Gathering Places
Gathering Places
Vaccinated service dogs
spared quarantine stay
Quarantine has been like a Berlin Wall for the disabled who rely on service dogs. Quarantine actually prevents the disabled from visiting or leaving Hawaii with their vaccinated service dogs. Because of two historic settlements, one in 1998 and another this year, all disabled users of vaccinated service dogs will finally have the right to travel to and from Hawaii without quarantine confinement. These settlements protect the disabled while still protecting Hawaii from rabies.>> The blind: In 1998, the state agreed to eliminate quarantine confinement of vaccinated guide dogs for the blind. That settlement resolved a class action lawsuit I filed in 1993 on behalf of guide-dog users residing in Hawaii and on the mainland. The lawsuit alleged that quarantine violated the Americans With Disabilities Act by denying access to Hawaii by the blind who rely on guide dogs.
>> Background: The Territory of Hawaii established a 120-day quarantine in 1912. At that time, quarantine was the only way to prevent rabies, short of banning the importation of animals. However, vaccines developed in recent years are virtually 100 percent protective against rabies.
In 1996, the state's risk analysis found that a 30-day quarantine confinement for vaccinated pets was 400 percent safer than the old 120-day quarantine.
Thus, the state reduced quarantine confinement to 30 days for vaccinated pets in 1997. But that provided no relief to disabled persons coming here for short periods or for local disabled wishing to travel to the mainland and back with their vaccinated service dogs.
There is compelling evidence that vaccinated service dogs are less susceptible to rabies than other animals. They are closely supervised, medically cared for from birth and are never allowed to run free. No service dog has ever been reported to contract rabies.
In another risk analysis, the state concluded that eliminating any quarantine confinement for vaccinated guide dogs was also 400 percent safer than the old 120-day quarantine.
Also, international experts advised the state they did not object to eliminating quarantine confinement for vaccinated guide dogs. These experts included Dr. Charles Rupprecht, chief of the Centers for Disease Control rabies branch, and Dr. William Falconer, former deputy Hawaii state veterinarian.
It was against this background that the state, the Department of Justice and my blind plaintiffs settled their class action lawsuit in 1998.
The settlement essentially eliminated quarantine confinement for guide dogs. But it did not help other disabled people, such as the deaf, who rely on service dogs.
>> The deaf: This month, the state agreed to eliminate quarantine confinement for the deaf who rely on vaccinated hearing dogs. This settlement resolves a civil rights lawsuit I filed in 2000 on behalf of Sue Thomas, a well-known inspirational speaker who has been profoundly deaf since she was 18 months old. Sue's golden retriever, "Amazing Grace," has been trained to provide vital tasks that Sue cannot do by herself.
In 1999, Sue came to Hawaii to speak before the annual meeting of the Hawaii American Youth Soccer Organization. The state's rules required that Amazing Grace be quarantined.
This new settlement is right for everyone. It fulfills the state's obligation to keep Hawaii free of rabies and it guarantees the right of persons such as Sue Thomas, who rely on service dogs, to travel to and from Hawaii with their service dogs.
I personally thank the state Department of Agriculture (former director James Nakatani and state veterinarian Dr. Jim Foppoli), the Attorney General's Office (Deputy Attorney General Christine Daleiden and Attorney General Mark J. Bennett), and Governor Lingle for making this historic settlement a reality.
>> Smuggling: Experts agree that the real rabies threat comes from smuggled animals over which the state has no control. More than 4,000 private planes land here every year, not to mention innumerable boats. The state does not have sufficient personnel to inspect these planes and boats. To protect Hawaii from rabies, it is vital that we work to stop smuggling and do not waste our resources confining vaccinated pets that pose no rabies threat to our state. For more information, see www.quarantinehawaii.com.
Michael A. Lilly is a former Hawaii attorney general and a partner in the Hawaii law firm Ning, Lilly & Jones.