Service Dog Rights- Davis Hawn

[00:00:00] Hey guys, Corey Poirier here. Welcome to BluTalks and I hope you enjoy this video.

[00:00:30] Bale, sit please. Thank you. Hello, my name is Davis Hawn and it's a wonderful opportunity to visit Harvard. I so believe in education and higher education that empowers us all. Excuse me,

[00:00:48] could somebody bring me some water, please? Bale, fridge. Well, thank you, Bale. Sit, please. Shake. Good job. Down. Thank you, Bale. Well, I got to tell you, I had a dog that saved my life,

[00:01:11] not once, but twice. I was once given 48 hours to live due to cancer, due to a herbicide sold in this country. I wasn't going to fight it, but I put my dog through cancer treatment. He found remission, long story. I've done other videos. I wouldn't be alive today if not for that. And that was the second time he saved my life. And it created a passion within me to share his history with the world,

[00:01:37] but we needed an education to do that. So we went out to California and attended Bergen University of Canine Studies and founded by Dr. Benita Bonny Bergen, who created the Service Doll concept. Rather than retire in her 60s, she founded a college. And boy, did I get an education. And that

[00:01:59] education empowered me. And it created a sense of obligation on my part to share the service dog concept. And I soon realized that I could either be complacent and do nothing, or I could be an advocate. And I chose to be an advocate. But the manner in which you advocate can often determine success

[00:02:27] or failure. But what I found is that that education empowered my ability to be an advocate. And it started in my little hometown in Mississippi. I went into a Walmart one day with Booster when we first had our getting going, our education. Went into a Walmart, went to get a watch battery, and there were three children. Oh my God, he's got a dog! He's got a dog! And the manager, assistant manager said, sir, would you please leave the store? Well, you know what I did? I left the store and I went home

[00:02:55] and I felt guilty. I let my dog down. I had all the right to be there. My dog was perfectly well behaved. The children were not. And I promised him I would never let him down again. Well, I got to tell you, years later, we were at a Walmart in a little town in Arkansas. It was Halloween. All the costumes, all the employees were dressed in costume. And I walked in with Booster and a young man runs up, mister, we don't allow dogs in the store. Excuse me, son, he's a service dog. Is he really a service

[00:03:25] dog? Excuse me, son, he's really a service dog, but you're not really Zorro. So would you please get out of my way and let me shop? Well, with that, I raised my voice just loud enough. If you scream, then you're dangerous. They have all the right to eject you from a public building. But at that point, everybody in the store is looking at me. The manager waddles over, the security guard. Mr. Manager, do you see that signage on the front of your store? You lost a six-figure lawsuit

[00:03:52] in the past and the government required that. Below that, if problems, here's an 800 number. That was the second lawsuit. Young man, am I angry at you? Not at all. But Mr. Manager, you owe this young man an apology because you failed to train him properly and you certainly owe me one. All I'm guilty of is using a durable piece of medical equipment called a service dog. And people kind of chuckled. Well,

[00:04:18] that was advocacy. Later, I went to a dog conference in Covington, Kentucky. The taxi driver wouldn't allow my service dog. I was with a lady front into the taxi. Well, there was a car parked behind the taxi and I stood in front of the bumper with my dog, Booster, and we called the police department. Officer showed up, told the man, if you don't want to allow a service dog in your car, perhaps you should

[00:04:43] choose another vocation. Well, you know, I got home and I wrote a letter of commendation to the chief of the police department. I later got a letter from the officer himself. Sir, it was personal for me too because my uncle's blind and he's got a guide dog and I thank you for what you did. How cool is that? Now, I could have just ordered another taxi and been complacent, but that just wasn't my style.

[00:05:08] Years later, I went to visit a good friend of mine in McAllen, Texas, Peggy. She was a war veteran. She had a horrible case of PTSD as many veterans do today. I said, Peggy, you know, why don't you do some advocacy? I don't know. I don't want people thinking I'm a whack job. Hey, you know what? I can appreciate that. But give it some thought. I called a newspaper reporter, the monitor in her hometown. The reporter met us at the airport, went back to Peggy's house. We did a great interview, right?

