Woman with disabilities blocked from entering hospital with service dog fights for recognition of rights

olo. — When Jennifer Snider and her black-and-white-spotted Australian Cattle Dog enter a room, it isn't always obvious that he's her service animal.

"I'm fit, I look healthy," Snider said. So, in the 10 years she's relied on a service dog, she's gotten "used to being harassed about it."

But when a hospital security guard almost stopped her from entering an emergency room last month, she felt it was time to fight for better education on the laws protecting access.

"I train service dogs for veterans. So, I'm very, very well versed on the law, and I will fight the fight," she said.

Snider started her dog training business " Get Your Sit Together " after experiencing the benefits of a service animal herself.

"I was an inner-city paramedic, and it was just pretty traumatic," Snider said. "I've been shot, I've been stabbed as a paramedic. I've had beer bottles busted on my head."

When she rescued her first dog, a pug named Tickles, she said "I realized how much she changed my life and how helpful it was for me."

It got her thinking that if her veteran father, who died from complications of alcoholism, had access to service dog it might have saved his life.

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She's been training dogs ever since. "And it turns out later down the road, I would develop health issues that I would need actually additional support for," she said.

Snider's diagnosed with Autism, post-traumatic stress disorder, several cardiac conditions and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, also known as POTS.

"I randomly pass out," she said.

That's where her service dog comes in.

Six years ago, Snider decided to foster him from a local shelter.

"He came into my apartment like he was there to stay," she said. "I'm like, alright, El Jefe, you make the rules. So, it started off as a joke."

But the name, and the dog, stuck around.

"When his vest is on, he ignores everything. He does his job," Snider said. "But because I look healthy, people are like, 'Oh, that's not really a service dog.'"

That's what happened in early October when Snider went to the Intermountain Health Lutheran Hospital in Wheat Ridge.

She was nauseous and dehydrated. She'd gone earlier in the day to urgent care, where medical professionals told her to go to an emergency room if her symptoms continued.

"As a retired paramedic, I'm like, unless I'm dying, I shouldn't go," she said. But she knew she needed help.

It was about 9:30 p.m. when she arrived. She said the security guard at the entrance to the emergency room demanded documentation for her service dog.

"When the guy asked me for documentation, I looked at him, and I was like, 'well, there's no such thing as documentation,'" Snider said.

She tried to talk him through the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) , a federal civil rights law that protects people like Snider from discrimination.

Snider offered to pull up the ADA on her phone, but the security guard insisted he knew the law and refused to talk about it further, she said.

"I'm standing in an emergency room, so I want to be seen. And I'm in tears at this point," she said.

"Thirty minutes of fighting to get to be seen when you could barely stand," she said.

Her service dog, El Jefe, stayed by her side.

"He's just leaning into me doing the pressure therapy that he's supposed to do when he senses I'm stressed," she said.

Eventually, Snider said she talked with a supervisor who helped her, and her service dog, enter the hospital to access the medical care she needed.

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Emily Shuman, who helps Coloradans understand the law as the director of the Rocky Mountain ADA Center , said "one big common misconception with the ADA and service animals is that there's some sort of service animal registry or certification process. But that's not true."

A service animal is "specifically trained to do work or some sort of task for a person with a disability to help them with their disability," Shuman said.

Under the ADA, staff at a public place like a hospital can only ask for "credible verbal assurance," she said. They can ask two questions: Is this a service animal needed for a disability? And what work or task has this animal been trained to perform?

The law does not allow staff to ask about the person's disability, require medical documentation, require a special identification card or training documentation for the dog or ask that the dog demonstrate its ability to perform the work or task, according to the ADA website.

"Denying access with a service animal constitutes a form of discrimination on the basis of disability, which, of course, violates the ADA," Shuman said. "If a person feels they've been discriminated against, they can file a complaint with an enforcing agency."

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After Snider recovered from her illness, she contacted the hospital and security company to make them aware of the situation and ask for employees to receive more training. She said she hasn't received any response.

Denver7 reached out to the Lutheran Hospital and a representative said patient privacy law prevents the hospital from commenting on Snider's experience, despite Snider providing consent for the hospital to respond.

Lutheran Hospital provided a statement by email: "Lutheran Hospital takes great care to provide an inclusive, accessible, safe, healing environment for our patients and guests, including those who rely on service animals. We comply with all state and federal laws including the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Our caregivers receive frequent education and training, so they are equipped to provide the best care for all patients including those with service animals. If questions or concerns arise, we address and correct issues promptly. We also continuously review and improve our practices to ensure that we meet the needs of all our patients and provide the highest level of care."

The security company did not respond to Denver7's calls or emails.

Snider also filed complaints with the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division and the Colorado Civil Rights Division.

"It has scarred me. I probably will never go into another emergency room coherent. I will have to be dragged into one unconscious, because it was so traumatic," Snider said.

Snider hopes that sharing her experience will help protect others from facing similar circumstances.

"If somebody has a service dog, they're already struggling a little bit in life, so you shouldn't add to their struggle by harassing them," she said. "I'll take on that fight to make sure the person who can't handle that situation doesn't have to."