"Service animal" snake freaks out fellow diners

[vanillacourage]

Ay yi yi can you imagine being a fellow diner, or the management?

Snake wasn't on the menu of a Missouri restaurant, but that's what patrons got -- along with a side of rattled nerves.

A reptile, thought to be a boa constrictor, was brought into an eatery in Nixa, Missouri, this week, sending some fleeing.

Lisa Loeffelholz told CNN affiliate KYTV that she spotted a man and a woman holding the snake and "it started to slither down into the booth behind her."

Loeffelholz said she notified the restaurant manager -- who said the couple insisted the snake was a service animal and the restaurant should allow it to stay.

But just the sight of the woman apparently pulling the animal and then handing it over to the man at the table was enough to make Loeffelholz confront the snake handlers about their slippery excuse.

"He said, 'It's my service animal. And I'm allowed to have it because it helps me with my depression,'" she told the affiliate.

The snake may have had a calming effect on the couple, but by no means can it legally be deemed a service animal.

The Americans with Disabilities Act states "only dogs are recognized as service animals."

And if the snake posed a concern for public safety, then patrons could have notified police or animal control, according to Nixa city's communications director, Jill Finney.

"Management didn't know what to do, because they didn't want to violate anybody's rights, and that's understandable," Finney told the affiliate.

[ttt]

LOL it was only a matter of time before someone did this. This "emotional support animal" thing has gotten out of hand.

[emilyj]

I would have run screaming out of that restaurant. No. No. No. No.

NO.

[dellabear]

OMFG I would lose it. LOSE IT.

[pretzel]

How big do you think the woman's handbag had to be to sneak in a boa constrictor?

[suzubell]

EWWWWW

[jln]

I would have run screaming. Snakes are not service animals. And I get that the restaurant was trying to be respectful, but really? Common sense would have told them a snake would never be considered a service animal.

[aurora]

I didn't realize the ADA only recognized dogs as service animals. There must be people out there more afraid of dogs than snakes...big fight coming for equal representation?

[katfco]

Aug 16, 2015 21:25:26 GMT -5 ttt said:

LOL it was only a matter of time before someone did this. This "emotional support animal" thing has gotten out of hand.

My brother and his wife have rescued 4 stray/feral cats so far and managed to get them listed as necessary for his anxiety, so now they're quite pleased no landlord can refused to rent to them on the basis of a no pets allowed rule. 

[tacoflavoredkisses]

Aug 17, 2015 0:02:12 GMT -5 @rennido said:

Ada also recognizes miniature horses !

I was just going to say this.

The ADA actually wasn't specified to cover only service dogs and miniature horses until the amendment in 2010. Prior to that, people were using all kinds of animals as service animals.

But other federal laws like fair housing and one that covers airlines of which the acronym is escaping me presently (those with statutes covering emotional support animals, which the ADA doesn't) don't specify the type of animal.

[mrsukyankee]

I don't care what animal or creature is your service animal, but it's on you to make sure that it is contained and not causing anxiety for anyone else. If you have a snake, it should be contained in a way that it can't get out. If this animal was slithering all over a booth or looking like it was heading elsewhere, then the owners ought to have been asked to leave or take control of it. Your anxiety and needs don't take over the needs of many others.

[penguingrrl]

Oh fuck no.

[kirra]

Aug 17, 2015 6:13:33 GMT -5 mrsukyankee said:

I don't care what animal or creature is your service animal, but it's on you to make sure that it is contained and not causing anxiety for anyone else. If you have a snake, it should be contained in a way that it can't get out. If this animal was slithering all over a booth or looking like it was heading elsewhere, then the owners ought to have been asked to leave or take control of it. Your anxiety and needs don't take over the needs of many others.

I would limit this to just being contained. Whether a service animal (which is a dog or a miniature horse that meets ADA standards) makes anyone anxious is irrelevant. My friend has had places try to deny her entry because her guide dog looks scary to some people. She threatens to report them and/or sue, and they let her in.

This story is just ridiculous. A snake? That they didn't contain? The reporting isn't great, either. An emotional support animal isn't usually the same as a service animal.

