Fake service dogs. Have you seen them? They’re anywhere and everywhere you go—grocery stores, restaurants, even at the airport. They wear vests, patches, scarves, all proclaiming them to be service dogs. The humans with them often say they’re “certified.”
But it’s not the skilled tasks the dogs perform for their disabled handlers that make you notice the fakers. It’s their horrible behavior. They pull on leashes, growl at strangers, eliminate inappropriately. They are out of control.
They are not real service dogs.
Service animals are defined as dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities. Examples of such work or tasks include guiding people who are blind, alerting people who are deaf, pulling a wheelchair, alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure, reminding a person with mental illness to take prescribed medications, calming a person with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) during an anxiety attack, or performing other duties. Service animals are working animals, not pets. The work or task a dog has been trained to provide must be directly related to the person’s disability. Dogs whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support do not qualify as service animals under the ADA.
https://www.ada.gov/service_animals_2010.htm
Photo by Linda Ehrenworth
What are “fake” service dogs? They are dogs whose owners feel compelled, for reasons of their own, to lie about their dog and about themselves.
These dogs are not individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities. Often, these dogs are not individually trained at all. That’s right. “Fake” service dogs very likely have had no effective training whatsoever.
How do you tell? If you notice the dog is behaving badly in a public place, then the training the dog has been given (if any) has not been effective.
To take into public a dog that’s not been effectively trained to tolerate—even enjoy—being in that situation is close to abuse. The harder it is on the dog, the more abusive the treatment.
We can only speculate on the motivations of people who choose to expose their untrained, temperamentally unsuited dogs to situations that the dogs find overwhelming. Ignorance is one excuse, of course. I would only hope that when the ignorant know better, they’ll do better.
Certainly, in some small number of cases, cheapness is a reason. Passing one’s pet dog off as a service animal so the dog can fly free in the passenger cabin of an airplane saves the cost of either paying for a small dog to fly in the cabin secured in an approved carrier, or for a large dog to fly in cargo. (Shipping a dog in cargo can be risky, so cheapness may not be the sole motivator here.)
Whatever the motivation for wanting a dog to accompany you “everywhere,” people who’ve chosen to do that are clearly finding it rewarding—and we know behavior that is rewarded will continue.
In the future, we’ll talk about how to make “faking” service dogs less rewarding to the fakers, but today I’d like to share with you the answers of dog owners, dog trainers, and dog professionals from the United States, Canada, and Mexico, who were asked one question: How do you feel about “fake service dogs”?
Lary Lindsay (Ontario, Canada) Yuck!!! The fake service dogs I see tend to be at WalMart, riding in the cart. Otherwise, running around on a long leash, not responding to the owner’s calls to come back. That is, if they bother to call them back.
Colette Kase (Yucatán, Mexico) I’m not a service-dog owner, but I just want to say that it’s common practice for snowbirds to get fake online certifications for their pets so they can travel with them in the cabin. Many of these dogs are appallingly behaved and are not the sort of ambassadors service-dog owners need. I believe you can purchase “service dog” certifications online, and the certificates/cards seem to be sufficient to get dogs on planes. They may be meaningless in reality, but in practice, people use them and get away with it.
Meira Frankl (Quebec, Canada) I don’t own a service dog, nor am I a service-dog trainer—just a regular trainer. But it bothers me that it’s so easy for anyone to buy a service-dog vest to slap onto their dog and voilà! Just yesterday I saw a dog and asked if I could meet it. As it got closer, I saw a small service vest (with the words Service Dog) on it and immediately apologized, since the dog was working. (I’d never touch a working service dog.) When I stepped back, the owner exclaimed, “It’s okay, he’s just an emotional support dog. You can meet him!” (Why did he have the [service dog] vest then?!?) It just saddens me when people can easily pass their untrained dog off as a service dog. This can really make it difficult for real service dogs and their owners.
Timothy Page (Portland, Oregon) RIght after moving to Portland, we got Chiquis and took her to the park. A woman on the way had a fake service Havanese. Cute dog, but not really a service dog. The woman tried to convince me to get a certificate online for Chiquis. She said all you had to do was send a small fee, buy a vest, and receive a certificate. I didn’t know much about service dogs at the time, so I looked up what it takes to become a [real] service dog. Well, her dog didn’t do anything special; my dog was even learning flyball, but was still far from ever having the skills to become a service dog. Now, ten years later, with my ever-so-sore knee, I still don’t need her to be a service dog. The woman was taking advantage of an unenforced system.
