Service Dog with aggressive tendencies

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Lilliwaup
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu May 08, 2008 10:43 am

Service Dog with aggressive tendencies

Post by Lilliwaup » Thu May 08, 2008 10:50 am

We have a mobile home park in Washington state with a no dog policy. A tenant brought in a large dog without permission. When asked to remove the dog, she said that it was a trained bodyguard that would "defend her to the death." She also asserted that "where I come from, a dog is as good as a gun." She boasted that her dog has already chased someone out of her yard and chased out intruders in other people's yards as well. When asked once again to remove the dog, she claimed that it was a "service dog" that she required for mental health reasons. Apparently, she has gotten a statement from a doctor that this is the case and has also registered her dog as a service dog.

If the dog is a service dog, then we are required by the Fair Housing Act to make "reasonable accommodations" for the dog. But we are certain that we will lose our liability insurance because we have been put on notice that the dog is highly protective and aggressive. We do not see that as a "reasonable accomodation."

Any advice?

David Oxhandler
Posts: 1459
Joined: Tue Oct 02, 2007 8:37 am

Re: Service Dog with aggressive tendencies

Post by David Oxhandler » Thu May 08, 2008 8:30 pm

Let me start by telling you that I am a landlord and a dog lover. My wife and I enjoy doing dog rescue and at this time have seven dogs that we are training and fattening up for suitable adoption. SO I am no dog hater BUT I also owned a MH Park for many years and more than once had to deal with "bootlegged" pets. This is a difficult part of your business... You dont want to exclude a dog that is serving a legally defined service task, or appear to be the heartless landlord.

BUT It sounds like the tenant is abusing the ADA law to defy the terms of her rental agreement. A service dog is not primarily a protection dog. A service dog is a type of assistance dog, specifically trained to help people who have disability or disabilities ...

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), privately owned businesses that serve the public, ...requires these businesses to allow people with disabilities to bring their service animals onto business premises in whatever areas customers are generally allowed. BUT is this a legal service dog??? what tasks is this dog trained for??

The ADA defines a service animal as any guide dog, signal dog, or other animal individually trained to provide assistance to an individual with a disability. If they meet this definition, animals are considered service animals under the ADA

What if a service animal barks or growls at other people, or otherwise acts out of control?

You may exclude any animal, including a service animal, from your facility when that animal's behavior poses a direct threat to the health or safety of others. For example, any service animal that displays vicious behavior towards other guests or customers may be excluded. You may not make assumptions, however, about how a particular animal is likely to behave based on your past experience with other animals. Each situation must be considered individually.

Source - http://www.ada.gov/qasrvc.htm

If you have further questions about service animals or other requirements of the ADA, you may call the U.S. Department of Justice's toll-free ADA Information Line at 800-514-0301.

You must enforce the park rules or others residents will be looking for exclusion from the rules they dont like AND you could be open to liability claims. You must handle this swiftly and legally Confer with your state manufactured housing association, and visit with a lawyer. Learn the specifics of your state's service dog rules.

Although a number of states have programs to certify service animals, you may not insist on proof of state certification before permitting the service animal to accompany the person with a disability. Let a lawyer contact the resident and in view of her violation of her rental agreement, insist on written certification of her need and the dogs service capabilities.

However it turns out BE SURE the lawyer gets a signature from the resident that shows her understanding of liability and your release from liability should the dog hurt anyone. If you dont take swift action and anyone is injured, yours will no doubt appear to be the biggest pockets on the horizon. Your legal costs could be considerably higher defending yourself in court and your insurance will either go sky high or be unattainable.

Talk is cheep and not confirmable in court. Document every move with certified letters so in the event that you do end up defending yourself and your business you are prepared
David Oxhandler
[email protected]

davereynolds
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu May 08, 2008 8:52 pm

Re: Service Dog with aggressive tendencies

Post by davereynolds » Thu May 08, 2008 9:10 pm

I had a very similar situation with a park I owned in Nebraska. In this park, there was a no pet policy and when we purchased the park, we found out that one of the residents had a large dog. We immediately gave her notice and showed her a copy of the signed rules and lease that specifically disallowed dogs in the park.

The next thing we knew we receive a letter from the State of Nebraska with a complaint in regards to Nebraska Fair Housing. The resident said she needed a dog for "Therapy" and had a doctor's note stating this. We had to abide by this or else take it to court. Rather than waste the time in court and the money to fight it we agreed to the following resolution:

SECTION II. REMEDIAL RELIEF FOR THE COMPLAINANT

1. Complainant will be able to keep her therapy dog on the subject property, without having to pay a monthly deposit.

2. Respondent will post in the office located near the subject property the change to its policy to reflect that a tenant can request a dog as a reasonable accommodation, that the request will be granted upon submittal of appropriate medical documentation outlining the need for a dog, and that no deposit shall be required for the animal.


SECTION III. REPORTING PROVISIONS

1. Within thirty (30) days of signing this agreement, Respondent will provide a copy of the policy changes to reflect that a tenant can request a dog as a reasonable accommodation, that the request will be granted upon submittal of appropriate medical documentation outlining the need for a dog, and that no deposit shall be required for the animal.

Since that time, the lady moved out and we have never had any other residents bring it up or try to bring a fair housing complaint. One additional item that we have started to require in all our parks where there may be a large dog or one that was "grandfathered in", is to require insurance by the resident and name us as additional insureds. This usually makes it easier for them to put the dog up for adoption.

In your situation, if you go along with the complaint and allow the dog, I believe that requiring the resident to have liability insurance on the dog would alleviate your insurance company's concerns.

Hope this helps.
Dave Reynolds
MobileHomeParkStore.com
[email protected]

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