Help on Four Legs, Sometimes Followed by Confusion

Help on Four Legs, Sometimes Followed by Confusion

By GREGORY BEYER
Published: June 29, 2008
THE incident occurred about two years ago. Laura Damone, a 56-year-old resident of Gramercy Park who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and panic attacks, walked into the Union Square subway station with Buddy, who was her service dog at the time.

The dog, who wore a vest, attracted the attention of two transit workers, who, Ms. Damone says, humiliated her by backing her into a corner, demanding proof of her disability and giving her a ticket.

The confrontation exemplifies problems that can arise from what Assemblywoman Deborah Glick thinks is a vague city law.

Unlike state and federal law, which explicitly prohibits asking about or demanding proof of a disability, city law declares only that establishments provide “reasonable accommodation” to people with service animals. According to Bethany Jankunis, Ms. Glick’s chief of staff, this subjects people like Ms. Damone, who use service animals and whose disabilities are not plainly evident, to discrimination and embarrassment.
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