Preparing For Work

Fortunatly, I work for an amazing company called Capital One who has a Leave and Accomodations Partner called Sedgwick. When I approached them months before Nox was born, I asked what I'd need in order to bring him with me to work at first they asked for certification, when I advised of the ADA law You Can Train Your Own, they then simply asked for a note from my doctor saying that I could have a service dog, to which I had sent:

Letter To Place of Employment

Date:

From: Katharine Hainley (Address)

To: Capital One & Sedgwick Accommodation Network 8066 Dominion Parkway Plano, Texas 75024

To Whom it May Concern,

I am an Employee at Capital One Auto Finance, I have a disability and a service animal, I am requesting reasonable accommodations under the The Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 - EEOC. Noctis, my service dog, is trained to calm me from PTSD Episodes, Panic, and Anxiety Attacks. He is in the  process to be able to retrieve items for myself seeing as I am disabled in my leg. Although the rules a Capital One state that there is a “No Pet Policy” I am therefore requesting that you modify those rules to permit me to have my trained service dog reside with me. My doctor has prescribed me an Emotional Support Animal (ESA) to ensure my emotional well being,  and a Service Animal (SA) to ensure my mental well being, and that I am disabled and in need of/ and use a ESA/SA animal. I have attached verification that my doctors explaining that I am in their care, and  I am therefore requesting a reasonable accommodation under the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) to allow me to bring my dog with me to my place of employment.
I have attached verification of vaccinations as well for my service dog.

Please send your reply in writing about this request for accommodation within ten business days or by ___________________. Thank you for your time and consideration, and I look forward to receiving your reply.

Sincerely,

X______________________________________________                                            ___________
Katharine Hainley                                                                                                                          Date

Under the ADA, a service animal is defined as a dog that has been individually trained to do work or perform tasks for an individual with a disability.  The task(s) performed by the dog must be directly related to the person's disability. People with disabilities have the right to train the dog themselves and are not required to use a professional service dog training program. Covered entities may not require documentation, such as proof that the animal has been certified, trained, or licensed as a service animal, as a condition for entry.In situations where it is not obvious that the dog is a service animal, staff may ask only two specific questions: (1) is the dog a service animal required because of a disability? and (2) what work or task has the dog been trained to perform? Staff are not allowed to request any documentation for the dog, require that the dog demonstrate its task, or inquire about the nature of the person's disability. The ADA does not require service animals to wear a vest, ID tag, or specific harness.

Once Sedgwick had the above letter, and this letter:

Date:

Dear _______________________,

Katharine Hainley is my patient, and has been under my care since __________________,
I am intimately familiar with her history and with the functional limitations imposed by her disability. She meets the definition of disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

Due to (disability), Katharine has certain limitations (such as...) and other conditions, in order to help alleviate these difficulties, and to enhance her ability to live independently and to better assist her in day to day living, Katharine wishes to continue to train a service dog for herself which will perform tasks which mitigate her other disabilities, including (examples), and assist her in day to day living.

Sincerely,

_________________________________________                                                ______________ Doctors Name Date

Once this was received, I got a email from Sedgwick stating:

Sedgwick has the documentation from your doctor requesting the ability to bring in a service animal. That’s the first step. From there we need to have signed documentation from the service animal trainer that states that training has been completed. We also require annual proof of the following vaccinations: DHLPPC (Distemper, Hepatitis, Leptospirosis, Paroinfluenza, Parvovirus, and Coronavirus), Bordetella, and Rabies. In addition to the vaccinations, we ask for the date of the last treatment for fleas and ticks.

Which I was more than happy to comply with, and because it was so easy, I wanted to make things easier in the office, so I ordered a service dog vest. After speaking with my Dr. Jess Lovell, DVM at Coit North Veterinary  Hospital he advised that according to the 2011 AAHA Canine Vaccination Guidelines that the Coronavirus was no longer needed:

He went on to say he "Doesn't even know a vet that treats for it anymore." furthermore I let the Sedgwick know that since I'm training him myself that no signed documentation from the service animal trainer that states that training has been completed. was needed, due to the fact that according to the ADA you can raise and train your own.