I copied Mirandas response from a local blog. She wrote an impressive response to the article and comments concerning a local restaurants refusal to admit her legitimate service dog into the premises. Excellent response and I am proud of her very mature response to the issue. To the people who have expressed their thoughts and opinions on the matter of Cap’s and the service dog incident: I have made an attempt to refrain from getting involved in the heated discussions about whether Cap’s turned down the “youth with the service dog.” I must say that I am appalled at some of things people are saying, given that almost none of you were there. My name is Miranda and I am the 15-year-old girl with the service dog, who was denied access into the restaurant of Cap’s on August 30th. I just want to start by saying that I never expected any of this to happen. My family and I didn’t intend to start a controversy and we certainly never meant for it to blow up this big. I feel as though many of you are making remarks without considering that I am actually a person who exists and feels. For those of you who are unsure of the real story, all I can offer is my own perspective. On August 30th, my family friends were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary and they had made reservations at Cap’s, weeks in advance. My family and I, dog included, arrived a few minutes later than the rest of party, who had already been seated. I was expecting no conflict, given that I have brought my service dog there on other occasions. However, when we got inside, the woman who was at the hosting counter immediately began saying that there would be no room for the dog, since it was very crowded inside. My mom told her that the dog would be no trouble and potentially unnoticeable, once she was downed underneath the table, as she’s been trained to do. The woman repeated that it would just be too crowded. Just then, an older man came in and said that we could not bring the dog inside. I told him that it was a service dog, clearly identified by her service jacket, but he said that we could not bring the dog in unless we produced some paperwork. For those of you who are unaware, paperwork is not and cannot be required in any business of the state; it’s a law. My mother tried to explain this to the man, but he was clearly becoming agitated and his voice began growing louder. He kept repeating that we could not bring the dog in until we showed him paperwork. I was fairly uncomfortable and remained quiet as my mom tried to explain that it was against the law. The man refused to listen, demanding that he was right. At this point, my mom told them that if they would not let us in, then she would have to call the police. It wasn’t until she said this, that the woman who had been standing at the hosting counter said that she would seat us. But, I can honestly say that I was not interested in being seated while this man was hollering at me. He made it perfectly clear that we could not be seated respectfully until we produced paperwork and that he could be fined $1,500. I was humiliated by the man’s words and anger, and I went outside where I had a good cry, being overwhelmed by it all. I am not a witness of what happened between my mom and the owners after I went outside, but I can tell you that we were denied access long before anyone made any rude remarks. A few minutes later, the door opened and the man came storming outside where he proceeded to raise his voice at me and say, “Don’t be mad at me! I will be fined $1500! To hell with you!” He stormed away and the whole party of people, who were there for the celebration, left Cap’s and went to Sweeney’s, down the street. After our evening came to an end, we called a Brentwood police officer who heard us out and then made a trip to Cap’s, where she got the owners side of the story, as well. The officer came to our house the next day and told us that the owner admitted he would not let the dog in without papers, and believed it was his right to do so, because it was his restaurant. This is not opinion; it’s fact. For those of you who are accusing my family and I of being attention-seekers since we posted it on Facebook, I will inform you that the story was first put on Facebook by someone else from the dinner party, who was upset that the celebration had been ruined. No one from my immediate family said anything over the social media site until it exploded with comments that my parents felt the need to answer to. As for me, I didn’t actually read anything on any of the social media sites until Friday….and I was horrified. I was horrified at the lack of knowledge that was just being blatantly posted and the awful things that were being said about both my family AND about Cap’s. Our intentions aren’t, and never were, to ruin Cap’s, take their money, or kill their business. For those of you who claim my parents are gold diggers trying to make money off of my disability: We aren’t even suing the restaurant, so I don’t understand what money you think we’re making out of any of this. The only thing we expect is for the Cap’s owners to allow us to explain the law; to educate them. I want to HELP them, not hurt them. I want to prevent this from happening again, and I want to show the staff some of the ways they can identify legit service dogs in a respectful way. I am not in any way out for revenge or angry with the restaurant. I am well aware of people who abuse the rights of service animals and how frustrating this can be for business owners; it frustrates me too. I have had several experiences with people who bring their purse poodles into a place and claim that they’re service animals. I can relate to the frustration because this makes me and my service dog look bad, as well. I want to clarify that my family has no personal quarrels with Cap’s. We’ve been going to this restaurant for years, and we enjoyed it every time. This is the only time we’ve had a bad experience and I understand that it is simply because the owners are ignorant to the laws and to the validity of service dogs that assist Type 1 Diabetics. To help some of you understand, I would like to explain these laws and why I need this dog. I am a Type 1 Diabetic and I was diagnosed at 12 years old, on July 25th of 2011. It was a traumatic, life-changing experience. I spent a week in the hospital learning how to give myself injections of insulin and test my blood sugar. I was told that I needed to do this in order to live. I regularly experience hypoglycemic attacks, each one as terrifying as the last. These hypoglycemic attacks are more commonly known as low blood sugar. In many cases, a diabetic’s body will actually grow accustomed to the symptoms of low blood sugar, making it so you aren’t aware until you are unconscious. About two years ago, I learned of a non-profit organization called Dogs for Diabetics (D4D). This organization trains dogs, many of which were bred in the Guide Dogs for the Blind kennels, to alert a diabetic when their blood sugar is dropping or already dangerously low. We applied and were accepted as clients. For 5 months, my mom and I attended classes at a training center, where we learned how to properly handle a service dog and what laws we needed to know for situation just like this one. These dogs are literally life-savers. My service dog has saved my life on several occasions, including waking me up in the middle of the night. In direct response to a woman who made a remark about a childhood friend having diabetes and never needing a dog: it is entirely true that not every diabetic needs a service dog to live a happy, healthy life. I guess I would explain that the dog is a tool that helps me. It is a tool that I have decided helps me live happier, healthier, and more independently. Every diabetic is different in the way they handle their diabetes, physically and mentally. In my own opinion, there are three ways you can approach a disability like this: you can hate it, accept it, or take pride in it. Of all those options, I have had more success in taking pride in it and in doing all that I can to love myself and my life despite this disability. However, I do not deny that, at times, it gets very hard to stay positive and that, yes, I naturally stick out because I have a service dog. But, in the end, I know it’s worth it. Allow me to stress my point to the people who are accusing me of trying to get attention: you are very wrong. There is big difference between trying to educate and inform, and trying to get attention. It is insulting to say that I am throwing a pity party, given that you have nothing to pity me for. I don’t want your pity. I want you to understand. The ADA (American with Disabilities Act) clearly states that a business cannot demand any form of paperwork. “Service dogs are defined as animals that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities. Under the ADA, state and local governments, businesses and nonprofit organizations that serve the public must allow service animals to accompany people with disabilities in all areas of the facility where the public is normally allowed to go.” This is the law. We have read and understood your thoughts and opinions. Being the person that this whole controversy revolves around, I don’t think it is a ridiculous request to ask that it stop now. I am asking you to stop accusing my family and I of things you are clearly wrong about. I am asking you stop hating Cap’s, because I don’t, and there’s no reason to. They made a mistake and it is being handled by authorities who are fully aware of the laws and how to approach the situation. Thank you to each and every one of you who have taken the time to show your concern throughout this unfortunate experience. ~Miranda
Posted on: Tue, 09 Sep 2014 15:34:05 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015