Lisa Loeffelholz, a patron at the El Puenta Mexican Restaurant, got an eyeful last week when a couple walked in carrying a large snake and set down at a nearby booth.
“We had just gotten our meal and in walks this lady and man, and the lady had the snake around her neck at first, and it started to slither off of her neck down into the booth behind her,” Loeffelholz told local CNN affiliate KYTV.
“She was pulling it, and I just started trembling and, “We’ve got to get out of here; we’ve got to get out of here,'” said Terri Pitts, Lisa’s mother. Loeffelholtz snapped a picture of the couple when the woman handed the snake across the table to the man. Then she called over the waitress to voice her concern over the reptile.
The manager was called to the table. “The manager came over to us and said it was his service animal, so we have to allow him to stay. So that’s when my mom and I and the girls decided that we would not stay,” Lisa said, but she doubted the man’s claim, and as her party was leaving, she stopped at the couple’s table.
“He said, ‘No, it’s my service animal. And I’m allowed to have it because it helps me with my depression.’ So I said, ‘Well, I’m very sorry about that, but a snake in a restaurant probably is not the best thing.’ He said, ‘It’s no different than having a dog service animal sitting here.’ I said, ‘Well, a little bit, it is!'” said Loeffelholz.
This story brings into focus the question, what is a service animal?
According to the Americans with Disabilities Act, a service animal is defined ” as a dog that has been individually trained to do work or perform tasks for an individual with a disability. The task(s) performed by the dog must be directly related to the person’s disability.
Are emotional support, therapy, comfort, or companion animals considered service animals under the ADA?
Again, the ADA specifically talks about animals that may provide emotional comfort, and this would include someone’s tank of tropical fish, their snakes, birds, cats or kangaroo, but they aren’t generally recognized as performing specific tasks for the disabled.
The ADA’s answer to the question is simple, and straight forward. “No. These terms are used to describe animals that provide comfort just by being with a person. Because they have not been trained to perform a specific job or task, they do not qualify as service animals under the ADA. However, some State or local governments have laws that allow people to take emotional support animals into public places.”
Jill Finney, the City of Nixa’s communications director said because the snake “posed a public safety concern,” if they had been called, Nixa police or animal control would have responded. She added that while management didn’t want to violate anyone’s rights, and that is perfectly understandable, the customer could have called 911.
There have been lots of attempts to bring strange animals into public places, claiming they are “service animals.” This brings to mind pigs, miniature horses, and chimpanzees. But what do readers think of this issue. Has anyone heard of or seen an unusual “service animal?”
