Reading about the recent Christmas tree controversy involving the denial of access to a so-called “service dog” apparently protected under regulations of the American Disabilities Act (aka Attorneys Dreams Answered) illustrates how our private property is not really private anymore.
To review. Brenden Leets, his wife, her parents and “service dog” Heidi, a 4-year-old, pure-bred German shepherd, went to Pine Hollow Christmas Tree Farm to look for a tree Nov. 30. Mr. Leets, a military veteran, reportedly suffers from depression and uses the dog to control anxiety issues in crowds.
Co-owner Mrs. Shelly Sposato, according to the Cape Gazette, “asked Brenden not to bring the dog into the Christmas tree area for safety and liability reasons. She said there had been incidents in the past with dogs jumping on or knocking down customers, leashes tripping people, dogs urinating on trees or owners not cleaning up after their pets.
Sposato said if someone is injured by the dog, it is legal liability for the farm…They offered Brenden to leave the dog behind while he went into the tree area, but he refused.”
So instead of accepting a rational business decision and moving on, Mrs. Leets marshalled the power of social media to punish through Facebook where the post went viral with the “human bots” anger aimed at the Sposatos.
Not mentioned in the press, though, is that the ADA’s regulations also state that, “a customer with a disability may also be charged for damage caused by himself or his service animal.”
However, there was no indication that the Leets family offered to sign a release to cover any damages including medical and legal expenses from a possible attack.
And, with over 1.3 million lawyers in this litigious country needing to eat, how can the Sposatos be blamed for their cautionary animal policy to protect their livelihood.
It seems that we are now in a culture where the titles military veteran and service animal grant automatic hero status and trump private business policies even though their taxes contribute to veterans’ medical benefits and pensions.
If Brenden’s wounds are from our failed foreign interventions, the Leets’ anger and that of their Facebook friends should be directed at the politicians and generals who cause the pain, not the Sposatos.
Geary Foertsch
Rehoboth Beach
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