An area family shares their frustrations after they say they weren't let in to the Wausau Hmong festival due to their service dog.
WAUSAU, Wis. (WAOW) - An area family shares their frustrations after they say they weren't let in to the Wausau Hmong festival due to their service dog.
Kue Her and her son Nolan were headed to the festival last Saturday with their Oscar, who serves as Nolan's service dog. Having had him for years, they weren't expecting any issues.
"We've traveled all over the United States with Oscar. We've never been asked for papers to prove that he's a service dog," explained Her. "So, I was very upset."
She says security guards working the festival asked to see proof that Oscar was in fact a service dog, claiming it to be a part of festival policy.
But she says that can't be true, as it violates the Americans with Disabilities Act.
According to the ADA, people can only be asked two questions:Â
- Whether the dog is a service animal required because of a disability.
- What work or task has that dog been trained to perform.
"Legally, Oscar can only go where Nolan can go," Her said. "We are realistic about this. For example, we don't take him to Nolan's allergy appointments because there are people who are allergic to dogs."
"We recognize that there are some places that he can go that is appropriate, and some places he can go which is not appropriate."
Her says the security guards didn't budge, and they weren't allowed access to the festival until the Director for the Hmong American Center stepped in.
"Special needs is something that's very important and crucial to our community here," said Director Yee Leng Xiong. "You know, mental health in general, along with special needs is something we're still continuously trying to learn and so the education in general just for our community is always needed."
The security guards apologized to Her, and the family was allowed to enter the festival.
Both the family and the HAC hope to continue to bring awareness and improve the community for families with disabilities.
"It's definitely still a very foreign concept for us," acknowledged Xiong, "and not many (sic) of the other Hmong organizations as well."
Since the incident, Xiong says policies for both the festival going forward and the Hmong American Center have been updated.
