Last week, I asked dog professionals from the United States, Canada, and Mexico how they felt about owners so eager to have their dogs accompany them everywhere in public that they were willing to claim they had a disability and lie about their dogs’ temperament and training—presenting the dogs as service dogs when, in fact, the dogs were not trained and the humans were not disabled.
This week, I asked service dog handlers to tell us more about how fake service dogs have affected them, their service dogs, and their everyday lives. Their responses tell us not only about the real harm fakes can do to working service dogs, but also about how the proliferation of fakes has made living with a disability and handling a working service dog even more difficult.
Dia Barney Nonaka (Tucson, Arizona) I have a history with service dogs. About 20 years ago, my mom got one. She had one of the first service dogs—possibly the first—in the community. Everywhere we went, we were faced with a barrage of questions. “Why do you have a dog with you?” “What does the dog do?” “Is that one of them blind dogs?” (Yes, that’s an actual question.)
My mom was in a wheelchair, but people were still lost on why a dog was with her. They understood guide dogs, but not anything else. I told her to wear her sunglasses a lot. People left us alone more (not totally) when she was wearing her shades. Even as I pushed her in her wheelchair.
I see this problem differently. I don’t care if there are more dogs around, provided they behave. I would like the conversation to move from “fake” vs. “real” service dogs to “the expectations of a dog in public.” Establishments still don’t realize that they do not have to allow access to a misbehaving service dog. So they allow misbehaving dogs to stay, which erodes confidence in society’s ability to have dogs in public. Yes, fake [service] dogs are the main culprits of misbehavior. Thing is, if establishments gave them the boot, then carried on with their days, fake dogs would be less of an issue. People wouldn’t continue to try to pass off Snappy McGrowly as their service dog if they kept being told to leave.
Cissy Stamm (New York, New York) The supermarket I’ve patronized for ten years with two service dogs without problems put up a sign saying that service dogs required IDs. I spoke to [the manager] about it. He said he’s had people come in with untrained dogs, claiming they were service dogs. A few [eliminated inappropriately] in his store. Someone complained to the Health Department. The inspector told him service dogs have to have ID. This is against Health Department policy—which I told him. Now I have to call the Health Department.
Kris Boling (Saint Augustine, Florida) The problem I have had is with people [who have been there before me] providing registration or documentation when I am not required to do so. I hear the “Well, the last person had registration” argument then. That’s pretty obnoxious.
Do service animals have to wear a vest or patch or special harness identifying them as service animals?
No. The ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990) does not require service animals to wear a vest, ID tag, or specific harness.
Micha Michlewicz (Brookeville, Maryland) I can’t know if [the dogs] were fake [service dogs] or just ill-behaved, but I’ve had access challenges. Employees approach me and talk about the “last service dog” that came in before us and the circus that ensued. A lot of store owners will want to keep other teams out when they’ve been burned by a badly behaved team. You also get questioned a lot because they’ll assume you’re not a real team if they can’t see any obvious physical handicaps.
I don’t have a physical-assistance service dog any more, but I handled it then by keeping a copy of the ADA law with me, plus the business info pertaining to it—a couple of sheets of paper folded up and clipped to my dog’s harness in a badge holder. I would just hand it over for them to read. I would also do this when asked for my dog’s “registration” for entry. Ninety-nine percent of the time, this solved the problem peacefully and educated them for the future.
I can remember only one time that it didn’t work. She called the ADA hotline (the number was on the papers I had) at my request to verify. They convinced her that what she was reading was accurate. She still tried to compromise by asking if she could hold my dog up front for me while I got my things, but gave in when I of course declined. Her own employee also was telling her that I had entry by law.
I never fought with people. It didn’t come to that. I didn’t whip out my phone and start recording either. Again, it never came to that.
One of the first times I had a problem, it was a nature center fundraiser. They denied my service dog admission ahead of time (I was supposed to volunteer and it was away from the animals). I wrote them a letter in advance informing them of the law. They gave in.
