Mike Geib is a Gulf War veteran who is diagnosed with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). He owns a service dog which he named Cookie Dough. She assists Geib by detecting his anxiety and blood pressure level and offers him comfort.
One day, Geib had an appointment with a dentist at the Lebanon VA Medical Center in January. He noticed the sign on the door that prohibited animals from entering the room. So Geib left Cookie Dough in the waiting room with a friend. As he went home with his dog after the appointment, he remembered the sign on the door and sensed that something was not right. He researched the ADA policy and the Lebanon VA Medical Center policy. He also reached out to the ABC27 Investigators to do the story on the matter just in case he would be turned away after raising the concern.
After the ABC27 Investigators contacted Lebanon VA Medical Center about its policy and Geib’s situation, the facility did their own research and decided to change their policy. Douglas Etter, a spokesman for the Lebanon VA, said, “Our policy is based on the national policy, but our policy had some other things in it which we are changing… We are always going to do what is in the best interest of the veteran and if in the best interest of the veteran is having a service animal and the environment therein does not have to be a sterile one, we’ll certainly permit that.” When Geib had his next dentist appointment, the sign on the door was removed.
Finally, Cookie Dough was able to enter the examination room and just sat there throughout the examination. Geib mentions that the hospital just wasn’t aware of the ADA law. The ADA states that service dogs are to accompany their disabled owners in public and that the owners must only be asked two questions: Whether the animal is a service dog and the tasks that the animal performs for its owner.
Article source: Abc27.com
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