Service Dog Assault

[Jarlaxle]

This damn near killed my good friend. Someone brought in a service dog...he is allergic, and asthmatic. He wound up in the hospital after a Code Three ambulance ride, and on oxygen for two days. Thankfully, the fire station was only a couple blocks away, or he'd be dead. Being around ANY dog is instantly life-threatening for him.

He has never visited his brother and sister in law's house, because they have 2 dogs. If they visit him, they have to shower, wear freshly-washed clothes, and run sticky rollers over the seats in their truck before leaving.

This kind of severe reaction to dander is so incredibly rare that many allergists don’t even list pet allergy as potentially deadly, unlike many other potential sources of anaphylactic shock like peanuts, shellfish, insect stings, chemicals or substances like latex.

Even from the common sources I listed, the incidence of anaphylaxis is still very rare overall. The incidence of a severe anaphylactic reaction to dog dander is so exceedingly rare that there is no question the balance should weigh in favor of service dogs assisting the disabled in public places and private businesses open to the public. Those who harbor an exceedingly rare potential for dog dander anaphylaxis need to carry some epi pens and assume the risk.

It wasn't anaphylaxis...the dog triggered a near-fatal asthma attack.

[Joe Guy]

I would think having asthma would be bad enough to have but allergy induced asthma sounds like it would seriously limit your life.

[Jarlaxle]

It almost ended his life.

[BoSoxGal]

This damn near killed my good friend. Someone brought in a service dog...he is allergic, and asthmatic. He wound up in the hospital after a Code Three ambulance ride, and on oxygen for two days. Thankfully, the fire station was only a couple blocks away, or he'd be dead. Being around ANY dog is instantly life-threatening for him.

He has never visited his brother and sister in law's house, because they have 2 dogs. If they visit him, they have to shower, wear freshly-washed clothes, and run sticky rollers over the seats in their truck before leaving.

This kind of severe reaction to dander is so incredibly rare that many allergists don’t even list pet allergy as potentially deadly, unlike many other potential sources of anaphylactic shock like peanuts, shellfish, insect stings, chemicals or substances like latex.

Even from the common sources I listed, the incidence of anaphylaxis is still very rare overall. The incidence of a severe anaphylactic reaction to dog dander is so exceedingly rare that there is no question the balance should weigh in favor of service dogs assisting the disabled in public places and private businesses open to the public. Those who harbor an exceedingly rare potential for dog dander anaphylaxis need to carry some epi pens and assume the risk.

It wasn't anaphylaxis...the dog triggered a near-fatal asthma attack.

Right and those are included in the exceedingly rare incidence of pet dander induced serious allergic event. The effect on the airways of allergic anaphylaxis and allergy induced asthma are basically identical, anyway. And like my niece, many people with allergies have asthma as well which puts them at an increased risk of serious allergic event. Still rare from pet dander, but yes, it happens.

I am not discounting entirely that this happens, nor am I unsympathetic toward folks with serious allergies to anything - that's a shitty thing to navigate in a world teeming with allergens. But as I discussed above, there is a balance that must be struck. From a quick search online I found that in 2016 there were 1.7 million ER visits related to asthma, and 3518 deaths due to asthma. I'm betting only a small subset were pet dander related.

Versus the number of people who bring registered service dogs into public spaces to assist with serious medical and mental health disabilities - approximately 200,000 service dogs in the USA, but more if counting ESAs - however ESAs don't have the same protections under law and so aren't brought to public spaces nearly so often. They have become a topic of conversation with the perception that they are a huge problem because the airline carriers were allowing ESAs to travel with passengers and yes there was clearly some abuse of that privilege, which I believe has now become much more restrictive on most major carriers.

Seriously, how many times in your lives have you seen a service dog in a public space that you have frequented? I'm a fairly well traveled person and haven't seen it much - mostly because I had a blind colleague at one point whose guide dog went everywhere with him, and I've seen service dogs in court a number of times and a few times ESA therapy dogs in use during a child sexual assault trial. In nearly 50 years of living memory I can never recall seeing a service dog in a grocery store or restaurant that I was visiting, however most service dogs would be quietly at the feet of the handler so one wouldn't necessarily ever know they were there.

