Association of Guide Dog Users Speaks Out Against Proposed "Maryland Service Animals Act:"

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For More Information, Contact:Gary C. Norman, Esq.President of Maryland Area Guide Dog Users, Inc.410-241-6745E-mail: gnorman@cms.hhs.gov

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (March 14, 2006) According to Gary Norman of Baltimore, President of Maryland Area Guide Dog Users, Inc. (MAGDUI), "The proposed bill, H.B. No. 1457 would, if passed, create hardships for blind and visually impaired people who rely on guide dogs to travel safely across the state of Maryland, and impose an unnecessary layer of bureaucracy that would address presumed difficulties that don't even exist."

"With a title like, "Maryland Service Animals Act," Norman says, "One would assume that the bill would be doing something to further the civil rights and protections already afforded service animal users by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. However, nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, the bill, which requires that guide dogs be certified or re-certified, every year of their working lives, at a cost to their owners, by the State Department of Disabilities, may actually be in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. And, if that is the case, then the bill violates a long-standing administrative ruling by the state attorney general, 86 OAG 120, which states that provisions which conflict with the Americans With Disabilities Act are preempted by it. Furthermore, the state Department of Disabilities, which the proposed legislation tasks with carrying out certification procedures, has neither the expertise nor the statutory authority to administer such a program."

Norman explains, "The Americans with Disabilities Act focuses on what tasks a service animal performs for a person with a disabling condition and not where said animal receives training or whom trains it. Obviously, the guide dog schools ￃﾯￂ﾿ￂﾽ There are more than a dozen in the U.S. ￃﾯￂ﾿ￂﾽ have a long history of providing well trained guide dogs and well matched guide dog teams. Each guide dog school adheres to the highest standards for preparing well trained service animals, and for tailoring matches of each specially trained dog to each person according to his or her specific individualized needs and requirements. In addition, there are a number of blind people who train their own service animals, to meet their own individualized circumstances. This is a system that works. Why would we want to impose a level of bureaucracy upon it; who would derive the standards, and what qualifications does the Maryland Department of Disabilities have to administer a certification system? This seems to be one of those situations best described by the aphorism, 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it.'"

MAGDUI has entered into a coalition with several national and international organizations which represent people who rely on service animals to mitigate the effects of disabilities, including blindness, visual impairments, mobility impairments, hearing impairments, and deafness. The coalition, which has come together to oppose H.B. No. 1457, includes, among others, Guide Dog Users, Incorporated, MAGDUI's parent organization representing more than 1,200 members in ten countries; the American Council of the Blind of Maryland, of which MAGDUI is an affiliate; the International Association of Assistance Dog Partners; the Coalition of Assistance Dog Organizations; and the Seeing Eye, the nation's first and oldest guide dog school. Members of the ad hoc coalition, as well as a number of individual guide dog users, are expected to testify before the Maryland House of Delegates Health & Government Operations Committee on Wednesday, March 15, when that committee holds a hearing on the merits of the proposed legislation.

"We will be there, with our guide dogs, says Jane Sheehan of Silver Spring, to let the committee know that we are united in our opposition to certification requirements for guide dog teams in the state of Maryland."

Maryland Area Guide Dog Users, Incorporated, is an affiliate of the national advocacy organization, Guide Dog Users, Inc. (GDUI), and of the American Council of the Blind of Maryland (ACBM). Founded in the fall of 2002, MAGDUI advocates for the rights and needs of blind and visually impaired people who choose to travel with guide dogs. The organization counts among its recent accomplishments a group benefit for members of GDUI to reduce the cost of veterinary care, public outreach and education, individual advocacy on behalf of guide dog users who have been denied services (in direct violation of the Americans with disabilities Act), and a pilot joint program with the Fire Department of Baltimore County which allows guide dogs to be transported to an animal clinic for emergency medical care, or for temporary boarding, in a case where a dog's owner cannot, provide care because of illness or injury.

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