Since The Durango Herald reported Spanish Trails Inn & Suites rejected April Elder and her family as tenants because of her service dog last week, Elder said her husband, Phil, their two children and she have been inundated with community support.
“Especially my customers have been unbelievable. Altogether, I got $280 (Tuesday), and one person the day before that gave me $100. Someone else dropped off $140 to Phil on Saturday,” she said.
April Elder works full-time at City Cleaners; her husband works part-time at Giant gas station.
“That wasn’t the point of the story, to have a pity party, but we’re so appreciative and thankful that people are being supportive and helpful to us right now,” she said.
Since the Herald’s story published May 9, she has not been contacted by Spanish Trails staff members or management. She said she and her husband consulted a lawyer about possibly taking legal action against the motel, but their meeting came to nothing.
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, it is illegal for private businesses to discriminate against the disabled by denying them services, access or care on account of service animals, which the law treats as tantamount to wheelchairs or crutches.
Despite the generosity of strangers and friends, the Elders’ housing crisis continues, though April Elder said she was hopeful it would soon be resolved.
“We’re supposed to move into a place on the west side that has a trailer that’s opening up, hopefully by the first of the month,” she said. “They don’t usually take dogs, but they had no problem with a service dog. We’re saving money up – it’s just temporary, while we wait to get low-income housing in three or four months.”
She said her children were doing very well, and she and her husband were bowled over by the way Herald readers had reached out to help them through an excruciatingly stressful period.
cmcallister@durangoherald.com
