What is it about service dogs that HOAs don’t understand? It’s federal law. You cannot keep a disabled person from owning a service dog even if you hate that homeowner’s guts.
Nick Spagnolo was disabled while fighting in Kuwait and Somalia. Now, as a disabled Navy veteran he has a service dog to help him cope with his daily life. The Veterans Administration says it’s a service dog. His doctors say the dog is a medical necessity.
But the Jamestown Property Owners Association in Hobe Sound, Florida says Spagnolo’s dog weighs 40 pounds and the HOA regulations clearly prohibit dogs over 20 pounds.
Homeowners Associations across the country have been hit with massive federal fines for ignoring the rights of handicapped persons to have service dogs.
The Jamestown Property Owners Association is going to lose this one, and they’ll lose big. And the homeowners will all be hit with special assessments to pay for the legal fees and fines that’ll begin mounting up.
How do you spell ‘sftupid’?
(click here for Hobe Sound TV story)
