Are guide dogs an exception to rule?

Dennis and Shirley Bartlett know about their Desert Grove homeowner association rules requiring owners to clean up after their dogs, but sometimes they simply miss the droppings left by their service dogs Nebraska and Marna.

Residents complained, and the former association president mentioned the problem to the blind couple.

Now, the Bartletts are headed to court to resolve the dispute.

“You can’t get everything all the time,” Dennis Bartlett said.

The Bartletts filed a Small Claims Court suit, which is scheduled to be heard by a judge Wednesday, against former association president Delmar Pierce, alleging harassment and prohibiting their guide dogs from doing what they were trained to do -- eliminate on the street. Pierce did not want to discuss the case.

The couple hopes the suit persuades the association to amend its covenants, conditions and restrictions to protect guide-dog users.