[00:05:36] That night, Peggy said, what do you want to go eat? I said, well, let's go in a Mexican restaurant. We walked into the restaurant and the guy showed us to our table in the backyard at night with the mosquitoes with a little pull chain and a light over the table. Uh-uh. No. Uh-uh. Boy, Peggy was getting a little scared. We marched back into that. I said, is that where you serve all the gringos? We walked in that restaurant. I sat down at the table in the middle. I said, are you going to call

[00:06:06] the police or am I to make a report? Well, the police officer showed up and said, we can't force them to serve you, but we will write the report. I appreciate it. Manager, maybe you should call the owner of the restaurant. I've never wanted to own a restaurant, but maybe in this case. I talked to the owner. We had a good conversation. We enjoyed our dinner that night at that table. The next day, Peggy says, where do you want to go to lunch? You want to guess? No. Yeah. No. Yeah. We went back to the

[00:06:34] restaurant. They had a newspaper machine right by the front door. I put 50 cents in and you see the newspaper. We were on the front cover of the monitor newspaper. Went in, saw the daytime manager. She brought us to the table, no questions asked. And they gave us a free dessert. I think it was flying, right? I could have been complacent, but I didn't. I was an advocate. And I bet you nobody's

[00:06:59] had a problem eating there again in the future. I went back to visit Peggy. She had stage four breast cancer. And I miss her dearly. Anyway, I flew into McAllen. I had a United Airlines ticket. And I was to lecture at the University of Mexico Veterinary School in Ham. Well, I jumped off and United actually routed me through McAllen. I jumped off for the night and went back to the airport.

[00:07:28] They had put me on a Mexican airline Aramar. They wouldn't fly my service dog. The airport was getting ready to close. I called the sheriff's department. I called a television station, right? They both showed up. The police officer wrote the report. They did a beautiful interview, right? Stay tuned, five o'clock. Man denied boarding with his service dog. The next evening on the news, Aramar had a statement. I didn't have the proper papers to travel with a dog. What a bunch of bull.

[00:07:54] I've traveled all over the world with a dog. United used those papers. We flew into Mexico the next day with no problem. But I was ticked off and they refused to apologize. So I filed a complaint with the United States Department of Transportation. They hired a New York lawyer. That's wonderful. He wanted to know about my comfort dog. Mr. Turney, please define your terms. I don't know what a comfort dog is and I have a master's degree in canine. Then he said something about you need a different color

[00:08:22] leash for them for a different train skill. Well, thank you, sir, because that's another violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. So I'll amend my complaint to include that too. And I thank you for that. Long story short, took two years, but Aramar was sanctioned with two violations of the U.S. law because they didn't allow the service dog with demand. What if that was your mom and your dad, your son and your daughter was blind? What are they going to do, rent a car? I don't think so.

[00:08:50] Right? I could have been complacent and done nothing. Years later, I bought a timeshare in the Bahamas and Freeport. They allowed me to have a service dog. And I spent eight years in that country. Newspapers, televisions, classrooms. It was an interesting situation. I lectured in Nassau. The Bahamas Council for Disabilities was there as well as the U.S. Embassy. And I looked down. It was

[00:09:17] Disability Week and all these disabled folks and they were scared to death of the dog. Well, yeah. And I get it. And I said, they asked me to speak. And I said, you know, a hundred pound dog can do some damage. I get it. Right? But I've read in your paper, you've had 90 murders in Nassau so far this year. Not one was committed by a dog. Perhaps you have more to fear from the person seated beside you in this room this morning than the dog who will work for the rest of its life in your life to help you have a better life, which was totally cool.

[00:09:46] So I had to get to Freeport. Bahamas Air didn't fly dogs in cabin. Well, I was in the waiting room. I didn't know how I was going to do this, but they started taking the boarding passes. They got busy. I'd stashed my dog behind the couch. They called the flight. I presented my boarding pass, got my dog, ran down the gangplank and jumped in my plane seat. My dog was on the floorboard. The plane was full. The captain left the cockpit. Sir, we don't fly dogs in cabin. Captain, you would kick

[00:10:16] a blind man off your plane? Really? Well, sir, you're not blind. No, but I have a horrible case of PTSD. I have problems walking sometime. If you're blind, the dog is your eyes. If you can't walk, he's your legs. Well, I'll fly you, but send me some documentation to give to my superiors. You have my promise. I did that. He sent me an email. Thank you, sir, for doing what you said you would do. No, captain. Thank you for flying me. I could have been complacent, but I chose not to.

