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When Mystie Bollaert, 59, was a young woman, she was arrested three times for having seizures. Each time, she used her "one call" from jail to contact her neurologist to help her get released. His knowledge of her medical condition, along with the results of her blood tests, convinced officers at the San Diego Police Department that she had been taken into custody for the wrong reason--she wasn't under the influence of drugs or alcohol, but had experienced partial complex seizures due to Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, which caused her to wander aimlessly as if she were drunk.
Josh, an 8-year-old border collie mix, has been her seizure savior. When he "smells" a seizure coming on, he grabs her clothes with his teeth and "takes her down," much like a K-9 dog does a suspect.
"The trauma sweat...when he smells it on me, down I go," she says.
He then stands over her, keeping her down so she can't wander around and get hurt. When authorities see the orange vest Bollaert bought for him at Search and Rescue Gear of San Diego, they know she suffers from a disability and they leave her alone.
However, taking a service dog everywhere isn't without its problems. People on the street see the holes Josh leaves in her clothes and ask, "Why do you have that dog? It's dangerous!" Even worse, sometimes they call the police, the very people Bollaert wants to avoid.
"People don't know what it means to have a seizure," she says.
Store managers all over North County are included in that group. According to the Americans With Disabilities Act (www.ada.gov), "privately owned businesses that serve the public, such as restaurants, hotels, retail stores, taxicabs, theaters, concert halls, and sports facilities, are prohibited from discriminating against individuals with disabilities. The ADA requires these businesses to allow people with disabilities to bring their service animals onto business premises in whatever areas customers are generally allowed."
But the law still doesn't stop managers from trying to throw Bollaert and her dog out of their establishments.
A few years ago, the assistant manager of Ralph's in Encinitas said, "You get that dog out of here!"
"I told her to go out of the store and take a look at the sign about service animals," Bollaert says. "It speaks perfectly, but she refused to go see it." Instead, the manager summoned a security guard who called law enforcement. Luckily, the sheriff's deputy who responded to the call had specialized training in ADA law. He recognized her Assistance Dog Certification card from the San Diego County Department of Animal Services, marched up to the assistant manager and said, "If you do this one more time, I'm gonna get you penalized. I'm gonna give you a citation and Ralph's will pay a fine."
Ignorance of the law isn't the only problem Bollaert has faced. About a year ago, the certification cards were discontinued because people without disabilities were "faking it" just so they could bring their dogs into stores. "They have no ounce of disability, no doctor's note, no nothing," Bollaert says.
According to Lt. Dan De Sousa, spokesman for the department, when people want to get a service dog tag, which is still being offered, all they have to do is sign an application swearing they are disabled. "We can't ask (about a disability because of the ADA)," he says.
Bollaert doesn't care for the tags because they break off and she loses them. The card serves her well; however, after Josh passes away, she won't be able to get another for the next service dog. "I don't have to carry one," Bollaert says. "But I do because of the word 'prejudice.'
"ADA law says you do not ask questions. You don't say, 'What's your handicap? What have you got that dog in here for...that kind of thing, under the guile of prejudice. But then...you need a card verifying your disability. They should have you show a doctor's statement and your Social Security award letter. This will stop just anyone's dog from coming into stores."
Another problem is that Josh isn't formally trained. Under the Assistance Dog Special Allowance Program, which provides $50 a month to help pay the costs of food, grooming and health care for service dogs, a dog must be trained in order to qualify.
Bollaert says she hasn't gotten a trained seizure-alert dog due to lack of money. Mark Castillero of Pro-Train Innovative Dog Training says a non-profit service dog training company will give Bollaert a service dog; however, there is a long waiting list.
"...They are selected to be suitable to develop the anticipatory responses that will develop from bonding and from the dog's getting nervous anticipating that a seizure is about to come. We will prepare the dog and train it to cuddle and brace and assist the person as they come out of the seizure," he says.
Bollaert says she doesn't need a dog to "cuddle and brace," she just needs a dog to send her to the ground and keep her there while she's in the throws of a seizure.
"The ADSA does not understand what service dogs can do," she says. "Especially when he's not a canine companion. I trained him myself and we are allowed by law to train our own dogs."
Unable to work because she is a "financial risk" to employers, Bollaert relies on Social Security disability payments to survive.
"I don't have money for dog toothpaste. I have to brush his teeth with a brush and water. I beg to get help for his food." A veterinary clinic in Carlsbad has recently begun accepting donations to help pay for Josh's expenses.
Despite the many obstacles standing in her way, Bollaert is persistent in devoting her time and energy to a cause she's "very passionate" about--gathering signatures for Californians For Religious Freedom, a Norwalk-based group who wants to protect the cross atop Mount Soledad.
"I was just bawling," Bollaert says. "When the cross was about to come down...When Roger Hedgecock said, "Sorry folks, the Mount Soledad cross is in trouble..."