[jeaniebueller]

Fuck that shit.

[ginger]

I hope it was wearing a tiny vest.

[josieposy]

Boa constrictors give the best hugs!

[pixy0stix]

Beside the obvious, these people are idiots. Reptiles carry a salmonella risk. You shouldn't handle them and eat at the same time.

[tictac]

Seeing a giant snake in this particular context would send me into a full blown anxiety meltdown. And I actually have my anxiety pretty under control out in public.

Snakes belong either in the wild, or in tanks. They do not have a place just freely chilling in a restaurant booth.

[Mrs.Rad888]

Was the snake's name Nagini?

[kcb]

Fuck those people. And fuck that snake. I would have had a full blown panic attack and possibly caused harm to others. Most likely those assholes, so that would be ok. Smh.

[aurora]

Aug 17, 2015 12:14:03 GMT -5 kevin arnold said:

Aug 16, 2015 22:08:40 GMT -5 aurora said:

I didn't realize the ADA only recognized dogs as service animals. There must be people out there more afraid of dogs than snakes...big fight coming for equal representation?

Ok, all other common sense considerations aside, certified service dogs go through pretty extensive training.  I'm pretty sure you can't train a snake.

Do you think this kind of logic will work with the people who want to bring their service snakes to restaurants?

[aurora]

Aug 17, 2015 12:29:58 GMT -5 @rennido said:

Aug 17, 2015 12:26:56 GMT -5 aurora said:

Do you think this kind of logic will work with the people who want to bring their service snakes to restaurants?

An Emotional Support animal is not a service animal. Restaurants do not have to allow these kinds of animals into restaurants. 

I was poking fun at the situation but I should be clear that I realize there is a difference between service animals and emotional support animals. I am sorry if I offended.

[katfco]

Aug 17, 2015 9:31:25 GMT -5 @rennido said:

Aug 17, 2015 5:09:55 GMT -5 katfco said:

My brother and his wife have rescued 4 stray/feral cats so far and managed to get them listed as necessary for his anxiety, so now they're quite pleased no landlord can refused to rent to them on the basis of a no pets allowed rule. 

Actually they don't. They have to make reasonable accommodation, but 4 cats? Unless each cat provides a different service, a landlord can say, "I'll accommodate one cat."

I dont believe emotional support animals are covered by ADA, but I could be wrong. 

There was a situation with fair housing this past year for a girl who wanted a cat because she was afraid to fly home 2 times a year. Fair housing was called and they were all, "can this girls anxiety be handled any other way?" Yes, it could be, but she didn't want to take pills. Denied. And the landlord was within his rights. 

Yeah, I didn't question it to their faces, but I doubt it as well. Their argument is he needs one as an emotional support, and the other ones are companions for the first. They have...special reasoning skills. 

[tacosforlife]

Aug 17, 2015 0:02:12 GMT -5 @rennido said:

Ada also recognizes miniature horses !

[blink]

Aug 17, 2015 17:30:41 GMT -5 tacosforlife said:

Aug 17, 2015 0:02:12 GMT -5 @rennido said:

Ada also recognizes miniature horses !

I was just coming to post something similar. The world can always use more Li'l Sebastian.

[tacosforlife]

Bye bye, Li'l Sebastian
Miss you in the saddest fashion

[secretlyevil]

Aug 17, 2015 0:02:12 GMT -5 @rennido said:

Ada also recognizes miniature horses !

those suckers are mean.

[bourbonfan]

I want to be sensitive to those that need emotional support animals and service animals, but the abuse of the system drives me nuts. It seems to be a pretty common way in my area to get around the "no pit bull" rules in the rental communities.

[StrawberryBlondie]

Aug 17, 2015 17:01:46 GMT -5 1234FIF! said:

I am really afraid of snakes. REALLY afraid of them. Which is why I have sympathy for people who don't want pets at work even though I would love to bring a dog to work.

MD too. Deathly afraid of snakes. Even little tiny ones.

I would DIE if there was a snake in a restaurant.