[00:10:47] Years later, for my master's, my thesis was the dog is a social lubricant and a social bridge. I tested it because President Obama opened up Cuba. I went into Cuba with my dog. I met the leader of the blind, ANSI, Oclifine for the disabled, the leader of the group for plants and animal welfare. I ended up on live television and live radio in Fidel's Cuba. That's quite an accomplishment for an American.

[00:11:15] I got back and I sent Bahamas Air a thank you because they got me in there. We didn't fly there, but they knew of my dog. And I told the captain, thank you. He said, because of you, Mr. Hahn, we've amended our operations manual at Bahamas Air to allow service animals on all of our flights from here on in. I could have been complacent, but I chose not to. And the following, and then it turns out we helped

[00:11:42] them get a disability law passed. The president of Disability Council will never get a disability law. They just don't care. I've tried for years. One day, a year after my dog booster passed, I got a call from Sheila Palmer, president of Disability Council. Dave, we got our law. I'm scared to ask. Does it include service dog and guide dog? Oh, Dave, it's all there. We got more media attention with your dog than we had in the preceding 30 years. And I've totally cried.

[00:12:10] Well, the following year, once in my timeshare, the taxi driver wouldn't let my service dog in. I went into the police station. The cop looked at me, get the dog out. Excuse me, officer. He's a service dog. You have a new law. You heard what he said. He said, get the dog out. Third cop chimed in. Well, I put my tail between my legs and I left. I called Sheila. Hey, Sheila, they just kicked me out of the police station. They just happened. God was there to have a conference on that island

[00:12:36] where all the chief of police, the khakis, they call them. They invited me to attend their conference. And it was telecast to all the other islands. I walked in, demonstrated the dog a little bit. I had two service dogs and two friends. And I looked at them and I said, who do you turn to when you walk into a police station? Not one, not two, but three police officers verbally accost you.

[00:12:58] Where do you go? Am I angry? Guys, not at all. You know what? I spent years getting a master's degree in service dog education. I spent eight years in your country trying to help you get a disability law passed. And you know what? You did it. I'm so proud of you. Education is so important in the Bahamas as it is everywhere else in the world. I'm very proud of you. They turned to me and said, Mr. Hahn, we have a favor to ask of you. Sure, anything. Would you join us on the

[00:13:26] courthouse steps with your two service dogs and your friends so we can take a photo of you on the courthouse steps? I could have been complacent and walked out of that police station. I chose not to. You know, sometimes I have a little fun with it. I took cruises with my dog, right? They send you this form. Does the dog know where to urinate? Does the dog know where to deprecate? If the dog does damage, you're going to be responsible. Hey, my dog's got a $50,000 education. But I want you to know

[00:13:55] on my last cruise, we stopped on an island, St. Lucia. And you see the signs here. No urinating in public. Notice. Do not piss here. Not my language. Official government language on that island. Notice. Do not piss. Okay. Well, you know what goes. So years later, I took a cruise and I booked the thermal suite, the back of the ship overlooking the water. Nice chaise lounges. They

[00:14:23] were, you know, electric. 30-person jacuzzi. My dog booster was way 20 feet away in the corner. I got back to my room. I got a call. Mr. Hahn, could you come to the office? Mr. Hahn, we can't allow you to have a dog in the thermal suite. Really? Why is that? Well, sanitary conditions and dog hair. I looked at that man. He probably thought I was on the finest drugs the world had to offer. But you know what? I had his

[00:14:52] full attention. He didn't do a text. He didn't answer a call. He looked at me and I had him. I hooked him. Sir, let me explain something to you. I was sitting in that jacuzzi. My eyes were burning bromine chlorine. I'm looking at hairs. Some were yellow. Some were brown. Some were black. Some were probably from the back. Some probably from the stomach internationally. And some might

[00:15:16] have been, as Anthony Bourdain would have said, parts unknown. And every night we have dinner in the dining room, as we do all over the world. And the dog is under the table professionally. And you're not worried about the human mouth four feet from the dog hair. But you're worried about one drifting 20 feet into a jacuzzi that's already infused with hair and chemicals? Does that make

[00:15:41] any sense to you? Well, we have to follow the mandates of the home office. Well, sir, I'll tell you what, I'm going to call the home office. And I did. And they said it's up to the ship's discretion and the officers. Now we're playing good cop, bad cop, right? I was PISSED. I went into that office and I said, mister, I'm going to make this as polite as I can. Somebody's lying to me. And I'm an honest man and I don't appreciate it. But if you're telling me that that's your policy on this cruise

[00:16:10] line, the disabled or not welcome and able to use the same amenities as those who are not disabled, I don't like that. But I'd have to accept it. But we need to let the world know this because I believe in advocacy. So I will work up a press release, try to get it sent out in the next couple days. Don't go on this airline if you're disabled or if you have friends or family members that are disabled because you will not be treated equally. Well, the next morning I get a phone call, Mr.