This isn’t ideally how I would have handled it later on as I got confidence and experience. By confidence, I mean that it feels kind of “wrong” at the beginning for a lot of people when you’re the only one with a dog where there aren’t any [other dogs]. The best way I can explain it would be Imposter Syndrome, like a lot of dog trainers get.
Gail S. Green (Forest Grove, Oregon) [It] just [ticks] me off, when it is obvious. Or when I am asked where someone can buy a vest. I have educated people on the difference between Service, Therapy, and Emotional Service Animals. Many are surprised at that. I try not to judge, but sometimes it is so blatant.
I once had a woman in line at Starbucks look Twyla and me over. Twyla had her vest on. The woman tapped my arm, “So what’s wrong with you?” I turned and said, “Don’t you think that’s a little personal?” She pointed at Twyla in her vest and said, “Well… aren’t you advertising?” A few others in line frowned and shook their heads at her. I said to her, “She’s working.” The woman shrugged her shoulders and said to another person, “So what was I supposed to say?” Another woman answered, “How about nothing?”
Does the ADA require that service animals be certified as service animals?
No. Covered entities may not require documentation, such as proof that the animal has been certified, trained, or licensed as a service animal, as a condition for entry.
There are individuals and organizations that sell service animal certification or registration documents online. These documents do not convey any rights under the ADA and the Department of Justice does not recognize them as proof that the dog is a service animal.
Chelsea Edwards (Portland, Oregon) Here are some of the ways my Service Dog and I have been affected:
▪ Extreme distraction as inappropriate dogs bark, whine, woof, or approach us; my dog can and does ignore other dogs—to a point
▪ Hostile business attitudes making it very difficult to navigate without conflict or confrontation
▪ Injury to my service dog from being attacked
▪ Confrontations with people as I try to protect my rights, the rights of the business, and the rights of my dog
▪ Violations of the ADA by staff/businesses that have been burned by fake service dogs—such as asking for documentation, certification, “proof,” and the like
▪ Lack of access due to limits of a certain number of animals (on a bus, plane, etc.)
▪ The pain of observing fake service dogs suffer for a lack of appropriate training, temperament, or desire to work (i.e., fearful, shy, untrained). Please note that many people do not know they have a fake service dog. Practitioners are poorly trained and often “prescribe” an Emotional Support Animal, but tell clients it’s a service-dog designation, sending them out into the world with inappropriate dogs that are not service dogs, and with erroneous information . . . but people simply do not know this.
▪ People asking, “How can my dog be a service dog?” Well, any service-dog handler that I know would gladly trade being able to have a dog all the time for not requiring a dog all the time because of disability. Same with, “Where do I get a vest?”
▪ As a trainer, advocate, and educator, I find I spend exorbitant amounts of time talking to businesses, individuals, and even those with the fake service dogs . . . taking time from my own errands and life. I don’t mind educating, but it has gotten out of control. I am also not averse to confrontation (I do not like it, seek it, or anything, but I can handle conflicts and remain calm and responsive)—unlike the human side of many service-dog teams—and I feel compelled to speak up for those that cannot. It can add many hours to my day that I cannot get back. On a “bad” day, it can derail me for days to come.
▪ The fact that this behavior may put the ADA protections in jeopardy for all those who are disabled and require service dogs
▪ The confusion between Emotional Support Animals and Service Dogs, leading to a menagerie of animals being brought into pet-free public spaces—reptiles, birds, small mammals, exotics, etc.
Summer Storm Kingery, DVM (Raleigh, North Carolina) The issue is that some of those folks [who] might actually have reason to have a service dog have been sold a bill of goods. There was a family that bought a puppy doodle as a service dog for their severely autistic son. The expectation was that, with this dog, they would no longer have to directly supervise the son, who ran away a lot. They were under the impression that this dog would magically have the ability to anchor the son at home, or alert them to where the son was when he ran away.
