A Georgia Marine veteran is filing a complaint with the ADA after he claims a magazine shop kicked him out of his store for bringing a service dog inside it.
David Ballengee served in the Marine Corps for four years before leaving the service in 2009 after suffering from a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). The brain injury eventually led to him getting PTSD and convulsive vomiting syndrome. After getting his service dog, SD Ruger, his life changed for the better by helping him cope with his complications.
On Friday, Ballengee and SD Ruger entered the Magazine Antique Mall on Friday while in New Orleans for a wedding.
Ballengee told Fox8 WVUE, “The gentleman noticed my service animal and asked me for my paper work, his picture license, which is not something that exists.”
He told the manager that that kind of documentation is not possible and instead showed him the Americans With Disabilities Act. Requesting medical documentation or the dog’s training documentation is illegal according to the ADA’s website.
“He said this is not the dog’s license, I’m asking you to leave the store, I said sir you can’t ask me to leave because of my service animal, you need to read the paper work. About that time I took my camera out,” Ballengee told Fox8 WVUE.
KMOV.com
In the video which has since been taken down, the manager can be heard saying “He has no ID on the dog, that’s all I asked for, ID.”
Ballengee told Fox8 that he was kicked out of the shop because he turned his back on him after being confronted about the dog. He also cited other disabled clients he sells to when comparing those situations to Ballengee’s situation.
The manager said he realized he was wrong and that he wasn’t aware of the law and wanted to apologize to Ballengee. He still insisted that service animals would have to wear protective booties if they wanted to enter the shop, or they would have to wait outside.
Ballengee said that he plans to file a complaint with the ADA on the Magazine Antique Mall.
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