From Ganders wall. Most of you know these things, but they bear repeating for newcomers. SEAL of Honor reposted our petition and I am grateful, but some of the comments require an answer. Our petition on Change.org is still active and will stay up until the issue is resolved. Thanks to everyone who has signed the petition. Some quick answers to questions maybe not answered in the petition: --Our primary goal is to get Starbucks to implement a policy that takes ADA law violations seriously. This is for the benefit of future disabled people, civilian or military, who might go there with an assistance dog. --This does not happen at ALL Starbucks. But, our experiences are not isolated to our area. It seems to indicate a need on the part of SB to put a stronger education policy in place as well as better customer service when these problems occur. --Gander is a service dog. He is not an emotional support animal. When I first was paired with Gander, I was so physically debilitated I could not walk more than 30-40 feet without trouble. My left arm was often paralyzed and was hardly able to write my name due to arthritis-like symptoms. My orthopedic team and my mental health team wrote scripts that allowed me to apply for G. He does provide, as you can tell from this page, that he is of great emotional support and does do much to help me with severe PTSD. Anyone who has been around us for any amount of time has seen him in action in times of great stress. He fits every definition required by the ADA to qualify as a service dog. And his trainer was and is Assistance Dogs International certified. --This has been a stressful battle for me. I hope to resolve it as soon as possible. I do want assurances that others will not encounter the same problems at ANY of the locations. --Starbucks was notified each and every time there was a problem. All of you who have been here for any amount of time know that we work hard to resolve issues and to lay the groundwork for future freedom of access for others. That is the goal here. Thank you so much for your support. DM me with any questions or concerns! I wish they would take lessons from Disney on how to handle service dogs. I was blown away.... https://change.org/p/starbucks-stop-harassing-veterans?recruiter=768124&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=share_twitter_responsive
Posted on: Sat, 27 Dec 2014 05:58:11 +0000