Apartment Manager Can't Bar My Guide Dog, Says Woman
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
November 10, 2006

MIAMI, FLORIDA--Lordes Guzman want to move into one of the vacant units at the Twin Lakes Racquet Club Apartments.

But when the manager found out that renting to Guzman, who is blind, means allowing her guide dog Honey to move in, too, she reportedly told Guzman, "We don't accept animals."

After trying unsuccessfully to inform the complex's management about the federal laws that prohibit discrimination against people who use guide and service animals, Guzman has sought the help of an attorney. They told WPLG they plan to file a lawsuit Monday if the manager doesn't rent to her.

Guzman's attorney Matthew Dietz said: "When someone has a service animal, it's clear it's their eyes -- that's what they need to act independently."

"You can't discriminate. Fair housing is not a choice, it's the law."

Guzman said she and Honey have been together ten years and that the dog has saved her life many times.

Related:
Fair Housing Act: Service Animals (Independent Living Research Utilization)
http://www.dlrp.org/html/topical/housing/housing-service.html

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Reproduced here under special arrangement with Inclusion Daily Express international disability rights news service.
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