02/10/2022
On the topic fake Service Dogs:
People claiming their dog is a Service Dog is not only unethical, it is illegal in most places.
Representing your dog as a Service Dog when it’s simply a pet is like using a white cane when you’re not visually impaired, or a wheel chair when you have no physical requirement to do so, in order to gain ‘special privileges’. For example; having your dog travel in-cabin in plains, trains, or other modes of public transit or bringing your dog into restaurants or shopping malls, etc.
If you wouldn’t fraudulently represent yourself as a visually or physically impaired person, why on earth would you feel it’s okay to do so with a medically required service dog??
These dogs ARE SPECIALIZED MEDICALLY REQUIRED personal AIDS! They are no different than a cane, wheelchair, or other assistive device, except that they are alive. They are NOT simply a dog or a friend.
Service Dogs are trained to support the handler’s specific medical condition(s). Not having this support could have to catastrophic consequences including severe medical emergency or even death. This is not a game! It’s somebody’s life you are gambling with!
The issue of people misrepresentation their dogs (ie: “fake service dogs) has been going on for decades. This is not an innocent crime. People who do this are not only risking the wellbeing of legitimate handlers and dogs but they’re also putting the public at risk (untrained dogs may panic or become aggressive in situations they are unprepared for). Misrepresentation of dogs (who may misbehave or show signs of aggressive behaviour) create more public access challenges, unnecessary stress, possibly intensifying medical symptoms (very likely in some cases), causing medical setbacks, and can increase the necessity for more legal battles.
Service Dog handlers must be able to provide a note from their physician indicating that they have “a condition for which a service dog is medically necessary” (or something to that effect). The letter or script need not indicate what the condition is (what said condition is is confidential and cannot legally be requested). Owners are not legally required to go through an agency or training school. Owners may train their own dog, but should be trained to the same standard as those that are trained professionally. Whether personally or professionally trained, all must have the above letter/script. The dog should also be visibly recognizable as a service dog (ie: vest, collar, bib, etc). Dressing the dog is not technically a legal requirement, provided a doctor’s letter/script is in hand.
But there are ways to tell the legitimate from the illegitimate. Let’s start with terminology (a common mistake), requirements, and the purpose of each.
SERVICE DOG (SD) for example is trained to assist and mitigate symptoms of their handler (not anyone else).
THERAPY DOG (TD or ThD) is trained to offer therapeutic benefit to others (such as in nursing homes, hospitals, courts, etc).
EMOTIONAL SUPPORT DOGS (ESA) are basically just pets; they require no specialized training and have no legal public access rights. THESE ARE NOT, I repeat NOT, what some refer to as Psychiatric Service Dogs! Dogs trained to support psychiatric issues (such as but not limited to; PTSD, OSI, depression, anxiety, etc) must be specially trained to support these conditions for the handler. If they meet the requirements of a service dog (as explained above) then they fall into the Service Dog category.
*In the USA the ESA title may afford some limited benefit with landlord-tenant disputes, but that’s about it.
I hope this helps you all.
