More Pet Food Recalls

The FDA continues to announce pet food/treat recalls. Please be sure to review the announcements and check your pet's products against the list to see if it should be discontinued. Most stores will take the product back. If your pet has gotten ill, save all packaging for tests and consult a veterinarian immediately.

Pets with Salmonella infections may be lethargic and have diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever, and vomiting. Some pets will have only decreased appetite, fever and abdominal pain. Infected but otherwise healthy pets can be carriers and infect other animals or humans. If your pet has consumed the recalled product and has any of these signs, please contact your veterinarian.

Healthy people infected with Salmonella should monitor themselves for some or all of the following symptoms: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramping and fever. Rarely, Salmonella can result in more serious ailments, including arterial infections, endocarditis, arthritis, muscle pain, eye irritation, and urinary tract symptoms. Consumers exhibiting these symptoms after having contact with this product should contact their healthcare providers.

Kasel Associated Industries Recalls Nature's Deli Chicken Jerky Dog Treats Because of Possible Salmonella Health Risk

Contact: (800) 218-4417

Kasel Associated Industries of Denver, CO is voluntarily recalling its NATURE’S DELI CHICKEN JERKY DOG TREATS product because it may be contaminated with Salmonella. Salmonella can sicken animals that eat these products and humans are at risk for salmonella poisoning from handling contaminated pet products, especially if they have not thoroughly washed their hands after having contact with the pet products or any surfaces exposed to these products.

Kasel Associated Industries Recalls Boots & Barkley Roasted American Pig Ears And Boots & Barkley American Variety Pack Dog Treats Because of Possible Salmonella Health Risk

Contact: (800) 218-4417

Kasel Associated Industries of Denver, CO is voluntarily recalling its BOOTS & BARKLEY ROASTED AMERICAN PIG EARS AND BOOTS & BARKLEY AMERICAN VARIETY PACK DOG TREATS product because it may be contaminated with Salmonella. Salmonella can sicken animals that eat these products and humans are at risk for salmonella poisoning from handling contaminated pet products, especially if they have not thoroughly washed their hands after having contact with the pet products or any surfaces exposed to these products. The recalled Roasted Pig Ears and Variety Pack Dog Treats were distributed nationwide through Target retail stores in August 2012.

Premium Nutritional Products Announces Ongoing Voluntary Recall Of Select ZuPreem Bird Foods
Contact: 800-345-4767

On September 27, 2012, Premium Nutritional Products, Inc. initiated a voluntary recall of ZuPreem FruitBlend™ With Natural Fruit Flavors maintenance formula bird foods for medium/large birds and for large birds with use by date codes of 11/30/13 or 11/13 and lot numbers 598405052 or 598405072. The recall is being conducted due to the product containing the combination of exceedingly high calcium levels, low phosphorus, and high vitamin D concentration resulting in a significant health risk to the birds.

 

Change Your Windows Password

Today's blog posting is just a simple security tip for computer users: how to change your Windows logon password.

 

Your Windows password is the password you use to log on to your computer. You can help keep your computer more secure by changing your Windows password regularly, and by using a strong password.

1. Log onto Windows as you normally do,
2. Press CTRL+ALT+DELETE,
3. Click Change a password.
4. Type your old password,
5. Type your new password,
6. Type your new password again to confirm it, and
7. Then press ENTER.

Service Animals and Emotional Support Animals Are Not the Same

Recently, the Fourth District Court of Appeal of Florida issued opinion No. 4D10-3038, SUN HARBOR HOMEOWNERS' ASSOCIATION, appellant, v. BONURA, appellee, wherein the Court made a statement that muddies the water with regard to service animals and emotional support animals.

"[t]he testimony indicated Ms. Vidoni was able to travel and work without the dog." (emphasis added).

This blog posting is not a full review or critique of the factual or legal substance of this case. My focus here is merely to address the above statement and respectfully inform others about the dilemma presented by the Court's language, because service animals and emotional support animals are not the same.

