Beaver Dam Bans Kangaroos As Service Animals, One Resident Says It’s Unfair
On Monday Night, the city council of Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, voted unanimously to deny kangaroos the right to be service animals — a city ordinance aimed at only one resident, Diana Moyer.
As previously reported by the Inquisitr, Moyer brought her baby kangaroo, Jimmy, into a Beaver Dam McDonald’s wearing a red sweater and a diaper. She had reportedly wrapped the baby kangaroo in a blanket and put it in an infant seat to get it to the restaurant.
McDonald’s staff asked her to leave, but she claimed Jimmy was a service animal that helped her deal with the stress of cancer. She even said she had medical approval for the animal.
This kangaroo in a diaper and onesie was asked to leave a McDonald’s in Wisconsin. Monsters. http://t.co/dL1770wyvy pic.twitter.com/8wtpn4ZN0m
— Shawn Reynolds (@ShawnRTV6) February 4, 2015
That excuse didn’t cut it for the Beaver Dam’s city council.
They voted 14 to 0 that service animals could only be dogs or miniature horses with specialized training — not kangaroos.
According to local news WKOW, Moyer was upset at the decision.
“They’re definitely targeting me and they’re picking on me because I’m disabled and I don’t think it’s very fair.”
Service animals, usually dogs, help guide the blind, but they have proven useful for treating certain psychological conditions like PTSD. Still, Wisconsin state law does not define what species can or cannot receive the special designation, which left Moyer and her kangaroo in a gray area.
Now police can cite Moyer when she’s with her kangaroo in public based on the law. The city ban is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) that also states service animals can only be dogs or miniature horses.
Moyer says that she will still take Jimmy out in public, despite the new ordinance. She previously said she goes everywhere with her kangaroo, including church and the movie theaters.
The Green Bay Press-Gazette reports that Moyer lives on a farm and has four other kangaroos, along with sheep, goats, emus, deer, horses, and chickens.
Moyer isn’t the only person to adopt a non-traditional service pet. In another piece from the Inquisitr, a woman was forced to leave an airplane on the runway with her 50- to 70-pound pig after fellow passengers complained.
The pig was initially allowed onboard as an emotional support animal in compliance with U.S. Department of Transportation rules.
In Beaver Dam, it wasn’t clear if the kangaroo ever caused a significant disturbance; nevertheless, the debate over service animals in the town is settled for now.
[Image Credit: Getty Images]
