by The Seeing Eye
From the Editor: Rideshare is one of the most promising services that has emerged for blind people in a long time. Unfortunately there is a downside, and that is that some drivers do not want to provide rides to blind people using guide dogs. The National Federation of the Blind has been working on this problem for several years, and a frequent question has been whether the schools are involved. Clearly the Seeing Eye is involved, and they have graciously let us reprint their survey. By way of a final note before we get to it, recent legislation has been passed that should make the requirements for doing the paperwork to fly with a guide dog less onerous, the suggestion being that a person will register once per year. We will certainly have an article about this legislation later in the year. Here is the survey:
Advocacy has always been at the core of The Seeing Eye’s mission to enhance the independence and dignity of people who are blind or low-vision by matching them with Seeing Eye® dogs. In 1928, as Morris Frank was matched with Buddy, our co-founder Dorothy Harison Eustis wisely informed Frank that Buddy would do him no good if he couldn’t accompany him wherever he needed to go. Prior to the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990, service animal handlers had limited rights to public access. Morris had to engage in ad hoc advocacy, tackling one barrier at a time. By 1938, near the end of Buddy I’s life, Seeing Eye dogs were permitted on the federal railroads and the team had flown on a United Airlines flight.
Through the efforts of Morris Frank and other advocates, guide dogs became a presence in society before the term “service animal” was widely recognized. They are scientifically bred and trained to guide their handlers safely around obstacles, to stop at landmarks, follow their handler’s directional cues, and to intelligently disobey a command that would put the team in danger. They wear U-shaped harnesses, and it is generally obvious that they are guiding a blind person.
The passage of federal laws such as the ADA, the Fair Housing Act (FHA), and the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) have given people with service animals the right to go virtually everywhere with their dogs. Implementing US regulations have defined service animals as dogs individually trained to perform a task for the benefit of a person with a disability. In Canada, federal and provincial human rights legislation affords people with disabilities access to public places and other settings with their service animals.
A growing understanding of how animals can mitigate the symptoms and manifestations of both visible and invisible disabilities has led to a significant increase in service animals throughout the United States and Canada. Service animals may or may not wear vests or harnesses and may be performing a task that is not obvious to anyone but the handler. Businesses and other public entities have become increasingly confused about what a “real” service animal is. The confusion has been compounded by people who bring their pet dogs into public places that are not trained to perform a task or behave appropriately in those settings. More than half of US states have responded to this problem by passing laws making it a criminal offense to misrepresent a dog as a service animal.
As a result of these developments, The Seeing Eye has been hearing from our constituents anecdotally that barriers to equal access with their Seeing Eye dogs have increased in recent years. The Seeing Eye conducted an online survey of guide dog handlers throughout North America during October and November 2023. In the interest of obtaining a robust sample, the survey was made available to all guide dog handlers in the US and Canada, regardless of where their dog was trained. The survey was broken down topically with questions about access barriers encountered in public places, rideshares, and air travel. More than 500 guide dog handlers responded to the survey.
We learned that despite the laws that have been in place for many years to give guide and other service dog handlers equal access, those laws are not nuanced enough to keep up with our changing environment. There is an overall lack of understanding among members of the public, business owners and their employees, and public servants about legitimate service animals.
The survey asked guide dog handlers how frequently they are denied access to businesses and other public places with their dogs.
We learned that certain misconceptions about what businesses can ask of service animal handlers persist.
There is no legal requirement in either country that service animals wear specific equipment to demonstrate that they are in fact service animals. Some service animals do NOT require equipment in order to perform their task.
The number of respondents who have been told they must show ID to enter a business was high.
ADA regulations make clear that it is illegal in the US to require that people with service animals show ID to enter a business. Although some Canadian provinces issue government IDs for service animals and while businesses can ask for them, they are not allowed to condition entry into the business on producing the ID if there are other ways to show that the dog is a service animal.
Unfortunately, access barriers are not just denials of entry or unequal access to goods and services. Access barriers are now created by people with poorly controlled dogs that are not service animals.
Although rideshare drivers use their private cars when working for companies like Uber and Lyft, they have opened their vehicles to the public and are covered by the ADA and company nondiscrimination policies requiring them to transport people with service animals.
At least one respondent offered the reminder that handlers also have a responsibility to treat rideshare drivers and their property with respect. “I think handlers should express respect while educating … letting them know that I appreciate the ride and show respect by ensuring the dog does not climb on seats, is very clean and does not smell and offer a reasonable tip … I know I have rights to access but I also know that where I access is not my property and is shared by many. Respecting that, and demonstrating it reassures the driver, that they matter too.”
