Advocacy Hotline

The following is a very exciting new tool.

Guide Dog Association Launches Innovative Hotline:The National Association of Guide Dog Users (NAGDU), has launched aninnovative new service. The NAGDU Education & Advocacy Hotline not only offersinformation about the legal rights of individuals who use service animals, itoffers the option to speak with an advocate who is trained to resolve accessdenials. According to the new federal guidelines that took effect on March 15,2011, a service animal is "any dog that is individually trained to do work orperform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability" (28 CFR Part35.104 & 28 CFR Part 36.104). The new regulations specifically state, "Otherspeciesof animals, whether wild or domestic, trained or untrained, are not serviceanimals for the purposes of this definition." In an effort to Further clarifyits intent, the Department of Justice specifically states, "The crime deterrenteffects of an animal's presence and the provision of emotional support,well-being, comfort, or companionship do not constitute work or tasks for thepurposes of this definition.""We find that most access problems are the result of a lack ofinformation," says Michael Hingson, the Association's vice president, who servesas project manager for the hotline. "This hotline is an excellent resource foraccurate information."The NAGDU Education & Advocacy Hotline currently offers generalinformation about service animals under the Americans with Disabilities Act(ADA), as well as specific guidance concerning restaurants, taxicabs, and healthcare facilities. Callers needing immediate assistance can connect directly to alive trained advocate. Future plans for the hotline includesummaries of each of the state laws concerning service animals, moreindustry-specific information, and guidance in a variety of languages, such asMandarin and Arabic. The hotline is available anytime by calling, toll- free,(866) - 972 - 3647.