Wendy, the Service Cat

1. VonSkippy
   January 19th, 2008 at 5:27 pm

   To recap, this “guy” needs a cat in order to “act as a social buffer” when he goes out.

   So I’m guessing he got his “bits and pieces” shot off in the war???

   //another fine example of your tax dollars at work.

2. Nick
   January 19th, 2008 at 5:58 pm

   god i wish i lived in my grandfather’s age.

3. Edmund Huber
   January 19th, 2008 at 5:59 pm

   VonSkippy:

   It states in the article that he has (or has been diagnosed with) post-traumatic stress disorder. If you care to look at Wikipedia, among the diagnosis criteria is “F. Significant impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning”. So, I imagine the cat, when the article says that it functions as a “social buffer”, means that he feels more comfortable in social situations when the cat is around.

4. Tara
   January 19th, 2008 at 6:25 pm

   Most people with service animals have a document from their doctors indicating that the animals are service animals and not pets.

   While he does have to right to have his service animal, the onus is on him to prove that she is indeed for medical purposes. If not, any one of us could just walk in and claim our animals.

5. Allison
   January 19th, 2008 at 6:54 pm

   When I looked at our local grocery store we had a woman who would always bring in her chihuahua in on her little metal bag cart. We frequently asked her to keep the dog outside and she always ended up trying to sneak it in.

   Until we were informed that, at least around here, service animals ALWAYS need to be admitted…even if the person doesn’t have the papers to prove it.

   We protested because of the sanity problem with having dogs and such around the backery and Deli but we were told to cooperate from our corporate office.

6. ted
   January 19th, 2008 at 7:00 pm

   That sounds like he’s got a really bad dependency building up there. I hope he’s getting other treatment, too.

   I don’t get your bits and pieces comment, vonskip. How would having a cat help out in that sort of situation…?

   According to dude, the cat absorbs a lot of his stress. I imagine it’s more the presence of the cat that helps.

   Little weird, but if it keeps him from going over the edge in public, what the heck…

7. Jennifer
   January 19th, 2008 at 7:18 pm

   Wow, it is remarkable that most of you seem …. quite willing to spit on this guy without understanding what he’s been through. If the service animal was a dog would you feel different? I would bet that if this article read his dog was banned from the gym most of you would be saying the opposite. The fact that he’s a vet from a war most of you are probably openly against doesn’t really help him out either I’m wagering.

   Really folks, you need to go and speak with a war vet - pick your war, any one will do because they’re all the same hell holes. It’s not what your fantasies concoct after watching a movie and listening to media news reports. People go to war and even if they come back physically … they don’t always come back with souls and hearts intact. I’ve seen a few generations of my family suffer mentally when they’ve come back from war. My grandfather with the Great War down to my cousins and friends with the Iraq war. If any of them were helped out by a simple cat, dog, bird, monkey, or f**king worm I would fight tooth and nail for them to be able to carry that comfort with them wherever they went.

   And here’s what that comfort means to someone like Ward: his cat, Wendy, doesn’t pass judgment on him. Go back and reread the vitriol in your own remarks. You’ll see that passing judgment is all you seem to be able to do.

8. Caitlin
   January 20th, 2008 at 1:07 am

   Personally I think PTSD is as much a cop-out now as ADD. That’s not to say that PTSD was not a big deal during the Vietnam era, but now? I can’t believe, especially after I myself have served in the military during this stupid war.

   One thing I can’t stand is when people throw up the veteran card. So what if he’s a veteran? That’s completely irrelevant, and this statement:

   “I’m part of the first wave of guys returning, and I’m having to make sure the guys that come behind me don’t have to deal with the problems I’m dealing with.”

   is such a load of crap. His cat wasn’t denied entry because he’s a veteran, and let’s be serious here.. how many people choose CATS as their service animals? I love cats, I am a cat person, but they are not the most popular service animals.

   I think this guy is just a whiny jerk looking for some attention and some sympathy. I’m embarrassed to say that I live just a few miles from that gym, and probably just a few miles from this guy.

9. Pudifoot
   January 20th, 2008 at 1:42 am

   Oh sure, they accept a “service cat”, but when i tell people I am training a “seeing-eye-cat” they just laugh at me.

10. Alex
    January 20th, 2008 at 3:29 am

    What’s the qualification for “service animal”? Does the fact that a pet cat makes him feel better automatically qualify it as a service animal?

    I feel that there’s a hint of “let do what I want or I’ll sue” attitude on the part of the vet, though I confess I don’t know the details of the situation.

11. RN
    January 20th, 2008 at 3:57 am

    I can’t help wondering how many of the people who have come up with negative comments ranging from uninformed to very nasty (such as “Playing the Veteran Card”) have been in the service and seen action.

    In order not to use “excessive profanity” I’ll say no more.

    (A ‘Nam RN — 71st Evac.)

12. Pudifoot
    January 20th, 2008 at 10:18 am

    RN: thank you. no jokes, no clever remarks. just “thank you”, you and people liked you helped out America, and you were unappreciated and not treated right.

    I just got back from Vietnam, and that country would be a thousand times better off if the military was allowed to do what what should have been able to do.

    thanx.

13. passer by
    January 20th, 2008 at 12:57 pm

    When something as simple as a cat can make it possible for this man to interact more normally in everyday situations, I think it’s a great idea. If a cat, or any other animal can help him with his rehab, that sounds like a service animal to me.

14. Mac
    January 20th, 2008 at 8:47 pm

    Read the relevant parts of the ADA here in the U.S. and you’ll see that he has no need to *prove* his cat is a service animal. All business owners have the right to do is to ask, “are you disabled?” and, “is this a service animal?” If you answer yes to either point, they are obliged to let the animal in. There are service cats/dogs/birds/snakes/etc. out there and they all do good. It’s a damn shame when non-disabled people are so judgmental.

