Anaheim : Woman Sues City Over Barring of Her Dog

A handicapped woman confined to a wheelchair has sued the City of Anaheim, claiming that the dog she keeps to help her was illegally barred from the Anaheim Convention Center last year.

Claiming numerous violations of state and federal law, Jane Jackson asked for more than $50,000 in damages in a lawsuit filed earlier this month.

Jackson operated an exhibit booth at the national convention of the Episcopal Church, held last September in Anaheim, according to the suit. She claimed that security officers did not allow her dog to enter, saying that pets are not permitted in the building.

Jackson, of Alameda County, claimed that she told city officials that the dog “was not a pet but a service dog whose function is to aid and protect her.”

But Malcolm Slaughter, deputy Anaheim city attorney, disputed Jackson’s version. “She satisfied us that the dog was, in fact, a service dog and more than a mere pet,” he said.