Service Animals are Being Misused

My wife and I were in the grocery store a while ago. There was a veteran with a service dog, his dog approached us before the veteran approached. As we talked we discussed his dog and how he felt his dog had saved his life by helping him navigate naturally in society. We discussed his dog and our background serving veterans. He informed us of what we already suspected, he had PTSD. What we discovered was that the dog was securing the perimeter for the veteran to make him feel safe. The dog was obviously working because he would walk up to people and look back at the veteran and continue to evaluate the possibility of threats, it was amazing to see the dog work.

As we were standing in the checkout line, the veteran came to the checkout. The manager came to the veteran and told him he could not have the dog in the grocery store. The manager told the veteran the dog was scaring people because he was walking up to them and checking them out. The store manager was adamant but the veteran prevailed because the manager did not know the law concerning service dogs, and most people don’t because the law is so ambivalent. The Federal law states: “When it is obvious what a service animal provides, only limited inquiries are allowed. Staff (or members of the public) may only ask two questions: (1) Is the dog a service animal required because of a disability, and (2) what work or task has the dog been trained to perform. Staff cannot ask about the person’s disability, require documentation, require special identification card or training documentation for the dog, or ask that the dog demonstrate its ability to perform the work or task”. To us it was obvious, but we have spent time around service animals.  

I am seeing more and more service animals than I used to. It used to be you didn’t see many around unless they were seeing eye dogs for the blind. There appears to be an increase in the use of service dogs and not all appear to be legitimate uses. With the increase of the use of service animal’s there has been an increase in complaints about them, whether it is on a plane, in a hotel, or at a restaurant. Often the employee or customer at the location doesn’t know or understand the rules concerning service animals. After researching the topic, I can see why there’s a lot of confusion. This confusion allows some people to misuse service animals to abuse the Americans with Disabilities Act in their favor.

Per the ADA “A service animal means any dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability”. These animals are not pets. Service animals are highly trained and very expensive. The laws surrounding service animals appear to be vague, making attaining a registration and a service animal kit with a vest very easy. The federal government does not offer any official registration for service animals, therefore those who sell these items, usually on-line, are not vetted, allowing the owner of animals to be deceptive. This hurts anyone who needs a service animal by making people skeptical about whether the person needs the animal or not. This is a problem for all disabled Americans, especially veterans with non-visible wounds such as PTSD. 

I can tell if a service animal is a true service animal by the way it behaves. A service animal will not bark unless there is an issue. They are trained to urinate and defecate on demand. They will not become agitated at sitting in a room with all kinds of people and noises for hours. Service animals have extremely even temperaments and may take 20 months or more to be trained. They also can cost up to $18,000 or more depending on their training. A true service animal will be well behaved, are safe to be around other animals, people and even children.  Understand that the animal is on duty and working when they have their vest on.  Therefore, they should not be petted or distracted from their job. An animal that is aggressive in any way is not a true service animal and is a “fake” service animal.   

After all the research for this column I have discovered rules are in place for service animals, but for businesses it is a minefield to legally challenge someone if you believe they are misusing the service animal laws. The ambiguity of the laws hurts everyone who really needs their service dog. It is against the law for someone with a service animal to be denied services at restaurants, movie theatres, stores, and aircraft. Often people fake service animal’s credentials so their dog does not have to fly in the cargo hold while traveling. The Air Carrier Access Act requires airlines to allow service animals and emotional support animals to accompany their owners in the cabin of the aircraft. Individuals who are traveling with emotional support animal or psychiatric service animals may need to provide specific documentation to have the animal travel with them. Where this appears to be unlawful because the law stating no questions or documentation can be asked for, it is suggested that service dog owners should call ahead to check airline requirements before bringing their animal to the airport. This can save aggravation or the headache of a scene with the airline. Even though there are a lot of people abusing the system, it is best if you have documentation for a legitimate service dog to alleviate questions by those who do not know the law concerning service animals.  Clearer and more explicit laws would protect both the person who needs a service animal and businesses who have to navigate the laws and protect their establishment and public from “fake” service animals.

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