A Colorado cab driver has been suspended from his job after forcing a blind woman to stow her seeing-eye dog in the trunk because of his pet allergies.
Denver, Colorado resident Judie Brown was confused when the cabbie told her that the dog had to ride “in the back” of the cab because of he was allergic. When she asked, “Where in the back?” the driver responded “In the trunk.”
Late for an appointment, Brown reluctantly agreed. The black Lab, Alberto, who has been Brown’s service dog for four years, whined during the entire ride in the trunk. “It was terribly wrong,” Brown said of the situation, and the law is on her side: Colorado state law protects service dogs and their owners, allowing them to ride together in taxis and public transport.
The driver has since been suspended and fined by the state for violating this law.
The situation embodies a common conflict between those with dog allergies and those requiring service dogs for a disability. Disability laws protect those with service dogs, but do not usually protect those with allergies.
Taxi cabs and restaurants commonly pose a problem for those with service dogs, says Marion Gwizdala, president of the National Association of Guide Dog Users.
“Most states have criminal penalties for refusing access to service dogs, but one of the major issues is that generally there’s ignorance of this law. The Department of Justice clearly states that allergies and fear of animals are not reasons to deny service animals — unless the allergy rises to the level of disability,” he says.
If a cab driver can prove that his/her allergy to dogs constitutes a disability, then there would be a conflict as to whose rights are superior, Gwindzala says. But how often is a dog allergy severe enough to qualify as a disability?
Someone with asthma could have a severe asthma attack triggered by having a dog in the car, which could be threatening to his/her health, according to James Sublett., chair of the Indoor Environments Committee at the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.
Given the laws that protect service dogs, what’s an allergic cabbie to do?
“The driver has a reasonable right to avoid contamination of his cab with dog dander,” says Miles Weinberger, director of the Pediatric Allergy and Pulmonary Division at the University of Iowa.
However, he adds, the driver also has an “obligation to ensure that an alternative taxi is promptly available. Putting the dog in the trunk is not an acceptable alternative.”
Story by Elaine Furst for Dog Files
Fire the driver. That poor dog should never have been put in the hot trunk. The driver should have gotten another cab for this woman. The driver took unfair advantage of the dogs owner to make a buck. If his allergies are so bad why is he even driving a cab. I’ll bet a very high percentage of his passengers own pets and bring pet dander into his cab on a daily bases.
what an ass. he should be fined and fired.
what his dam head would have exploded what a jackass , deb is correct.why is he a cabdriver he knows he will exposed to all kind of things .he needs to be fired
The cabbie is soooo wron but what about the owne? , she put the dog in the trunk. i dont care how late I was for an appointment I would never put my dog in the trunk of a car! Both parties were in the wrong as far as I’m concerned.
Not to be a downer or anything, but late or not….as a dog owner; I would have refused and waited for another cab. Dog owner should also be fined.
What would this cabbie do if a woman got into his cab with too much perfume and he has “allergy issues”…make her sit in the trunk too?? ASS.
Ok yes the cabbie is a douche and should be fired but I can’t say I’m on the owners side either! Late or not you don’t put your animal in the trunk of a car. Service animals are a privilege and should be treated as such. The agencies that place these animals are trusting in the human to care correctly for the animal.
Judie Brown does not deserve to have a guide dog. In fact, the guide dog school should come to her house and take the dog away from her immediately, because she is obviously so selfish that she would rather risk the dog’s safety than be late to an appointment! She says in your article that if anything ever happened to the dog, she would “just die”–but that means nothing when she’s perfectly willing to endanger the dog for her own convenience.
Unfortunately, having a guide dog involves many incidents like the one you described in the article (and it’s even worse if you try to *fly* with one nowadays–the airlines are ridiculous), and it’s a bummer to have to deal with this kind of ignorance, but YOU CANNOT MAKE THE DOG THE VICTIM! Judie should have been willing to be late to her appointment in order to protect the safety of her dog, who cannot defend himself. Judie Brown is so selfish and self-pitying when she says she’s “scarred” by this experience–what about the dog? Don’t you think he was FRIGHTENED and very uncomfortable? Judie Brown should be totally ashamed of her selfish abuse of her dog–yes, I did say that Judie Brown abused the dog herself, because all the cab driver did was tell her to do something; it was Judie herself who actually allowed this horrible thing to happen.
A dog is a LIVING BEING no matter what kind of job the dog is doing, and guide dog handlers are taught at guide dog schools to behave a lot better than Judie Brown did. Judie Brown should go back to using a white cane if she doesn’t know how to treat living beings with respect and care. That poor dog deserves better.
Judie Brown does not deserve to have a guide dog. In fact, the guide dog school should come to her house and take the dog away from her immediately, because she is obviously so selfish that she would rather risk the dog’s safety than be late to an appointment! She says in your article that if anything ever happened to the dog, she would “just die”–but that means nothing when she’s perfectly willing to endanger the dog for her own convenience.
Unfortunately, having a guide dog involves many incidents like the one you described in the article (and it’s even worse if you try to *fly* with one nowadays–the airlines are ridiculous), and it’s a bummer to have to deal with this kind of ignorance, but YOU CANNOT MAKE THE DOG THE VICTIM! Judie should have been willing to be late to her appointment in order to protect the safety of her dog, who cannot defend himself. Judie Brown is so selfish and self-pitying when she says she’s “scarred” by this experience–what about the dog? Don’t you think he was FRIGHTENED and very uncomfortable? Judie Brown should be totally ashamed of her selfish abuse of her dog–yes, I did say that Judie Brown abused the dog herself, because all the cab driver did was tell her to do something; it was Judie herself who actually allowed this horrible thing to happen.
A dog is a LIVING BEING no matter what kind of job the dog is doing, and guide dog handlers are taught at guide dog schools to behave a lot better than Judie Brown did. Judie Brown should go back to using a white cane if she doesn’t know how to treat living beings with respect and care. That poor dog deserves better.