Disability Rights South Dakota Files Complaint Against Animal Psychology Center in Philip, South Dakota on Behalf of Client with Visual Impairment.
Disability Rights South Dakota (DRSD) has filed a complaint in Small Claims Court on behalf of a woman who is blind. The complaint alleges that the owner of Animal Psychology Center (APC) in Philip fraudulently represented that the dog was trained as a guide dog and a personal protection dog. Her initial experiences with the dog were not encouraging and it became apparent that the dog was not trained to provide the services that she needed.
The woman reported that the dog had abandoned her in the middle of a Minneapolis suburb at night, chased squirrels while working, and led her into road signs and over unstable terrain. She says that she suffered physical injuries as a result of the animal’s unruliness. An evaluation by a Minneapolis trainer confirmed and documented that the dog was not a fully trained service animal able to assist as a guide dog. Not knowing what else to do, the woman contacted APC and was told that APC would only assist if both the woman and the dog returned to Philip for several weeks. However, the woman was unable to do this due to limitations imposed by her disability.
DRSD has become aware that multiple individuals allege similar experiences with APC. Those individuals also believe that they were the victim of misrepresentations made by APC as it relates to the training and capabilities of their purported ‘service animals’.
Many of these individuals stated that they shared their concerns with the South Dakota Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division. DRSD contacted the Attorney General’s office and was told that no formal investigation had been opened against APC.