Cheri Contreras (Sagle, Idaho) Very irritating because they have no control [over the dog].
Rita Bierley (Cleveland, Ohio) I’ve never had an “issue” with a fake dog, but I have seen some that are obviously not genuine service dogs! They pull against the leash, they try to greet other people or dogs, and they aren’t paying attention to their owners. I’ve also seen some owners who are not treating their dogs like service dogs. They jerk the leash, they yell at the dog, and/or they ignore the dog’s bad behavior.
Hugh Imhof (Spokane, Washington) I can’t ever un-see the guy who had his pit bull in a prong collar and a service-dog vest in Safeway. He had to block the dog with his own body at the pharmacy counter when it growled at people. Amazing.
Linda Beal (Spokane, Washington) I don’t like being played. I see it all the time. I just want some honesty! Real service dogs contribute to the well-being of their people.
Debby McMullen (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) Fake service dogs are everywhere here. People are carrying them in purses or in shopping carts in supermarkets, and they are [defecating] on the floor and they are barking at people—out of control in restaurants and businesses.
Laura McGaughey (Englewood, Colorado) Regardless of whether they’re “fake” or not, we do have a problem with too many dogs out there that aren’t fit for service-dog work. I feel sad, angry, and overall upset.
Chelsea Edwards (Portland, Oregon) I recognize that more access for more well-mannered dogs is ideal, but faking is not the path to that end. I have lost several friends over faking service dogs.
Janice Langbehn (Seattle, Washington) It de-legitimizes real service dogs and persons with disabilities.
Maryanne Dell (Cypress, California) People who need service dogs should absolutely have them and be allowed to take them anywhere. Problem is, it’s easy to fake. Anyone can get a vest, put a “service/assistance dog” patch on it, and go anywhere with their dog. When said dog misbehaves, it reflects badly on service dogs everywhere and makes it hard for those who truly need them to be seen in an empathetic light (by some). Sticky-wicket issue, but there is no good reason for faking it—none. If you can’t afford to fly with your pup, then drive or get someone to stay with her.
Suzanne Brean (Lebanon, Oregon) I hate them. Leave your pet dogs at home or obedience-train so they do not interfere with working dogs. My first Service Dog retired at five years of age after a dog attack. He is now 11 years old and still cannot go out in public because of the fear due to that attack.
Kathy Gallagher (Columbus, Ohio) I think it’s wrong.
Jules Weber (Westminster, Maryland) Makes my blood boil.
Claudia Black-Kalinsky (Savannah, Georgia) It is infuriating, and the fakers will ruin it for people with a real need.
Connie Price (Stockton, California) I do not call myself a service-dog trainer, but I have trained service dogs. I ran into a former [national chain store] “trainer”—who briefly started her own business—at a store with a male husky. She was letting him meet people to “socialize” him, then was pulling him down when he jumped on them. I heard her tell people she was training him to be a service dog. We started talking and she recognized me. I mentioned I had experience with service dogs and offered help. I asked when she was getting him neutered. She said, “Oh, no. I am breeding him.” She went on to say how she was considering using a shock collar on him, and I pointed out that most reputable service-dog schools do not use shock collars because of the potential issues they can cause. [She gave me] a confused look with that one, then “Really?”
[There was also] the man who called and asked about training his son’s dog as a service dog. I asked what he wanted the dog trained to do. “Uh, be my son’s friend, I guess.” They were getting flak about the dog by the landlord and didn’t want to pay extra to have the dog.
I am getting fed up with people wanting to make their pet a service dog so they can take them everywhere, causing issues and making it more difficult for legitimate service-dog teams.
Jett Wyatt (Damascus, Oregon ) A dog that exhibits inappropriate behavior in the kinds of environments that service dogs are exposed to is probably a stressed, unhappy dog. I have an Aussie that would be easy to train to provide a service but would probably never be comfortable in an environment where people (and other dogs) crowded him physically, or where he had restricted movement for a long period of time (airplane flight comes to mind). Bringing a dog into an environment they are unprepared for is so unfair to the dog.
Kimberly Kelly (Oceanside, California) Those faking disability to bring their pets with them are causing enormous harm. They just aren’t the ones paying the price.
