AMERICAN LEGION POST #14 - BOZEMAN, MONTANA

DeeDE Baker, Excutive Director, Dog Tag Buddies & Sevice Dog in training.

Service dogs play vital role helping veterans, others in need

Story By: Jane McDonald, MTN News

Frank William Estrada Jr., his family, and his service dog, Lulu, were recently asked to leave a restaurant in West Yellowstone.

"I looked, I didn't see my family, so I walked straight to the door, opened up, and there they were. And I said, 'What's going on?' And they said, 'They kicked us out—they kicked us out because of Lulu,” Estrada said.

Estrada, a military veteran, returned to the restaurant to talk with the employee, with Lulu, to explain that she was a service dog. Eventually, Estrada left the premises.

“We want to inform,” Estrada said. “There’s a lot of people out there who bring their yappy dog and they have the vest. That doesn’t make it a service dog—the training does.”

Estrada hopes that the experience he went through can be used to help educate and bring awareness to service dogs around the state. 

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Frequently Asked Questions about Service Animals and the ADA

The Department of Justice continues to receive many questions about how the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) applies to service animals. The ADA requires State and local government agencies, businesses, and non-profit organizations that provide goods or services to the public to make "reasonable modifications" in their policies, practices, or procedures when necessary to accommodate people with disabilities.