Help get permission for Conrad to own a therapy dog in Bellamont Gardens

We are requesting that the Body Corporate review their policy of "no animals" at Bellamont Gardens. This is an infringement on the rights of the disabled who may be in need of a seeing, hearing, service or therapy dog.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc3/t1.0-9/10154411_10152362739409602_1317517985_n.jpgConrad is a seven year old boy with Autism. His Mom applied for permission to get a therapy dog, provided by South African Guide Dogs, from the body corporate for her son who has extreme anxiety and frequent meltdowns (a common problem with people on the Autism Spectrum). Her request was denied for these reasons:

• The rules state that “Under no circumstances may tenants keep cats or dogs”. This rule is logged in the Rule Book at the property management offices and differs from the Conduct Rule book handed out to tenants AFTER they move into the complex which states that “BELLAMONT has a no pet’s policy. Should exceptional, mitigating circumstances exist, application may be made to the Trustees for consideration”. The rule book logged in at the Property Management office also goes onto say in paragraph 25.5 that “No owner shall allow any domestic pets to enter the Private Conservation Zone, and any dog passing through this area to the beach must only be permitted to do so on a leash. No owner shall allow pets within the Residential Area to harm or disturb wild animals or birds that enter it.

• They are duty bound to act in the interest of all owners and feel that even if they were entitled to use their discretion and grant permission to a tenant to keep a dog for therapeutic reasons this would set a precedent that would lead to a number of “therapeutic dogs” being allowed into the complex and Bellamont Gardens, being set in Private Conservation Area, is not a pet friendly complex.

• That the trustees do not have the power to circumvent this rule which takes precedence over any other “house rules” that may have been made over the years.

In response to this reply from the body corporate I, Conrad's mother, would like to reply:

• The rule book was logged in 1996 and their have been many changes since then. One of them being the availability in South Africa of Therapy dogs which forms a valid instrument in the well being of a child with autism. This has been proved in many studies. The rule book contradicts itself, not only with the different rules in the different books handed out to tenants and the one logged in at the management office but with the conflicting rules of paragraph 6 and paragraph 25.5

• Therapy dogs are highly trained and this is done at a huge cost. If such person is in need of a trained therapy dog the Training Centre would be making double sure that said person qualifies for a therapy dog and is capable of keeping the animal before handing the canine over to the family. The fact that the board of trustees states that it would set a precedent for future requests for “therapeutic dogs” implies to me that if any person with a disability, bearing in mind that dogs are used for disabilities such as loss of sight and hearing, wheelchair bound individuals and children with ASD, applies to rent or buy a unit in Bellamont Gardens that they will be denied due to their no animal policy and therefore infringing on their rights as stated in the constitution.

• With regards to the statement “That the trustees do not have the power to circumvent this rule which takes precedence over any other “house rules” that may have been made over the years. It states in Paragraph 1 of the Conduct Rules logged by the property management that “The rules contained in this schedule shall not be added to, amended or repealed except by special resolution of the members of the Body Corporate in accordance with the act’.

• Bellamont Gardens is just one complex housed within the said Private Conservation area. The conservation area runs alongside the entire Bellamont Road where there are many freestanding homes and complexes, most of which have cats and dogs. The Private conservation area does not belong exclusively to the Body Corporate of Bellamont Gardens.

As a voice for Conrad and all other people with disabilities I ask you to sign this petition requesting the Body Corporate to review their policy concerning “no animals” as this is infringing on the rights of the disabled who may be in need of the additional help of a seeing, hearing, service or therapy dog.

I am asking the Body Corporate of Bellamont Gardens to rethink the request of not allowing my son to have a Autism Assistance dog. The Autism Assistance dog is not a pet but a working animal with an important role to play within families having a special needs child.

Note: Along with the request for a therapy dog, included was information from Guide Dogs South Arica, a motivating letter from Conrad’s psychologist and information highlighting the benefits of a therapy dog for children on the Autism Spectrum, what Autism is and the co existing conditions.

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https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3848/14520037129_614894cdaa_m.jpg

Attaching the full story: -source The Sunday Tribune.

