Springfield monkey issue

From Service Dog Training

Debby Rose and her "service" monkey are back in the headlines. http://www.kspr.com/news/local/25406344.html

For those that are out of the loop, Debby Rose has agoraphobia and states that her monkey,Richard, must accompany her everywhere she goes. She claims that she has a restriction on her driver's license that states she must be accompanied by the monkey when she drives, and that the animal is certified by SARA. The health department in Greene County would beg to differ, and points out that the animal performs no task and is not trained. The health department sent letters to local restaurants and grocery stores stating that admitting this monkey would violate the applicable health codes. This was in 2006. A few days ago, Debby Rose has responded by suing Walmart, Cox Health, and the Greene County health department. She alleges that the Greene County health department does not have the ability to determine the legitimacy of a service animal (she might be right on this one), and that Walmart and Cox Health improperly denied her access. The health department has stated that if federal courts rule in her favor, that they will not give her any more trouble. It should be really interesting to see how this turns out in court, but I'm pretty sure it won't be in her favor.

--Tiffany Huggard-Lee 01:44, 19 July 2008 (CDT)