Estelle Stamm, 65, has filed a lawsuit against NYC Transit for $10,000,000 after she says her 120-pound psychiatric service dog, Wargas, was unfairly denied access to the subway and bus system on numerous occasions. Stamm, who has Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and partial hearing loss, says her rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act and Rehabilitation Act were violated.
Wargas, an Anatolian Shepherd, accompanies Stamm at all times. She says the giant dog's presence helps to prevent her from suffering "...extreme fear of danger, severe depression and confusion" when she is in crowded places.
"I don't have a choice. I need my dog. And they [NYC Transit] don't have a choice, either. They have to follow the law," says Stamm.
Estelle once received a ticket from two police officers for bringing her dog into a subway station. On another occasion, she says her life was threatened by a fellow passenger on a metro bus after the driver stopped the bus and publicly blamed Stamm and her dog for the delay.
Transit lawyers have argued that Stamm is not really disabled and that Wargas could be a danger to fellow passengers. As evidence, they draw on over 8,000 pages of Stamm's internet postings, in which she suggests that livestock guardian dogs (a group of dog breeds including Wargas's breed) are dangerous to dogs and to some humans.
In some posts, Stamm discusses the involvement of her previous service dog, Mishka, in dog-on-dog attacks. She also described livestock dogs as genetically wired with "tremendous
killing power" and said Mishka could be aggressive toward elderly
cancer patients because "she can smell death, and she doesn't want it
near her."
Ms. Stamm told the New York Daily News that suggestions Wargas could be dangerous were "B.S.," and said, "Wargas is not in the slightest bit dangerous."
Stamm, whose PTSD stems from childhood sexual abuse, seeks retraining for NYC Transit employees in addition to monetary damages.
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