Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: competing special needs

[Fred H Olson (fholson]

R.N. Johnson <cohoranda [at] yahoo.com>
is the author of the message below.  It was posted by
Fred, the Cohousing-L list manager <fholson [at] cohousing.org>
after deleting quoted digest.
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I wish your community luck in coming to a solution that works for everyone
in this difficult situation.   You should definitely get a detailed sense
of the issues involved, and if possible encourage the involved parties to
dialog about what might work.  If the person with the service dog needs a
service animal to detect seizures, for example, then a person will not be
able to perform the duties of the service dog. If the service dog is there
for mobility, a human replacement might be possible ( although probably
less reliable).  Some people with mild allergies  might be willing to
consider taking an antihistamine when they come to the common house;
people with more serious allergies or who cannot stand the side effects
would not be able to do so. Some poeple might be okay meeting in an
outdoor space, but not an indoor space.  It may not be possible to
accomodate eveyone, but all parties should appreciate a thoughtful
attempt.

Randa Johnson
New Brighton Cohousing
Aptos, CA