Those folks at risk of fatal asthma attack or anaphylactic shock obviously have to navigate spaces more carefully and that might include asking at the hostess stand, is there a service dog in the establishment tonight? Or at the check-in counter, is there a service dog or ESA on board this flight? Definitely inconvenient but surely we can't suggest that the dogs must be done away with to accommodate the possibility of a rare extreme reaction to dander.

[Big RR]

FWIW, I travel quite a bit and have seen service animals on planes around a dozen time. All were well trained and caused no problems. I have seen many more emotional service animals, some trained and well behaved, some not, and a good number which might not qualify as ESAs but were claimed to be such for free transport on the plane (although I have no way of knowing for sure). But what I think would make sense are a few common sense things:

1. Limitation of the number or ESAs and service animals on any plane to 1 or 2
2. Register ESAs and issue permits based on the bona fide need to have the animal with you during travel and also require training of these animals to be certain they are well behaved
3. Placing all service and ESAs in a single section of the plane so those with allergies can be distanced from them (better air handling would help as well)
4. Reserving a small block of rooms in hotels to be allergen free and off limits to all animals
5. Designating a section of the restaurant for service and ESAs so those with allergies can be accommodated

These make sense, but the ADA apparently does not allow it (at least with regard to service animals, not certain what the rules are with ESAs); it's just a simple balancing of interests.

[Scooter]

‘I knew what they were doing wasn’t right’

Sitting in the living room of his Kitchener apartment — mother on one side, girlfriend on the other — Justin Leckie is remarkably circumspect for a guy who has experienced the most vicious public takedown of any disabled person in recent memory.

Last Wednesday, the 32-year-old Kitchener resident, who has Asperger’s — a form of autism — along with obsessive-compulsive disorder, general anxiety disorder and is subject to bouts of depression and panic attacks, stopped in for wings at Milton’s Grill & Bar on King Street, where he showed his vaccination status and was waved in by door staff with his service dog, Epi.

And then, confronted by two men described on social media as the owners, things went horribly wrong.

The men, who Leckie says appeared “primed to beat someone up” and were “just looking for a fight” aggressively demanded to see certification papers for his dog, despite the fact Leckie had eaten at Milton’s a half dozen times before without incident and an official tag was visible on the dog’s vest.

When Leckie refused to comply because the men failed to identify themselves (“I don’t show just anybody my papers”) it sparked a confrontation that quickly spiralled out of control and was documented in a gruelling video that shows the beleaguered Milton’s patron being sworn at, grabbed, pushed and dragged by his feet across the floor as horrified onlookers shout “Leave him alone!” and “Don’t touch him!”

“I was half in shock at the time it was happening,” confides the soft-spoken musician, who found the violation of both his body and dignity highly traumatic. “It seems so much longer when I watched the video.

“It was distressing to see them manhandling me like thugs. I’m yelling at them. My voice is hoarse. Just to hear the sound of my own voice was distressing.”

A gifted violinist with the Cambridge Symphony Orchestra who has sung in choirs, is working on his Bachelor of Music degree at Wilfrid Laurier University and is known, say family members, for his kindness and empathy, Leckie doesn’t view himself as a victim.

His stand against two men who come off, in the video, like classic high school bullies, wasn’t an attempt to be confrontational.

Refusing to hand over his papers to aggressive men in ball caps wasn’t an attempt at civil disobedience.

At the moment he was accosted, Justin Leckie — like many people who have been underestimated, overlooked and bullied in their lives — was mad as hell and decided he wasn’t gonna take it anymore.

“I hadn’t done anything wrong,” he insists in a calm, steady tone.

“I knew what they were doing wasn’t right. They had no right to lay a finger on me. I could have gone just be like ‘Oh OK’ and walked out. But I thought ‘This is wrong. I’m not gonna let them do this to me.’ I made the decision to stand my ground.”

Because Leckie has a service dog, clearly identified in the video, because the footage of what he describes as “barrel chested thugs” manhandling him is so raw and visceral, because the video unwinds over an excruciating, trigger-warning four-and-a-half minutes, and because there has been no attempt at reconciliation by anyone from Milton’s, reaction from the public has been swift and retaliatory.

