Oce: Hi, I'm Oce

Stacy: And I'm Stacy

Oce: Hey, Stacy. This morning I got a call from a woman who is blind and she tried to take a taxi. I felt so badly for her. She was at the hair salon and it started raining, so she decided to take the taxi home rather than the bus. When the taxi arrived, the driver refused to let her in because she had a service animal. He left her on the curb. So her question to me was: Are taxi's required to take service animals?

Stacy: Yes. The ADA requires taxis and other businesses, they must allow service animals

Oce: You know the caller said she heard the taxi driver mumbling about the taxi getting dirty from the dog

Stacy: I know that some taxi drivers are concerned about dog fur and future riders who may be allergic, but the law is very clear on this point; service animals must be allowed. Of course, they have to be well behaved and under the control of their owners at all times. They shouldn't be sitting on the seat; they should be on the floor. 

Oce: I also heard that service animals are used by a lot of different people with disabilities.

Stacy: That's right, people with disabilities use service animals for many different reasons. Service animals are used by veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder, people who are deaf, the list goes on. And by the way, under the ADA, only dogs can be service animals, no monkeys, ferrets or cats. There's a very helpful fact sheets called ADA Requirements: Service Animals. This fact sheet can be found on the Department of Justice's website at www.ada.gov.