"AS THE MOTHER of seven-year-old Conrad, Shelley Ann Foot knows how much extra work is needed in caring for an autistic child.
As part of her commitment to Conrad, Foot has given up her work as a reflexology therapist to ensure the well-being of her son. In fact, she has recently been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder.
Foot is renting a duplex at Bellamont Gardens in Umdloti, which has a back garden. With her husband often away due to work commitments, Foot and Conrad are often home alone.
Always on the lookout for new forms of therapies to help Conrad cope with autism, Foot learnt that the South African Guide Dogs Association is training dogs that could help Conrad counter the impact of autism, which is characterised by difficulty in social interactions and communication.
But when she approached Bellamont Gardens’ board of trustees, via her landlord, about Conrad using a therapeutic dog at her home, she was refused.
Unhappy with the decision, Foot approached the Equality Court.
In her affidavit submitted to the court, she described the rejection as being discriminatory as it marginalised her child, who suffers from a serious disability.
She also raised the issue that, while the trustees cited the rule from the sectional title conduct rules as their reason for rejecting her appeal, this was contradicted by the Code of Conduct handbook for Bellamont Gardens.
That particular clause reads: “Bellamont has no pet policy. Should exceptional, mitigating circumstances exist, application may be made to the trustees for consideration.”
Foot claims she had been reliably informed that the trustees never conducted a meeting to consider her request, as prescribed in the handbook.
“As a tenant who pays for the use and enjoyment of the rental property, I am fully entitled to be treated with the same dignity and respect as owners of apartments and (to enjoy) the benefits offered at the complex,” said Foot.
She has also offered to fence off the garden so that a dog could be contained there, but even that wasn’t enough to sway the opinion of the trustees.
“They (the trustees) have not taken into account the wellbeing and health of Conrad, therefore infringing on his constitutional rights, and it’s unfair discrimination on the grounds of disability,” she alleged.
The aggrieved mother is puzzled by the fact that many residents, including a trustee of the body corporate, have been allowed to keep cats on their premises.
“I have found the conduct of the trustees to be frustrating and traumatising,” she said.
Foot is not keen on the idea of moving as it would have an impact on her son.
“For autistic children, routine is important as they don’t deal well with change. Conrad has a daily routine that is designed to keep him calm; his anxiety levels are raised in unfamiliar circumstances,” she said.
The potential for her son having a “meltdown” is Foot’s biggest concern, as Conrad has, in the past, harmed himself during a tantrum.
Foot became interested in using dogs as part of her son’s treatment when she learnt that guide dogs help to bring down a child’s anxiety levels, prevent meltdowns and prevent them from wandering.
Foot has made an application to the South African Guide Dogs Association and has been placed on a waiting list, and will be subjected to an interview by the organisation.
In written correspondence, Maxine Gedie of the South African Guide Dogs Association, said: “Autism assist dogs are trained to help autistic children in a variety of ways. The dog is controlled on a lead by the parent… and also wears a harness that the child holds.”
Hillary Douglas of North Coast Property Management company, which tends to the daily affairs of the complex, confirmed a responding affidavit would be filed by tomorrow’s deadline. "

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http://m.timeslive.co.za/thetimes/?articleId=12164546

A Kwazulu-Natal mother has turned to the Durban Equality Court in a bid to be allowed to keep a specially trained dog to calm her autistic son.

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Excerpts from The Constitution of South Africa relevant to the above.

Equality

(1) Everyone is equal before the law and has the right to equal protection and benefit of the law.

(2) Equality includes the full and equal enjoyment of all rights and freedoms. To promote the achievement of equality, legislative and other measures designed to protect or advance persons, or categories of persons, disadvantaged by unfair discrimination may be taken.

(3) The state may not unfairly discriminate directly or indirectly against anyone on one or more grounds, including race, gender, sex, pregnancy, marital status, ethnic or social origin, colour, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, conscience, belief, culture, language and birth.

(4) No person may unfairly discriminate directly or indirectly against anyone on one or more grounds in terms of subsection (3). National legislation must be enacted to prevent or prohibit unfair discrimination.

(5) Discrimination on one or more of the grounds listed in subsection (3) is unfair unless it is established that the discrimination is fair.

28. Children

(1) Every child has the right -

to a name and a nationality from birth;

(b) to family care or parental care, or to appropriate alternative care when removed from the family environment;

(c) to basic nutrition, shelter, basic health care services and social services;

(d) to be protected from maltreatment, neglect, abuse or degradation;

(e) to be protected from exploitative labour practices;

(f) not to be required or permitted to perform work or provide services that -

(i) are inappropriate for a person of that child’s age; or

(ii) place at risk the child’s well-being, education, physical or mental health or spiritual, moral or social development;

(g) not to be detained except as a measure of last resort, in which case, in addition to the rights a child enjoys under sections 12 and 35, the child may be detained only for the shortest appropriate period of time, and has the right to be -

(i) kept separately from detained persons over the age of 18 years; and

(ii) treated in a manner, and kept in conditions, that take account of the child’s age;

(h) to have a legal practitioner assigned to the child by the state, and at state expense, in civil proceedings affecting the child, if substantial injustice would otherwise result; and

(i) not to be used directly in armed conflict, and to be protected in times of armed conflict.

(2) A child’s best interests are of paramount importance in every matter concerning the child.

(3) In this section “child” means a person under the age of 18 years.

Ashley Morris

Ashley Morris    Contact the author of the petition