Vincent Bonura owns a Sun Harbor townhouse where he resides with his fiancée, Natalie Vidoni, and her dog. To help her cope with depression and anxiety following an automobile accident which also left her with a physical impairment, Vidoni has an emotional support animal. Sun Harbor has a "no pets" policy. Both the Federal Fair Housing Act and the Florida Fair Housing Act provide, inter alia,  reasonable accommodation for disabled persons, including the waiver of "no pet" restrictions. 

In the simplest of terms, the purpose of emotional support animals is to provide comfort and companionship and thereby relieve stress, anxiety and other barriers to permit a disabled person to better cope and handle life's major activities, including caring for oneself. On the other hand, the purpose of service animals is to provide assistance to disabled persons, such as retrieving objects, providing alerts, opening doors, guiding blind persons, and otherwise helping the disabled person by actually doing some task. 

Service animals are trained to provide a particular service or do a particular task. Although state law varies, federal law does not demand that service animals receive certified training. The service animal may receive such certified training or can be trained at home. As long as the animal is trained to provide a service to a person with a disability and provides such service, the animal is a service animal. Service animals are not considered pets and they are generally permitted to go everywhere the disabled person goes.

Emotional support animals, as stated above, do not provide a particular service or perform a particular task, nor do they generally receive any training. Their basic purpose is to help a disabled person cope. As such, they are not considered service animals and are not permitted to go everywhere the disabled person goes like service animals are. Disabled persons routinely travel, go to work, and do other things without the emotional support animal accompanying them. It is precisely because the emotional support animal is at home that some disabled persons can cope well enough to travel and go to work. 

The Court's assertion that Vidoni could travel without her [emotional support] dog indicates the difficulty in presenting cases involving such animals. Part of the lawyer's role in such cases is to educate the court in the difference, and to present the facts appropriately with proper legal support and documentation. Part of the client's role in such circumstances is to be sure to follow the rules and regulations of the housing community, as well as the proper procedures for requesting a reasonable accommodation with supporting documentation from the client's doctor. The subsequent failure, or inordinate delay, of a housing complex to grant a reasonable accommodation is very likely to constitute a violation of both the Federal and Florida fair housing laws and both laws should be referenced in any action on behalf of a client.

Timothy C. Martin, Esq. is a solo practitioner in Tampa, Florida. His practice areas include animal law, administrative law, environmental law and land use, real estate/real propery, business organizations and transactions, LGBT issues, employment law, and mediation.

Martin Law Office, P.A.

www.martinlawfl.com

Tel: (813) 260-1413

Fax: (888) 250-6501

US Supreme Court Upholds Health Care Law

Today, the United States Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the health care law, including the individual mandate, is constitutional. There will undoubtedly be lots of confusion as well as bickering about how the law is implemented and what it means to each person, and groups of persons. Stay tuned for more information as it becomes available.

Inaugural post of Martin Law Blog

Welcome to the Martin Law Blog, a service of the Martin Law Office, P.A.

This blog will focus on legal issues including cases, statutes, news, and current events, generally related to the practice areas of Martin Law Office:

• Animal law
• Environmental law and land use
• Real property (real estate)
• LGBT issues
• Employment law
• Corporate law and contracts
• Business organizations and transactions
• Administrative law

Occasionally I may stray out of these areas to discuss something that I find very important or interesting, and part of my blogging will be devoted to general issues of the practice of law. I welcome comments and responses as long as they are respectful and on topic.

About Me

My name is Timothy C. Martin. I am the attorney/owner of Martin Law Office, P.A.,  a solo practitioner law firm in Tampa, Florida. I earned a J.D. from Barry University School of Law in Orlando, Florida with an honors certificate in Environmental Law, Jurisprudence, and Justice; a B.A. from The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio; and an A.S. from Valencia Community College in Orlando, Florida.