Helena veteran says service dog access was denied

“I had some episodes where you know what, to be quite honest, suicide looked better than just living day-to-day,” Christian said.

Christian said the organization later told him he qualified for a service dog.

“A month or so later they called me up and they said “Congratulations! We think you qualify.”” Christian said.

He was then paired with Andy, a service dog he said has been by his side for nearly two years. Christian said Andy helps with mobility and alerts him when something needs his attention.

“Never in my life have I thought that I needed somebody, but I have been living on my own for a couple of years and it was tough. However, it’s having the opportunity to care for someone again,” Christian said.

Christian said the problem happened while he and Andy were in White Sulphur Springs for the Red Ants Pants Music Festival. He said they went into town to get out of the July heat and find food.

“We’re being yelled at because we’re not allowed to have dogs,” Christian said.

Christian said he tried to explain that Andy was a service dog after they went into Bar 47, but he said they were still denied service. He then called the local sheriff’s office, which took a report, before trying another business.

“As soon as we walked in the bartender again yelled “No dogs allowed!” And I’m like “Hey, it’s a service dog. He’s wearing his service vest.” And she goes “It doesn’t matter. The owner says no dogs.”” Christian said.

When asked whether he had run into this before at other businesses, Christian said he had not.

“Never. Never,” Christian said.

To better explain the rules around service animals in Montana, NonStop Local visited David Riggs, founder and CEO of K-9 Care Montana.

“You can ask the two questions: is this a service dog because of a disability, and what tasks is this dog trained to perform to mitigate that disability,” Riggs said.

According to the ADA, state and local governments, businesses and nonprofit organizations that serve the public generally have to allow service animals to go anywhere the public is normally allowed. Staff also could not ask about a person’s disability, require medical paperwork, demand a special ID card or training records for the dog, or ask the dog to show the task it performs.

Riggs explained that people with hidden disabilities often face the most access denials.

“You watch Russ walk down the street you may not see anything wrong with him. But he struggles with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. However, Andy is a psychiatric service dog but guess what? So is an autism service dog,” Riggs said. “That’s a psychiatric service dog. So it’s not just veterans, it’s not just Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, it’s also conditions such as autism.”

Christian said he understands that some businesses may deal with people falsely claiming pets are service animals. Still, he said being turned away twice in one day is hard to move past.

“The law does say reasonable accommodations. Was that reasonable? For an elderly person and their dog to sit in the blazing hot sun when everybody else is reasonably accommodated inside, in the shade with the air conditioning. I just feel unwanted. I don’t think I’ve ever felt that way before,” Christian said.

NonStop Local reached out to both Bar 47 and the Lane Bar for comment and did not get a response.

Christian said he now wants to raise awareness so businesses better understand ADA rules around service animals and so other disabled veterans would not go through the same thing.