[00:16:37] Hahn, could you and Booster please come to my office? Not your dog. You knew him by name now, personally. Mr. Hahn, this has been a learning experience for our cruise line. We're going to give you access to the thermal suite for free for the rest of the cruise. We're going to put a $100 gift certificate on your account. And we're inviting you and Booster to join us at the officer's table for the theater dinner show tonight. Well, great. But I got something else in favor to ask you. He said,

[00:17:03] what's that? I said, you know, on a hot day, there was one of your employees that brought a bowl of water to my dog. I didn't ask for it. How kind is that? Another one, the young man that makes up the room, he pets my dog. How kind. You gave me $100. What goes around in life comes around, I believe. I got two $50 bills in my cabin. You think you could get those two guys in your office tomorrow? Yes, sir. I think we could do that. Please don't tell them why. I walk in there and there they are.

[00:17:30] There's the photo for the evidence. There's the dinner theater. They're the two gentlemen. They don't know if they're going to get thrown overboard or if they're going to get fired. And I commended them both. You brought my dog water. How kind are you? Then you clean my room. You don't complain about dog hair or anything. Look, the ship gave me $100. I've cut it in half. I want you to have $50 and I'd like you to have $50. You know, I could have been complacent, but I chose not

[00:17:53] to be. Now, I attended a conference a couple months ago, Pittsburgh, in about four days. And I attended a conference with a guy that was pretty high up in an HR chain for corporations, human relations. And we took an Uber in the morning and returned in the evening. And every time almost I got into that Uber, I was challenged with the dog. Well, if you'd have let me know and I'd have brought a vacuum

[00:18:20] cleaner and that or that, I don't know. And on the last day we were to fly to the airport, the man said, I don't want a dog in my car. Well, sir, it's the law. You have to. I don't have to do anything. It's my car. Well, OK, but I'm going to have to call the law and make a report, even if I have to miss my plane flight. Well, the HR guy did a little hopeless focus, I think, behind my back. But we got in and we made it to the airport. And I got home and I did a little research. But I also got

[00:18:50] a text from the HR guy. You're going to get hurt. You're going to get sued. Don't you ever contact me again. OK, right? But I wasn't complacent. When I got home, I researched it. Guess what? The Justice Department, DOJ, sued Uber last July for $125 million for problems given to people that are

[00:19:17] disabled, that use a service animal or those with collapsible wheelchairs. So was I out of bounds to advocate? I think the HR guy likes to smooth things over, watch the money for the corporation. Hey, that's valuable for the corporation. I'm worried about the little person and the veteran with no legs, the blind person, the autistic child. Right. And I, you know, I felt vindicated

[00:19:45] if the Department of Justice is going after him. Hey, why not me? Right. So I just want you to know, I wrote a book and it was published last December entitled My Booster. And all of those stories and a lot more are in that book. And I would encourage you to get a copy of it. It's in English. It's in Spanish. It's in audible in English and Spanish. It's in Kindle.

[00:20:08] And I just want to suggest that if you have the ability to advocate, not just for yourself, but for others. Maybe if you use the brain that, you know, that God gave you, not everybody's able to do that. Right. We all have our things that we excel at. It just became a passion. It just morphed into my life.

[00:20:32] And I'd like to feel we were talking about legacy earlier. I'd like to believe that I left a little bit of a legacy behind, promised my dog I'd share him with the world. I'd like to feel that I did exactly that. And I want to thank you all for being here today. Hey, Bale, you ready? Give me a hug. Give me a hug.

[00:20:56] Oh, that's my Bale. Thank you, buddy. Okay. Off. Thank you. Bale, let's go.

[00:22:13] This podcast is a part of the C-Suite Radio Network. For more top business podcasts, visit c-suiteradio.com.