Monday, September 14, 2009

Bus

Today was Meades first day going on the school bus! This morning we went on the bus and the bus driver gave us a weird look (when I asked her if I could bring Meade she never gave me an actual answer so I just brought him). We went to school and everything was all hunky dorey the whole day. But alas, when I went to take him on the bus to go home we were denied access. Apparently, he is a danger to the children. We know for a fact that Hannah and Megan both have ridden the bus with their pups and they are in my same school district. Also, according to the Utah laws I have read what happened to me was illegal. We are fighting this and we would like to know your opinions about this so I posted a poll for you to vote! It should be directly above this post! Thanks!

6 comments:

  1. Whoops. haha..
    I was once denied service from a McDonalds when I brought Spike in. I had done my research previously, so I said something along the lines of, "Under Utah State law, Working Service animals as well as Service animals in training are allowed to be in any public place so long as they are well behaved, regardless of allergy or "unsanitary" reasons" (etc).
    They stopped trying to argue with me after that.

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  2. That's unbelievable! And SO wrong! How can the bus driver be so unsupportive? Even if Meade was acting poorly, like relieving himself or acting aggressively, even then, it would be questionable for her to not allow Meade on the bus. But especially if he's behaving himself, why the ban? Someone needs a BIG talking to!! How did you end up getting home?

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  3. Mimi, you have such a good point!! My step dad came and got me. It was starting to rain too!!

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  4. We had a hard time with our school even accepting the pups to attend school with us. We lived close enough to the school that we walked home from school(our mom took us on her way to work) but I know a lot of bus drivers are careful about following rules, even if they are imaginary! I'm sure you'll win this battle though!

    If he were relieving himself or acting aggressively she would have full legal right to deny you access with him. Even at this point, unfortunately, she has legal right since they're not considered by GDB to "in training" until they're in formal training. While some state laws are worded such that they sound like they allow puppies-in-training, when it comes to legal matters they're considered to be guide dogs in training until formal training.

    I'm sure you'll win though! Even without the law backing you up, the school district would!

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  5. School property for public elementary, middle, and high schools (buses, school buildings) actually fall under different rules than what our state law covers. Even individuals who are actually disabled and have a working dog have had issues. Make sure to be nice about this, and accept that you may not get to ride the bus with Mead. I know one of the other school programs here does not allow the pups on the bus, and our youth raisers also have to take private transportation to take their pups to school. Hopefully the school will see there is no harm and you can continue to take him to school with you.

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  6. Talk to your leader and CFR. According to GDB guidelines, even if puppy raisers are covered under state law, we are not supposed to push the law on people. We are allowed to educate, but not get law involved.

    Truthfully, I am not surprised at all that Meade was not allowed on the school bus. Many school districts don't allow puppies on campus at all. It seems to me that allergies in kids are getting more prevalent with bigger reactions, leading to people being more picky about allowing dogs into places that might put someone else in danger. One of the Santas in town no longer allows the puppies to touch him - for fear of kid allergies.

    But, whenever you have questions about access or these types of battles to endure, leaders and CFRs should be your first point of contact.

    Good luck!

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