Service Dogs Can’t Be Denied

Good news out of Seattle for service dogs and their humans. This article came from SeattlePI.com.

Disabled woman wins: Motel can’t refuse dog
Inn plans to appeal $2,500 fine over service animal

By KERY MURAKAMI
P-I REPORTER

Dawn Lucas pulled open the door of her subsidized apartment in Seattle. And to the right of her wheelchair stood her dog, Otter.

“November, we’ll be together five years,” she said.

Dawn Lucas has won $2,500 in a civil rights case against the Georgian Motel, which refused to take her service dog, Otter.
After maneuvering her chair around, she held onto Otter’s leash with one hand and the harness around his chest with the other. “Forward,” she said, and Otter began walking toward the elevator, Lucas in tow.

It was in much the same way that Lucas and Otter left the YWCA Angeline’s Center for Homeless Women downtown in May 2004. They got on a Metro bus and headed up Aurora Avenue North in search of a cheap motel room for the night.

But Lucas was turned away when she and Otter got to the Georgian Motel at North 88th Street.

Lucas thought the motel had mistreated her and her dog. And now, a Seattle hearing examiner agrees. The examiner ruled Aug 29 that the motel had violated her rights and ordered the Georgian to pay her $2,500 and put a sign on the front desk that says service dogs are welcome. The motel plans to appeal.

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