So, multiple issues. Dog was afraid of son who had no dog skills and was in a family that had zero dog knowledge and got no guidance from an experienced service-dog trainer. I was the evil person [as their veterinarian] who told them to return the dog to the breeder, sue the breeder for misrepresentation (based on their purchase agreement), that at this time I did not think a service dog was appropriate for their household, and that if they persisted, they would put themselves in a situation that would result in harm to their child and possibly to others.
Note: I am not saying that it might not be a possibility someday, but at this stage they were essentially trying to replace human supervision with canine supervision—for a child too young for that regardless of ability (and I am very lenient when it comes to what I believe kids are capable of doing independently.) To me, that is the worst effect of the industry that has arisen around fake service dogs.
Chelsea Edwards (Portland, Oregon) Yeah, the “service-dog breeders” and those organizations that charge $10K to $30k to supposedly “train” your service dog have become a real serious issue as well. As soon as the word “industry” was attached to service dogs, we were free-falling down that slippery slope.
Janice Langbehn (Seattle, Washington) I have MS. I waited on Canine Companions’ waiting list for two years after I was approved. The entire year before [that] included them getting all my relevant medical records, plus forms from my doctor and therapist assessing my need for a dog and how the dog could help me. After all that, a committee read my application. I was invited to their campus for an in-person interview and they watched how I would handle a service dog. The committee met again and only then was I approved for the waiting list. I started the process in April 2014. I finally was invited to two weeks of full-time live-on-campus team training in May 2017. So I am very critical of people who get certifications on the internet or wherever. I think of all the other people on that list who waited as long as I did.
And the people scamming the system so they can bring a poorly behaved pet on airplanes, or just get away with not paying the $100 fee . . . or people who feel the absurd need to bring their ten-pound dog with them to the grocery store to have them ride in the cart . . . You get where I am going.
Suzanne Brean (Lebanon, Oregon) I lost my first Service Dog to a fake. It attacked him six years ago and he never returned to work. Wyatt, myself, and family had just walked through the gates of the local Renaissance Faire when a loose dog came charging out of a vendor booth, growling at Wyatt. As the dog lunged at Wyatt’s throat, I stopped him from making contact by running into him with my walker. He swung back around and came at him again.
My daughter and husband intervened and the owner showed up. “My dog doesn’t like other dogs.” It was a Service-Dog–Only event, even for vendors, and you had to sign an affidavit to that effect. Wyatt shook for hours and was hypervigilant of all noises that could have been a dog. Once we left the event, he would no longer get in the car. After six months of working with him, he would go for car rides and get out, but any dog barking made him panic. The dog that attacked never made physical contact, yet Wyatt is still too traumatized to work. This occurred when he was five years old. He is now 12.
What does “under control” mean? Do service animals have to be on a leash? Do they have to be quiet and not bark?
The ADA requires that service animals be under the control of the handler at all times. In most instances, the handler will be the individual with a disability or a third party who accompanies the individual with a disability. In the school (K–12) context and in similar settings, the school or similar entity may need to provide some assistance to enable a particular student to handle his or her service animal. The service animal must be harnessed, leashed, or tethered while in public places unless these devices interfere with the service animal’s work, or the person’s disability prevents use of these devices. In that case, the person must use voice, signal, or other effective means to maintain control of the animal. For example, a person who uses a wheelchair may use a long, retractable leash to allow her service animal to pick up or retrieve items. She may not allow the dog to wander away from her and must maintain control of the dog, even if it is retrieving an item at a distance from her. Or, a returning veteran who has PTSD and has great difficulty entering unfamiliar spaces may have a dog that is trained to enter a space, check to see that no threats are there, and come back and signal that it is safe to enter. The dog must be off leash to do its job, but may be leashed at other times. “Under control” also means that a service animal should not be allowed to bark repeatedly in a lecture hall, theater, library, or other quiet place. However, if a dog barks just once, or barks because someone has provoked it, this would not mean that the dog is out of control.
Next week, we’ll discuss what the ADA says businesses should do about disruptive dogs on their premises (fake service dogs or not), and why so many businesses instead do nothing.
Frequently Asked Questions about Service Dogs
https://www.ada.gov/regs2010/service_animal_qa.html
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