Got this off another list, and thought it deserved broad dissemination
Kendall Corbett
An unreasonable man (but my wife says that's redundant!)
The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one
persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all
progress depends on the unreasonable man.
-George Bernard Shaw 1856-1950
-----Original Message-----
From: Larry Misaras [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Friday, February 18, 2005 2:33 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [HYCEPH-L] ATTENTION: March 4th Deadline for legislation
action- PLEASE HELP!! Re: Service Dogs on aircrafts
Dear Group:
This email is for dog lovers, persons with
disabilities. Please find the draft letter at the
bottom of this email. If possible, please forward
your version to:
http://dmses.dot.gov/submit/dspSubmission.cfm
Thanks,
Larry
Forwarded Message:
Our students and graduates as well as my own
service dog and I urgently need your help. The Dept.
of Transportation (DOT) has proposed new regulatory
language on air travel with a service animal. If
adopted "as is," this new language will deprive many
disabled persons of the right to fly with their
assistance dog in the plane cabin.
Below my signature, you can read IAADP's updated
Public Comment letter which I helped to write. It
will explain the details of this apalling change to
the regulatory language. We focus just on the seating
issue....... for as a disabled friend pointed out the
other day, "if you can't even fly with your assistance
dogs......none of the other proposed changes will
matter."
He tells me that we need to generate thousands of
letters if we hope to be taken seriously by the
government and the airlines. As of yesterday, we
counted LESS than 130 letters on the government's
Public Comment website which oppose this despicable
attack on the access rights of disabled passengers.
It has become obvious our advocacy network needs more
than one person [me] appealing for letters of protest.
PLEASE ask your friends, co-workers, other dog
lovers to join you in writing a short letter. If
members of the public begin writing letters supporting
the objections of disabled passengers to this policy
change, it could have a tremendous impact on the way
the airlines and DOT officials treat our pleas for
re-consideration of this issue.
I invite you to visit www.iaadp.org where I posted
an Emergency Action Call. You will find a Sample
Outline of a Public Comment Letter, other good
information.....or you can use the Link at bottom of
this email to submit your comment direcly "on line".
Please don't ignore this. The March 4 deadline
for public comment on changes to the Air Carrier
Access Act is fast approaching. This is the most
critical access issue in 25 years to confront the
assistance dog movement.
Thank you for considering my plea for immediate
action.
P.S. At the very bottom of the email, I will provide
the Link to the DOT website for Public Comment on this
issue. It will let you see your letter posted there
and /or read the comments of other caring individuals.
IAADP Chairperson
Docket # OST-2004-19482-9
Dear Docket Administration:
We respectfully request you accept this updated
comment.
International Association of Assistance Dog Partners
President: Ed Eames, Ph.D.
3376 N. Wishon, Fresno, CA 93704-4832
Phone: (559) 224-0544 Fax: (559) 224-5851
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
Board of Directors:
Chris Branson, Toni Eames, Jill Exposito, Joan
Froling, Lynn Houston, Carol King, Michael Osborn,
Devon Wilkins
February 6, 2005
Docket Clerk
Department of Transportation
400 7th Street, SW., Room PL-401
Washington, DC 20590.
Docket Number OST-2004-19482-1
Dear Docket Clerk,
The vast majority of comments received by the
Department of Transportation (DOT) in response to its
Notice of Proposed Rule Making have focused on air
travel with assistance dogs, the most common type of
service animal used by disabled Americans. In
particular, the issue of assistance dogs unable to fit
in the floor space in front of passengers with
disabilities has been the center of attention.
Current airline practices of providing an empty seat
where space is available or asking for a volunteer to
share leg space with the assistance dog, have created
excellent working relationships between disabled
passengers and the airline industry.
However, the language recommended in the NPRM
suggesting that the disabled passenger could be
charged for an extra seat, asked to take a later
flight or have the assistance dog shipped in cargo are
seen as threats by members of the assistance dog
partner community to their ability to travel by air.
The three options cited in the NPRM would have a
devastating impact on air travel by assistance dog
partners because:
1. Purchasing a second seat is not a viable option
since the additional costs would exclude most disabled
people with large dogs from traveling by air. It would
place an undue financial burden on them and would be
seen as an overt form of discrimination. A frequently
cited statistic is that 70% of the54 million Americans
with disabilities are unemployed and more than 40%
rely on the federal welfare program. Disabled
Americans constitute the most economically deprived
segment of our nation's population. Finally, if a
flight is fully booked, how would being charged for a
second seat solve the problem?
2. Traveling on a later flight does not guarantee the
issue will be resolved, since the same circumstances
may exist on the later flight.
3. Shipping the assistance dog in cargo is a totally
unacceptable option for IAADP assistance dog partner
members. A number of comments already submitted have
indicated, such separation was declared a violation of
the Americans with Disabilities Act by the Ninth
Circuit Court of Appeals in the Crowder case against
the state of Hawaii. That this option is even
suggested by DOT is an indication of a lack of
understanding of the work performed by guide, hearing
and service dogs and the relationship of these canine
assistants to their disabled partners.
Once again, IAADP recommends the following language be
adopted as official advice to
in-flight crews and counter agents:
"You may offer the passenger sitting in a seat
adjacent to the disabled passenger traveling with a
large service animal a seat in the same class of
service in another part of the cabin. If no seats are
available in that class of service, you may ask for a
volunteer willing to occupy the seat next to the
disabled passenger requiring sharing of leg room. If
no volunteer is forthcoming and seats are available in
another class of service in another part of the cabin,
you may ask the adjacent passenger or the disabled
passenger to occupy a seat in that other class of
service."
Using this approach to the issue of the assistance dog
unable to fit within the floor space in front of the
disabled passenger's seat would not be a financial
burden for the airlines or an inconvenience to other
passengers. It would formalize current air carrier
policies and be a reasonable accommodation.
If the second seat charge is instituted, as stated in
the NPRM, it would lead to a further loss of airline
revenue since fewer people with disabilities would be
able to travel by air.
Where every seat on a flight is occupied, at least one
other passenger would be willing to share floor space
with a guide, hearing or service dog. That has been my
experience and the experience of many other IAADP
members.
DOT and the air carriers should be focusing on the
issue of access in the Air Carrier Access Act. The
proposed DOT rules noted in this letter would work
against such access.
Respectfully submitted,
Ed Eames, Ph.D., President
Click link below to go directly to the DOT Document
Submission Form: to submit a comment "on line"
http://dmses.dot.gov/submit/dspSubmission.cfm
Use Docket Number OST-2004-19482-9
Fill in Personal Information.....[ Answer "No" to
query if it should be Confidential; Check "Comment,"
instead of Attachment for Type of Submission ] On
next page, write your Comment in the Box, then push
the "submit" button.
"PERMISSION TO CIRCULATE" to others on the Net hereby
granted by post's author.
LINK TO PUBLIC COMMENT WEBSITE ......enter this into
your browser. When you reach the webpage, scroll to
the bottom. Click on the last button as it will take
you to the public comments on this issue. Use the
"Reverse Order" button at the top of the new webpage
that appears so you can see the latest comments that
have been posted there, not the first few.
http://dms.dot.gov/search/document.cfm?documentid=303024&docketid=19482
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