That doesn't sound right to me. Are you sure you're allowed to do that? To have different rules for disabled tenants?
Manager: No. Probably not. I don't think we can enforce that. I wouldn't worry about it.
Me: If you can't enforce it, why are you asking me to sign something saying I agree to it?
Manager: I don't know.
Me: Well, who would know?
Manager (thinks a while): I guess our compliance officer.
Me: Great! What's their name and number?
The compliance officer was not in the office today. Hopefully she returns my call Monday. I'm think it is not legal to have a different rule like that just for disabled tenants. But I will find out.
hahahah! I'm sorry, it's not really funny, just the droll way you wrote it. I'm so glad you do use your wonderful talent for writing.
ReplyDeleteOtherwise, no that's a ridiculous rule and it is discrimination to have different rules for disabled tenants. People just don't seem to think things through.
I'm thinking what they probably mean is that when the dog is working, like if he is in areas of the property where pets would not be allowed, he should be within 24 inches of the owner. For instance, tenants are probably not supposed to take their pet dogs into the laundry room (although I did not see anything in the very long list of rules about that). Isaac will be going to the laundry room with me, though, because he gets clothes out of the dryer for me so I don't have to bend over. He will be there because he will be working, and he should be on a short leash and be close to me. He should not be wandering around the laundry room, sniffing and peeing on things (which is what he likes to do on walks outside - peeing is a hobby of his).
DeleteService dogs don't work all the time, though. Isaac spends more time off duty than he does working. When I am at home with him and we go out for a quick potty break or for a leisurely walk, he is not working. He should not be required to be "on duty" every time he steps out of my apartment.
I love asking "Who would know?" when employees tell me they don't know something. They seem to think that just saying "I don't know" will make people stop asking questions and go away. It does not work with me.
If I am in a store and can't find something and ask an employee and they say they don't know, I usually suggest they go get their supervisor and we'll ask the supervisor and see if they know. Amazingly enough, the employee usually decides they can find out the answer without getting their supervisor when I make that suggestion.
What ended up happening?
ReplyDeleteThe supervisor told me that "two foot" rule was only for when/if the service dog has to be off leash to perform a particular task, not for when the dog is on leash. The way it's worded, it really doesn't sound like that, though.
Delete