“It’s taken on a life of its own,” notes the grateful university student, who feels supported by the community.

“People are protesting outside the restaurant. There have been thousands of comments on Facebook, dozens of emails and a GoFundMe campaign. It’s incredible to see the support, based on an ethical principle. It’s not just about me. It’s raising awareness.”

If it isn’t evident by now, Leckie — described by his girlfriend as “one of the kindest, most empathetic people I’ve ever met” — is smart, well-spoken and thoughtful, a young man with challenges who has set high goals for himself: to become a professor, teach, travel the world, make his mark.

Being mauled for taking a principled stand will set him back, he acknowledges, fearful this incident could spark Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

But there are larger issues at stake.

“From the moment they walked over to demand my papers without telling me who they were, I knew these guys were bullies just by the way they carried themselves,” he insists.

“They were like bouncers, all macho, with their chests puffed out, trying to look intimidating — purposely.

“It seemed like they had a chip on their shoulder, like it was about more than the service dog.”

Service dogs are what most of the media have focused on:

Are they allowed in restaurants? (they are)

Did Leckie break any rules by entering the premises with one? (he didn’t).

But it’s a red herring.

If you watch the video, what you see is less a stand off over a dog — Leckie can be seen futilely waving what he says are the certification papers at his assailants — than two able-bodied men exerting their power and privilege against someone they consider an easy target.

“Get the f — out of here!” commands one, grabbing Leckie by his jacket so hard it left bruises on his body and lacerations around his neck, based on photos tearfully displayed by his distraught mother.

“No,” he responds. “I’m on the right side of the law and I’m not leaving.”

“You’re trespassing!”

“I’m a customer!”

“You’re undesirable. I want you out. The dog can stay but you can’t.”

“Undesirable” is the key word.

It, more than anything, set off alarm bells not only with the autism community — horrified to see one of its own targeted in such a cruel, contemptuous fashion — but by society at large, most of which has either felt victimized by such crude, retaliatory dismissals at some point, or know someone who has.

“I felt like I was in a movie with a bunch of thugs beating someone up in a restaurant,” confides Leckie, with the perspective of a few days distance.

“You don’t expect when you go out to grab a bite to eat that that’s gonna happen to you. It felt surreal.”

There was no understanding or appreciation by the men confronting him of differences or disabilities.

No patience with someone who had a service dog and was clearly in distress.

No deference to those on the sidelines shouting anguished pleas to leave him alone.

“They were approaching someone with a service animal and being very loud and in his space,” notes his mom, Shelley DeLaFranier, trying to lend context.

“People shouldn’t be doing that even if you’re just asking for papers. It’s an awareness and education thing.”

In 2021, we know the power of social media to amplify injustices, cut through the din and create positive change.

The palpable disgust with which Milton’s staff treated a disabled person — based on public blowback — has proven a galvanizing force for what has been termed “the last frontier of inclusion.”

“We are tremendously grateful to the person who took the video,” notes DeLaFranier. “Without that video, none of this would have happened.”

Leckie comes from a protective family, who like many families of people with disabilities, worry about his welfare and try to run interference.

When I interviewed him on the weekend, his mother and uncle were concerned he might be too honest with media, that he might say something that — because the world can be a cruel place — might cause further harm.

As someone with autistic family members, I get the concerns, the need to advise, advocate, smooth the path.

But Leckie — who has taken a big picture view of his experience and whose sense of right and wrong is absolute — says this is about justice, plain and simple.

“You can’t manhandle someone and throw them out of a restaurant just because you don’t like them or have a chip on your shoulder,” he insists, determined that his assailants be held accountable.

“They assaulted me. It’s a violation of human rights.”

The fact no one from Milton’s has reached out — and instead issued a media denial that they discriminate against service dogs — makes it worse.

“There’s no sense of remorse,” laments Leckie, who hopes the incident will make restaurant owners more sensitive to people with disabilities.

“I’m not letting them get away with it. They have to do better.”