Homeless disabled people face rejection at shelters when they have service animals

From Teri Webster's Pet Examiner column in The Examiner:

As the economy plummets and more people become homeless, heartbreaking decisions are being made to surrender pets.

But what if a person needs his or her pet for a medical reason?

Guide dogs, for example, are often used to help the legally blind navigate through their daily lives. Seizure-detecting dogs alert their owners to an oncoming episode and watch over them as it happens.

When people like this become homeless, an already horrible situation can become even worse if shelters refuse to take them in because of their service dogs.

The Los Angeles Times reports that is exactly what happened to Shawnine Mackay, a homeless woman who uses a wheelchair to navigate the streets around Hollywood Boulevard. Nearby homeless shelters won’t accept Mackay because she relies on Molly, a seizure-detecting dog that is her constant companion.

In response, the Housing Rights Center and the Disability Rights Legal Center this week filed a lawsuit against the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority. The lawsuit alleges that several shelters have banned service dogs -- a violation of fair housing laws and The Americans With Disabilities Act.

Shawna L. Parks, director of litigation for the Disability Rights Legal Center told the L.A. Times that homeless shelters are supposed to accommodate service animals. The same provisions do not apply to "pets," she said.

The Homeless Services Authority could not be reached for comment, the L.A. Times reported.

Since the economic decline began, animal advocates and other groups have reported increasing numbers of pets being surrendered to shelters or being set free to fend for themselves. Some people are unable to care for their pets after they lose their jobs and then their housing.