15. Pudifoot
    January 20th, 2008 at 9:27 pm

    A service snake? not in my store!

16. Alex
    January 21st, 2008 at 1:51 am

    Then can I bring a shaggy, dirty dog full of fleas into a restaurant because I claim that it is a “service animal”? What if a swarm of bees make me feel good, will that be okay? Where’s the common sense, people?

17. Vako
    January 21st, 2008 at 12:18 pm

    It’s interesting. I thought service animals were for people with physical situations, not for people with mental/emotional situations. How can a helper-monkey help me with my social skills in a job interview or on a date?

    I’m thinking that maybe the manager at the gym was thrown by the fact that it was a cat. People seem to think of cats as incorrigible. I think the guy should invest in a home gym. That way he and his helper-cat can be together for whenever and all will be comfortable and nicy-nice.

    But something tells me that Mr. helper-cat might be the kind of person who thrives on conflict. Or else why would he put himself through that sort of thing?

18. MoonCake
    January 21st, 2008 at 6:58 pm

    it’s semantics.. dog, cat, snake, swarm of bees, whatever. i can defend the guy for wanting rightful access to the gym he already signed the papers for and had already taken his cat through on the tour. he has some social issues, no doubt, whether it be diagnosed or not, the man has issues. most domesticated people don’t need a “security blanket” in the form of a feline, but if he needs it to feel more comfortable in social settings, he has some issues. i can also defend the gym because the dude didn’t need to get so pissed off at them for not allowing the cat inside. they haven’t been with the guy for the last however long he’s been back. they’re genuinely ignorant to his situation, therefore the dudes expectations were unreasonable. you can’t expect someone to know what you’re thinking unless you tell them. we’re not mind-readers, yunno.

19. Lea
    January 21st, 2008 at 8:59 pm

    I’m going to have to point out that most people associate “service animal” with dogs, but “animal” does not limit it to just dogs. Cats are hard to train, but they can act as service animals. Many people (with the finances) have monkeys to help them, and I’ve even heard of birds.
    What gets me is that he already took the cat through, so I think there’s miscommunication on the part of the manager and the employees?
    And whatever his social problems, PTSD is not a “cop-out”. Vets are not the only ones who experience extreme psychological trauma. Rape victims, abuse victims, and people in other horrible situations experience it. I would not be so quick to dismiss something because of its intangibility as an illness.

20. Larfin Jackarse
    January 23rd, 2008 at 2:38 am

    I read it and picked up on shell-shock and that he has a cat and thought ‘what a chick magnet’. So, yes, I can see that the cat could be a service aminal in terms of creating social contact. Specially with fem’s.

    On the other finger, I know cats can be trained http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vja83KLQXZs but to sit still for a half hour workout?

    ps: Zim looks stoned at the start of that video…was he being fed ‘Scooby Snacks’?

21. Sid Morrison
    January 23rd, 2008 at 11:30 am

    Alex says: “Then can I bring a shaggy, dirty dog full of fleas into a restaurant because I claim that it is a “service animal”? ”

    Sadly, the answer is YES. The ADA was a sham. OK, it was well-intentioned at the start, but wound up being so over-expanded that everything is now a “disability”. The effect on business owners is profound — yet more costs for them to absorb.

    I’m a cat person, but this really stretches the line. If the cat was actually trained to fetch him things or act as a “seeing feline”, that would be one thing, but a living security blanket? My opinion wouldn’t be different if it was a dog used in the same manner. Come on… It’s a pet!

22. Nathan
    January 23rd, 2008 at 6:47 pm

    It seems to me he is creating more stressful social interactions through trying to bring in this cat wherever he goes. I don’t think anyone here is against him bringing in Mr. Whiskers, its just most people aren’t accustomed to is, so they are uncertain to the laws surrounding it. Its the fact that he isn’t willing to help the situation by bringing his documentation (therefore relieving some of the stress), and then suing the business for not complying.

23. Aleena
    February 7th, 2008 at 8:32 pm

    In order to qualify as service animal it has to “perfom a task”. While the cat is surely helping his owner cope it can not be considered a service animal unless it has been trained to do something to assist with the disability. If it is just being a comfort, then it is an emotional support animal and as as such is excluded from the protection of the ADA.

24. Gayla
    February 15th, 2008 at 4:15 pm

    No, a service animal does not have to perform a task, but it should have IAADP Minimum Training Standards for Public Access (How a cat can get this is beyond me.)

    1. Amount of Schooling: Your dog should be given a minimum of one hundred twenty (120) hours of schooling over a period of Six Months or more. At least thirty (30) hours should be devoted to outings that will prepare the dog to work obediently and unobtrusively in public places.*

    2. Obedience Training: Your dog must master the basic obedience skills: “Sit, Stay, Come, Down, Heel” and an off leash Recall in response to verbal commands and/or hand signals.

    3. Manners: Your dog must acquire proper social behavior skills. This includes at a minimum:

    No aggressive behavior toward people or other animals - no biting, no snapping, no growling, no lunging and/or barking;
    No begging for food or petting from other people;
    No sniffing merchandise or people who pass by;
    No urinating or defecating in public unless given a command / signal to toilet in an appropriate place.

25. Aleena
    February 19th, 2008 at 5:01 pm

    ADA Business BRIEF: Service Animals
    Service animals are animals that are individually trained to perform tasks for people with disabilities such as guiding people who are blind, alerting people who are deaf, pulling wheelchairs, alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure, or performing other special tasks.

    Yes they do need to do tasks. THe IAADP is a private organization that has created its own standards independent of the Federal and State Government requirements. Their standaards, while admirable really have no legal standing. I am a rehab professional so I deal this all the time.

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