Wes Bowers/News-Sentinel Staff Writer
For the last eight years, Lodi resident Zoey Meeker has lived with anxiety and panic attacks, and for much of that time the 25-year-old has been afraid to leave the house.
Seven months ago, she was able to train her 2 1/2-year-old German Shepherd Zoey to be a service dog so she could finally get back outdoors and around town.
Meeker said she was just at the point where she felt comfortable around people last week, when she was told she could not enter a local business.
"Last Thursday morning I was going to have breakfast with my dad downtown, and he wanted to go into some of the shops," she said. "We decided we'd meet at Tom's Used Books."
She and her father, along with Rory, entered the store located at 108 N. School St., and Meeker said she immediately felt like she wasn't welcome.
"(Owner Tom Kohlhepp) asked what I wanted, asked what I needed," she said. "Then he said I couldn't be in the store with Rory because he had cats. I assured him that Rory was my service dog and she wouldn't do anything to the cats."
Meeker said she offered to show Kohlhepp proof that Rory was a service dog, but he ignored her explanation. He further asserted the six cats he keeps in the store would begin "marking" if the dog remained inside, and ordered her out of the store, she said.
When Meeker told Kohlhepp he was violating the Americans With Disabilities Act, she claims he dared her to sue him.
"Rory didn't seem to bother the cats," Meeker said. "But I left because I wasn't going to argue with him. It was a short experience. He just didn't care. It made me feel awful. I had just gotten to the point where I felt happy to be able to be out of the house."
While proprietors do have the "right to refuse service to anyone," the ADA forbids businesses from ordering the disabled and their service dogs off the premises, unless the animal is out of control and the handler is unable to take control of it, or if it is not housebroken.
The ADA also states that when there is legitimate reason to ask a service animal be removed, the business must offer the person with the disability the opportunity to obtain goods or services without the animal's presence.
Meeker said Rory stood behind her during the entire exchange, and has always been well behaved when accompanying her into any other business.
Sticks! What Can't They Do?
Kohlhepp acknowledged he told Meeker she couldn't bring the dog inside the store, repeating his six cats would begin marking territory. He also questioned Meeker's disability. He also admitted that he told her she could sue him.
"She's hardly disabled," he said. "And any dog can be a service dog."
Service animals are defined by the ADA as dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities. Tasks or duties the animals can perform include guiding the blind, alerting those who are deaf, pulling a wheelchair, alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure, reminding a person with mental illness to take prescribed medications, calming a person with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder during an anxiety attack, or performing other duties.
The work or task a dog has been trained to provide must be directly related to the person's disability. Dogs whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support do not qualify as service animals under the ADA.
According to www.servicedogcertifications.org, registration or certification, or even a vest for a service dog is not required in California. However, the website said it is recommended.
Pretending to be the owner of a service dog is a misdemeanor and punishable by a fine of as much as $1,000, and possibly as much as six months in jail, according to www.nolo.com.
Meeker's mother Leyla Shelton said Rory has not only calmed her daughter during panic attacks, but she's sought out and alerted family members to the distress Meeker feels at times.
She said her daughter should not be subjected to verbal abuse from business owners or their employees because she needs a service dog to accompany her whenever she leaves home.
"She has a right to use a service dog without having to disclose why she needs the dog," Shelton said. "She shouldn't be hounded and interrogated, and shouldn't be told she has to leave."
As for Meeker, she is considering taking Kohlhepp up on his offer to take him to court, only so others who might need service animals are not treated in a similar fashion.
"He was very rude," Meeker said. "I love used books, because there's a certain feel to a book that's been used. It's like you're giving a second life to them. But now, I'm never going to recommend his store or walk in there ever again. Because something like this shouldn't happen to others."
www.lodinews.com
For the last eight years, Lodi resident Zoey Meeker has lived with anxiety and panic attacks, and for much of that time the 25-year-old has been afraid to leave the house.
Seven months ago, she was able to train her 2 1/2-year-old German Shepherd Zoey to be a service dog so she could finally get back outdoors and around town.
Meeker said she was just at the point where she felt comfortable around people last week, when she was told she could not enter a local business.
"Last Thursday morning I was going to have breakfast with my dad downtown, and he wanted to go into some of the shops," she said. "We decided we'd meet at Tom's Used Books."
She and her father, along with Rory, entered the store located at 108 N. School St., and Meeker said she immediately felt like she wasn't welcome.
"(Owner Tom Kohlhepp) asked what I wanted, asked what I needed," she said. "Then he said I couldn't be in the store with Rory because he had cats. I assured him that Rory was my service dog and she wouldn't do anything to the cats."
Meeker said she offered to show Kohlhepp proof that Rory was a service dog, but he ignored her explanation. He further asserted the six cats he keeps in the store would begin "marking" if the dog remained inside, and ordered her out of the store, she said.
When Meeker told Kohlhepp he was violating the Americans With Disabilities Act, she claims he dared her to sue him.
"Rory didn't seem to bother the cats," Meeker said. "But I left because I wasn't going to argue with him. It was a short experience. He just didn't care. It made me feel awful. I had just gotten to the point where I felt happy to be able to be out of the house."
While proprietors do have the "right to refuse service to anyone," the ADA forbids businesses from ordering the disabled and their service dogs off the premises, unless the animal is out of control and the handler is unable to take control of it, or if it is not housebroken.
The ADA also states that when there is legitimate reason to ask a service animal be removed, the business must offer the person with the disability the opportunity to obtain goods or services without the animal's presence.
Meeker said Rory stood behind her during the entire exchange, and has always been well behaved when accompanying her into any other business.
Sticks! What Can't They Do?
Kohlhepp acknowledged he told Meeker she couldn't bring the dog inside the store, repeating his six cats would begin marking territory. He also questioned Meeker's disability. He also admitted that he told her she could sue him.
"She's hardly disabled," he said. "And any dog can be a service dog."
Service animals are defined by the ADA as dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities. Tasks or duties the animals can perform include guiding the blind, alerting those who are deaf, pulling a wheelchair, alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure, reminding a person with mental illness to take prescribed medications, calming a person with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder during an anxiety attack, or performing other duties.
The work or task a dog has been trained to provide must be directly related to the person's disability. Dogs whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support do not qualify as service animals under the ADA.
According to www.servicedogcertifications.org, registration or certification, or even a vest for a service dog is not required in California. However, the website said it is recommended.
Pretending to be the owner of a service dog is a misdemeanor and punishable by a fine of as much as $1,000, and possibly as much as six months in jail, according to www.nolo.com.
Meeker's mother Leyla Shelton said Rory has not only calmed her daughter during panic attacks, but she's sought out and alerted family members to the distress Meeker feels at times.
She said her daughter should not be subjected to verbal abuse from business owners or their employees because she needs a service dog to accompany her whenever she leaves home.
"She has a right to use a service dog without having to disclose why she needs the dog," Shelton said. "She shouldn't be hounded and interrogated, and shouldn't be told she has to leave."
As for Meeker, she is considering taking Kohlhepp up on his offer to take him to court, only so others who might need service animals are not treated in a similar fashion.
"He was very rude," Meeker said. "I love used books, because there's a certain feel to a book that's been used. It's like you're giving a second life to them. But now, I'm never going to recommend his store or walk in there ever again. Because something like this shouldn't happen to others."
Local business owner defends not allowing service dog into store where he keeps six cats
For the last eight years, Lodi resident Zoey Meeker has lived with anxiety and panic attacks, and for much of that time the 25-year-old has been afraid to leave the