When Mystie Bollaert, 59, was a young woman, she was arrested three times for having seizures. Each time, she used her "one call" from jail to contact her neurologist to help her get released. His knowledge of her medical condition, along with the results of her blood tests, convinced officers at the San Diego Police Department that she had been taken into custody for the wrong reason--she wasn't under the influence of drugs or alcohol, but had experienced partial complex seizures due to Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, which caused her to wander aimlessly as if she were drunk.
Josh, an 8-year-old border collie mix, has been her seizure savior. When he "smells" a seizure coming on, he grabs her clothes with his teeth and "takes her down," much like a K-9 dog does a suspect.
"The trauma sweat...when he smells it on me, down I go," she says.
He then stands over her, keeping her down so she can't wander around and get hurt. When authorities see the orange vest Bollaert bought for him at Search and Rescue Gear of San Diego, they know she suffers from a disability and they leave her alone.
However, taking a service dog everywhere isn't without its problems. People on the street see the holes Josh leaves in her clothes and ask, "Why do you have that dog? It's dangerous!" Even worse, sometimes they call the police, the very people Bollaert wants to avoid.
"People don't know what it means to have a seizure," she says.
Store managers all over North County are included in that group. According to the Americans With Disabilities Act (www.ada.gov), "privately owned businesses that serve the public, such as restaurants, hotels, retail stores, taxicabs, theaters, concert halls, and sports facilities, are prohibited from discriminating against individuals with disabilities. The ADA requires these businesses to allow people with disabilities to bring their service animals onto business premises in whatever areas customers are generally allowed."
But the law still doesn't stop managers from trying to throw Bollaert and her dog out of their establishments.
A few years ago, the assistant manager of Ralph's in Encinitas said, "You get that dog out of here!"
"I told her to go out of the store and take a look at the sign about service animals," Bollaert says. "It speaks perfectly, but she refused to go see it." Instead, the manager summoned a security guard who called law enforcement. Luckily, the sheriff's deputy who responded to the call had specialized training in ADA law. He recognized her Assistance Dog Certification card from the San Diego County Department of Animal Services, marched up to the assistant manager and said, "If you do this one more time, I'm gonna get you penalized. I'm gonna give you a citation and Ralph's will pay a fine."
Ignorance of the law isn't the only problem Bollaert has faced. About a year ago, the certification cards were discontinued because people without disabilities were "faking it" just so they could bring their dogs into stores. "They have no ounce of disability, no doctor's note, no nothing," Bollaert says.
According to Lt. Dan De Sousa, spokesman for the department, when people want to get a service dog tag, which is still being offered, all they have to do is sign an application swearing they are disabled. "We can't ask (about a disability because of the ADA)," he says.
Bollaert doesn't care for the tags because they break off and she loses them. The card serves her well; however, after Josh passes away, she won't be able to get another for the next service dog. "I don't have to carry one," Bollaert says. "But I do because of the word 'prejudice.'
"ADA law says you do not ask questions. You don't say, 'What's your handicap? What have you got that dog in here for...that kind of thing, under the guile of prejudice. But then...you need a card verifying your disability. They should have you show a doctor's statement and your Social Security award letter. This will stop just anyone's dog from coming into stores."
Another problem is that Josh isn't formally trained. Under the Assistance Dog Special Allowance Program, which provides $50 a month to help pay the costs of food, grooming and health care for service dogs, a dog must be trained in order to qualify.
Bollaert says she hasn't gotten a trained seizure-alert dog due to lack of money. Mark Castillero of Pro-Train Innovative Dog Training says a non-profit service dog training company will give Bollaert a service dog; however, there is a long waiting list.
"...They are selected to be suitable to develop the anticipatory responses that will develop from bonding and from the dog's getting nervous anticipating that a seizure is about to come. We will prepare the dog and train it to cuddle and brace and assist the person as they come out of the seizure," he says.
Bollaert says she doesn't need a dog to "cuddle and brace," she just needs a dog to send her to the ground and keep her there while she's in the throws of a seizure.
"The ADSA does not understand what service dogs can do," she says. "Especially when he's not a canine companion. I trained him myself and we are allowed by law to train our own dogs."
Unable to work because she is a "financial risk" to employers, Bollaert relies on Social Security disability payments to survive.
"I don't have money for dog toothpaste. I have to brush his teeth with a brush and water. I beg to get help for his food." A veterinary clinic in Carlsbad has recently begun accepting donations to help pay for Josh's expenses.
Despite the many obstacles standing in her way, Bollaert is persistent in devoting her time and energy to a cause she's "very passionate" about--gathering signatures for Californians For Religious Freedom, a Norwalk-based group who wants to protect the cross atop Mount Soledad.
"I was just bawling," Bollaert says. "When the cross was about to come down...When Roger Hedgecock said, "Sorry folks, the Mount Soledad cross is in trouble..."