Hot Springs: The Hostel at Laughing Heart Lodge and an Unfortunate Event

We hiked about 11 miles today and arrived in Hot Springs, NC, where my wife booked a room at The Hostel at Laughing Heart Lodge. Although the room doesn't lock and I am still sharing bathrooms, showers and a kitchen, it's a real luxury to have a private room. At only $10 more than a stay in the bunkhouse, it's an invaluable bargain to this hiker with a sore back and tired dog. 

The Hostel at Laughing Heart Lodge is located at the Appalachian Trail trailhead at the southern end of Hot Springs, NC. The Trail actually cuts right through town (as Bridge Street), and the town is bordered by Spring Creek and the French Broad River. I plan to stay here a few days to fly fish and test out my new Tenkara rod and the flies that were so generously sent to me by friends in the Project Healing Waters and Tenkara communities.

After I checked into the hostel and got cleaned up, I went out in search of a restaurant with indoor seating, so I could relax a while and have a decent meal. Sadly, I encountered a situation that sometimes happens to those of us with service dogs. A waitress saw us about to enter and ran to the door saying, "No no no no no! No dogs in the dining area; you're welcome to eat in the outdoor patio area, but we ask that you not go through the dining area. Instead go down the alley and come back underneath the bridge, and then come up by the river to the back." I explained that Forest was a service dog, and that by law service dogs have the same access I do to restaurants. I refused to go outside and in the back entrance to the patio and asked her to get the manager. The manager came, blamed the waitress and told her to seat me. My suspicion is that this is their policy:  Tell us no and hope that we are not in the mood to stand our ground. When we do stand our ground, act like it was a mistake and let us in. In any event, once this has happened, I leave the restaurant. The attention has been drawn to me, I wouldn't be able to relax, and I'm always concerned that they will do something to my food. They lose my trust.

Some people may think this is trivial or that I'm overreacting. By Federal law via the Americans with Disabilities Act, service dogs have access to all public facilities, with very few exceptions (e.g., some Federal buildings, medical/surgical suites). When I went to Canines for Service for my training with Forest, they explained it to me so simply: "Consider someone in a wheelchair. Would you make that person leave his wheelchair outside because it might make some other patrons uncomfortable? Never. Would you make someone leave their cane or crutches outside? Never."

Forest is just as critical to me as the wheelchair or any other medical apparatus. My service-connected disability is not obvious, but it is no less debilitating, and the law doesn't require it to be obvious. A restaurant or any other public business or person is only permitted to ask two questions: (1) Is that your pet or a service animal?, and (2) What does he do for you?  I am more than willing to answer these questions and even demonstrate some of Forest's 90 skills when they are asked in a respectful, kind manner. And when most people see Forest go and lie under a table and go to sleep, they understand how well-trained he is and usually forget he's even there.

Now I have to go and find someplace else to eat, and this will bother me all night. I don't like to share stories like this, but I believe there is so much misunderstanding out there regarding the law and protections for service animals, that I needed to explain. Tomorrow...fly fishing...will be a much better and more peaceful day.