From the WMUR:
"Veteran says diner owner kicked him, service dog out"
James Glaser, of Gardnerville, Nev., brings his dog, Jack, everywhere. "At night when I start having night sweats and tremors and nightmares, he'll actually jump on top of me and wake me up and give me kisses and hugs," he told WCVB. Glaser suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder after two stints in Iraq with the Air Force. Jack, a 3-year-old Jack Russell Terrier, is his service dog, trained and certified to help Glaser get through attacks. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, because Jack serves such a vital function, Glaser is supposed to be allowed to take him just about anywhere.
But when the two, along with Glaser's wife, walked into Oxford's Big I's Diner on Saturday morning, they were quickly shown the door. "I hear, 'Get that (expletive) fake service dog out of here,'" Glaser recalled the owner, Russell Ireland, shouting at him. Glaser argued with the owner and showed him Jack's certification papers -- to no avail. "He says he doesn't give a righteous whatever, and him or I are not welcome back in his restaurant," Glaser said. Even the Oxford police showed up and explained to Ireland that Jack is a service dog for a disabled veteran. "I told him, as well as the other officer, that, 'We do believe you're wrong, that Mr. Glaser should be able to come in with his service dog,'" Sgt. Anthony Saad told WCVB of his conversation Saturday morning with Ireland. "He still maintained his position."Saad had to inform Glaser, his wife and Jack that the owner wanted them off the property. Glaser hasn't forgotten. He sent a letter Monday to the ADA offices in Washington, D.C., asking them to look into the case and to fine Big I's for discrimination. In the meantime, he's organizing a boycott of the restaurant. "As far as I'm concerned, I don't want him to get a single cent from anybody in these United States," Glaser said. Ireland talked with reporters outside Big I's Monday afternoon. He apologized to any veterans he offended. "I have nothing against veterans at all. They're the backbone of the country. It's what makes us the United States," he said. He also apologized to Glaser specifically, admitting he handled the situation poorly. But he stopped short of saying he'd allow Glaser and Jack back in. Ireland said he had seen the two in the restaurant before, though he wasn't aware of Jack's status as a service dog, and felt it was bad business to have a dog in a restaurant. "Do you need it to help you get to the bathroom? By all means. Do you need to cuddle it and sneak it a piece of sausage? No, I'd rather not have it in my place," he argued. Big I's has received hundreds of threatening phone calls in the last two days, according to Ireland, including one in which the caller threatened to burn the building down with the workers inside. Glaser, for his part, said any such threats are unacceptable
^ This is a disgrace. Not only does it put a slap against the faces of all the disabled in general, but also all the men and women who fought and became disabled. I wish the police had the power in these circumstances to shut-down a business that broke the law rather than have to take it to court and wait years. If you have proof that you are disabled and that your dog/animal is trained to help you then you should be able to go anywhere you want to - just like everyone else. Glaser has it right in starting a boycott on Ireland and his business. Making threats on someone who breaks the law is pointless and can get you in trouble with the law yourself, but taking a non-violent stand and taking a person's livelihood away is a much better and bigger statement of doing what is right. I hope people in and around Oxford stop spending their money in the diner and turn their backs on Ireland. I also hope Glaser gets a court case against Ireland and wins - maybe that will shut not only Ireland's diner, but also his disgusting mouth. ^
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