ohmidog!

Los Angeles County emergency shelters are violating disability  laws by refusing to take in homeless people who have service animals to help them deal with physical or emotional problems, a federal court lawsuit filed last week claims.

The suit, announced Friday, says the county’s Homeless Services Authority violates laws barring discrimination against the disabled. It was filed Wednesday on behalf of two people, including a woman who claims several shelters refused to accept her because she has a dog to help her deal with seizures.

The suit, which names both the city and the county, was filed by the Housing Rights Center and the Disability ghts Legal Rights Center, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The Americans With Disabilities Act and fair housing laws do not allow discrimination against people just because they rely on service animals. The lack of services leaves some of society’s most vulnerable with nowhere to go, the suit said.

“They are all supposed to take service animals,” said Shawna L. Parks, director of litigation for the Disability Rights Legal Center. “We are not talking about pets.”