Hey! That's my spot!

Cura (a 65 pound dog) being displaced by the kitties!?

This is just too cute!  Cura is such a good-natured animal.  Even though she is bigger than any of the other animals in the house, she does not go around overtly bullying the three cats and Skye to get her way.  Case in point . . . a few months ago, Cura and I headed to bed for the night.  Usually, I tell Cura to 'Go to bed' and she heads for her crate that is located by my bed.  After only a few months, I was not closing the door on her crate at night (after all, what if I need her in the middle of the night -- she needs to be able to get to me) so I finally just took it off.  Well, when I had finished my pre-bed ablutions, this is what I found . . .

And who is the culprit?  This is our lovely boy Thai -- you may remember him from the pictures of Skye's adoptiversary.  Here you see him comfortably commandeering Cura's night-time bed.  And what does Cura do?  Lays down and waits for me to come to bed and fix it!

But wait, it does not end there . . .

Just the other day, I was going to spend the day at my desk working so I told Cura to 'Go upstairs' followed by the normal 'On your place' command.  Normally, this results in Cura making herself comfortable on her bed that is located by my desk.  You have seen it -- it is the blue one that features in many of the blog pictures.  Well, instead of settling, she kept coming back.  Finally, she stood in the doorway, looking at me, then looking in the direction of her bed . . . looking at me, then looking in the direction of her bed . . . looking at me, then looking in the direction of her bed . . . Well, I couldn't figure out what had gotten into her -- she was usually so good about going to her place.  When I entered the room with my desk, I saw this . . .

This time the usurper was Bear (Thai's brother).  I just love the look on Cura's face.  Translation:  "Mo-om!  Bear is in my spo-ot!  Fix it!"  Which, of course, I did.  But then, after leaving the room for a moment to get something to drink, I came back to this . . .

I think war may have been declared!  Batten down the hatches!

Traveling with a Service Dog . . .

In April, Nonna Ear Rubs and I will be attending a conference that will require us to stay in a hotel for a couple of nights. Nonna Ear Rubs made the accommodations reservations and, to smooth the waters a bit, informed the hotel that we would have a Service Dog with us. The person on the phone immediately informed her that we would need to provide Service Dog Certification when we arrived. The implication being that if I did not provide a certificate, we would be turned away. This is actually illegal.

First, let me just say that, as a rule, I inform businesses that I have a Service Dog as soon as possible because it tends to head off any negative reactions to my having a dog with me. It is for this same reason that I make sure that Cura has either her vest or pack, complete with patches, on when we are in public. At the VERY least she has a Service Dog tag on her collar. But, NONE of this is required by law. The ADA does not require that Service Dogs be certified or registered. Nor does it require that the animal wear any kind of identifying equipment.

Now, in addition to making sure that Cura wears clear identification that she is a Service Animal, when Cura came home, I did go to the trouble to purchase a "certificate" for her. It took my doctor and a vet filling out a form that I submitted with my fee and the certificate was issued. The fee was minimal -- not one of those companies that charge hundreds of dollars. But, the reality of the situation is that this 'Service Dog Certificate' was issued by an an organization that not only did nothing to train Cura in her skills, but did not personally evaluate her performance as a Service Dog. Anyone who could get their doctor to say that they need a Service Animal and a vet that would say that their animal was not a danger to society could get this certificate. Does this mean that the animal is actually able to act as a Service Animal? -- NO!

Will I take a copy of Cura's certification with us on the trip? Yes, the hotel indicated that it should be brought, so I will bring it, in order to avoid conflict. However, upon check in, I will be having a discussion with the manager (and, depending on how that goes, following up with some kind of written correspondence) about the illegality of their requests. If I run into too much trouble, I will call the appropriate authorities and report them.  Do I want it to come to that? Of course not. But, at the same time, they are asking for information that they are not legally permitted to require. I hope that it doesn't escalate, but I have plenty of time to prepare for any eventuality.

Nonna Ear Rubs wanted to know why we bothered to inform them that we would have a Service Dog with us when we made the reservation if we didn't have to.  It is all about making things easier. If the organization knows that I will have a Service Dog, when I show up with Cura, there is a good(ish) chance that she will be expected and I will not run into the initial 'No Dogs Allowed' mentality. I am all for avoiding conflict if possible -- but I will not tfacilitate illegal behavior. I plan to inform them that their request was illegal. If they insist on seeing a certificate, I might just get the authorities involved -- not because I do not have a certificate, but because they have no legal grounds to require one.

Well, the conference is not until April so there is time . . . for all I know, I am getting worked up about nothing because as soon as I make it clear that I know the law and my rights, they will back down. Who knows? But I will be sure to let you know what happens.