Poll:
Should Hannah James be allowed to swim with her service dog at Burger's Lake?
FORT WORTH — Hannah James, who suffers from a severe form of epilepsy, needs her service dog to go with her everywhere
But last weekend, Hannah's German shepherd was not allowed to accompany her to Burger's Lake, a popular Fort Worth swimming hole.
"It was awful," said the 17-year-old, who didn't expect that she and her dog, Mark, would be rejected.
Her parents have filed complaints with the district attorney's office and the U.S. Department of Justice.
Hannah can have intense seizures which cause her to black out and shake violently, so she didn't feel safe getting into the water without her specially-trained dog.
"We did water rescue training, so Mark is capable of saving me if I have seizures in the water," she said.
Mark wears a special collar around his neck stipulating that he goes everywhere with Hannah.
But Carolyn McCray said she saw a police officer at the lake threaten Hannah about her dog.
"The owner and the police officer came over and said if we let Mark get in the water they would arrest Hannah and her mom," McCray said.
The owner of Burger's Lake said he didn't break any Americans with Disabilities Act regulations, noting that he did allow the dog onto the property and to stand at the edge of the lake, saying the ADA gives him that option, since some patrons feared swimming alongside the German shepherd.
The owner also said there are liability issues concerning lifeguards and how the dog would react if they had to save her.
We checked, and the ADA does give the Burger's Lake owner some discretion on how to handle cases like Hannah's.
Who is right or wrong in this case may end up being determined in court.
E-mail ddenmon@wfaa.com
