Woman says hotel denied her room due to service dog

Woman says hotel denied her room due to service dog - WNCN: News, Weather, Raleigh, Durham, Fayetteville
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Woman says hotel denied her room due to
service dog
Posted: May 05, 2015 4:44 PM EDT
Updated: May 05, 2015 5:51 PM EDT
by Phil Sanchez, WNCN News
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Woman says she was denied room
because of service dog
RALEIGH, N.C. - A Tennessee woman visiting Raleigh said she was
denied access to a local hotel because she has a service dog.
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Dianne Wertz said it happened after she drove five hours Monday
night with her service dog, Gabby.
"I came from Tennessee to see my son leave for basic training this
morning," she said.
When Wertz got to City Studios Hotel on Capital Boulevard, she said
he was denied a room.
"She proceeded to tell me oh you can't stay here because we don't
allow pets," Wertz added.
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Dianne Wertz said it happened after
she drove five hours Monday night
with her service dog Gabby.
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http://www.wncn.com/story/28984911/woman-says-hotel-denies-her-room-due-to-service-dog[5/7/2015 2:36:14 PM]
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Woman says hotel denied her room due to service dog - WNCN: News, Weather, Raleigh, Durham, Fayetteville
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exercises scheduled
She said she presented the hotel employee with the proper
credentials concerning service animals.
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But Wertz said the woman at the front desk would not budge.
Holly Stiles, a lawyer with Disability Rights North Carolina, said
hotels must accommodate patrons with service animals.
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"The American Disability Act says that if somebody has a service
animal, public accommodations like hotels, have to accommodate
their needs as a person with a disability," Stiles said.
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Stiles said Disability Rights North Carolina gets a lot of call about
people not understanding where service animals are allowed to go
and where they have to be accommodated.
Hotel says it didn't
deny veteran room
because of service
dog
Wertz said she's a veteran and her dog helps with her PTSD.
"I shouldn't have to be treated like a second-class citizen because I
have a service dog," Wertz added.
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MORE>>
Wertz traveled back to Tennessee and said she may contact a
lawyer.
The manager of City Studios did not want to comment on the matter
when contacted by WNCN.
Copyright 2015 WNCN. All rights reserved.
Phil Sanchez
Phil Sanchez is an Emmy and Associated Press award winning anchor and reporter who
joined WNCN's team in 2011.
More>>
Woman says hotel den
service dog
Posted:
Updated:
by Phil Sanchez, WNCN News
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Also post on Facebook David Scallion ·
Comment
Comment
Top Commenter · Muleshoe, Texas
They had a woman with social anxieties who took a small, screeching monkey into a Walmart in
southwest Missouri, and was told by the employees she couldn't bring it into the store. The woman
filed a suit, but the judge dismissed it because the law doesn't provide for support monkeys.
Reply · Like Like · 51 minutes ago
Add a Reply...
Reply
Jenni Dickson McClure ·
Reply
Top Commenter · Virginia Tech
I'd save my money and not bother with an attorney. There's a difference between a service dog and a
therapy animal. The credentials she presented on camera are printed off the internet. I know of a few
acquaintances who carry the same thing in the bag in which they carry their foo foo dog that is
nothing more than their "baby".
Reply · Like Like · Yesterday at 7:31am
David Scallion ·
Top Commenter · Muleshoe, Texas
There is actually no such thing as "the proper credentials" I have a relative who simply got
her doctor to state on a prescription form that she needs a service animal for her seizure
disorder, and that satisfied her landlord.
Reply · Like
Like
·
David Scallion ·
2 · Edited · Yesterday at 8:54am
Top Commenter · Muleshoe, Texas
Definition of service animals from the ada.gov website follows. You'll notice it does include
dogs who calm a person who has PTSD.
Service animals are defined as dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform
tasks for people with disabilities. Examples of such work or tasks include guiding people
who are blind, alerting people 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 (PTSD) during an
anxiety attack, or performing other duties. Service animals are working animals, not pets.
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.
Reply · Like
Like
·
2 · Yesterday at 9:03am
Vickie Adamson · Works at Self-Employed
Most people with real service dogs call in advance of anywhere they are going hotels,
movies, etc. so they are expected.
Reply · Like
Like
· 16 hours ago
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Woman says hotel denied her room due to service dog - WNCN: News, Weather, Raleigh, Durham, Fayetteville
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Ayma Ratt ·
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