Guide dogs have been flying with their handlers for almost 90 years, and they did so with relatively little hassle until the US Department of Transportation issued regulations in 2020, making it more difficult to fly with a service animal. The impetus for the new regulations was the increase in people trying to pass off their poorly behaved pets as service animals. Prior to 2020, the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) definition of service animal included emotional support animals that did not have to be dogs and did not have to be trained to perform a task.
The new regulations aligned the definition of service animal with the ADA definition, meaning that a service animal must be a dog trained to perform a task for an accompanying air traveler with a disability in order to fly. This came as a relief to many service animal handlers who had experienced alarming encounters with poorly behaved animals at the airport, but the regulations did not stop there. Airlines are now allowed to require all service animal handlers to complete a form up to 48 hours before flying (assuming the reservation was made that far in advance) attesting to their dog’s health, training, and behavior.
Airlines are required to use a standard form available in fillable PDF format accessible to people who use screen readers, but airlines are given wide latitude in the user interfaces they use for receiving the form and tying it to the reservation. Furthermore, although the form supposedly meets basic accessibility guidelines, it does not work reliably on some operating systems with older screen readers and is not compatible with mobile devices.
People with guide dogs who simply do not have technology or sighted assistance to complete the forms must rely on asking airline employees at the airport to make accommodations by assisting with the forms so they can fly, but that assistance is not guaranteed.
While guide dog handlers figure out how to navigate new access barriers during air travel, old ones persist. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) regulations for screening service animals have not changed recently, but guide dog handlers still regularly encounter officers who are not informed about how to appropriately screen a service dog team.
The survey gave respondents the opportunity to make open-ended comments about the access barriers they experience while working with their dogs, and some took the opportunity to articulate the emotional toll these challenges take even if no denial of service occurs.
One respondent commented, “Just because I did manage to get onto flights where an attempt was made to deny me service doesn’t negate the impact of the experience …. If someone challenges my entering a facility and I simply continue walking it doesn’t mean they didn’t try to deny me access. Unsuccessful denial attempts don’t keep it from happening the next time and do have a chilling effect on my interest in returning to those facilities or can make me exceedingly uncomfortable the next time I need to go there. … I have worried a lot more about how I will deal with denial attempts. I use rideshare less frequently than I might simply because there are times I just don’t feel up to a fight.”
The survey did not ask about the impact of access barriers on family members of guide dog handlers, but one respondent said, “The rideshare issue is my biggest concern. It is scary, inconvenient, and unpredictable, especially with children with me. They feel shame when with me now and beg me not to call a car.”
Despite access barriers, handlers still prefer the guide dog lifestyle.
The majority of respondents said they deal with access denials by educating the entity about their rights or going up the chain of command. Some respondents commented that their dogs have been well-received everywhere and that they have never been denied access. Others commented that a confident and calm demeanor goes a long way toward moving smoothly through potentially difficult encounters.
The survey results have shown us that access barriers are influenced by factors like changes in how people travel and laws that miss the mark when attempting to crack down on fraudulent service animals. Work needs to be done to reduce these access barriers and increase awareness among the public, businesses and employees, legislators, law enforcement and other public officials.
Guide dog schools, handlers, and their allies can lead this effort, but the greatest challenge will be ensuring that those efforts are impactful and well-targeted. Collaboration between stakeholders and state and federal legislators to improve and clarify existing laws is essential to safeguarding the rights and safety of service animal handlers.
Both full-scale educational campaigns and grassroots efforts are equally important. Individual advocates can make a difference by distributing educational materials in their communities and through social media platforms. Educators, businesses, and service organizations can invite stakeholders to give presentations to their constituents, with opportunities for dialogue and respectful listening between advocates and the community.
At The Seeing Eye, education and advocacy for the rights of guide dog handlers has been an integral part of our core goals since Morris Frank returned from Switzerland with Buddy I in 1928. A media alert invited members of the media to a demonstration of Buddy’s training, and it is documented that reporters and pedestrians looked on in awe as the team safely crossed one of the most dangerous streets in Manhattan at the time. In 2024, as The Seeing Eye celebrates its 95th anniversary, a new Advocacy and Government Relations department was established to expand ongoing advocacy efforts and allow members of our staff to dedicate their full attention to continuing this vital work. In the spirit of partnership, we ask that you reach out to us and share your stories, both the successes and challenges of guide dog partnership and accommodation, so that we may collaborate, educate, and stay on the cutting edge of this issue.
Visit our Advocacy center at www.seeingeye.org/advocacy for more about guide dog handlers’ rights and to download The Seeing Eye Advocacy App for Apple and Android devices, which contains federal, state, and provincial laws and regulations in the United States and Canada and other educational materials.