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Companion animals get the same preferential treatment.
I think too many people get upset about nothing. Is it your dog? Does it put you out of your way? How many do you see in a given week? I have seen about 10 in my lifetime and I am in the DC area. I use to donate to a seiing eye dog foundation by the name of "Guiding Eyes". My neighbor has a dog trained to be one but is a pet.
My own dog is well behaved enough to take anywhere though he loves people too much. He smiles and goes out of his way to greet people while wagging his tail. He is my companion and goes everywhere with me. All I need is a vest and we are gold.
At the very least, there is a coat or blanket that says "Service Dog" or "Service Animal". If they are not wearing that then they are not a service animal legally.
You can buy these from eBay for a nominal amount of money, and have the "fake" service dog wear it. No one will ask any questions.
At the very least, there is a coat or blanket that says "Service Dog" or "Service Animal". If they are not wearing that then they are not a service animal legally.
This is absolutely false. There is no clothing or jacket required, no documentation, no ID card. If you had read the ADA bulletin I posted the link to, you would know that. Here it is again: Revised ADA Requirements: Service Animals
But then again, you also might have stopped to read the information you posted a link to, which has the same information:
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Some, but not all, service animals wear special collars and harnesses. Some, but not all, are licensed or certified and have identification papers. If you are not certain that an animal is a service animal, you may ask the person who has the animal if it is a service animal required because of a disability.
And to be clear, comfort animals, therapy animals, emotional support animals, etc. DO NOT QUALIFY as Service Animals under ADA rules, no matter what jacket or ID card they may be carrying. And under Federal Law, and numerous state and local Health Codes, they may not legally be taken into any establishment that prepares or serves food, or any other areas where animals are not normally allowed. Period.
Sorry to have to be harsh on the subject, but there is so much misinformation floating around, and it is causing so many problems for people with genuine disabilities who depend on the support of trained service animals for the quality of their life that I want to make sure people are completely clear about this.
Companion animals get the same preferential treatment.
No, they absolutely do not. Not legally. Read the ADA bulletin I posted.
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I think too many people get upset about nothing. Is it your dog? Does it put you out of your way? How many do you see in a given week? I have seen about 10 in my lifetime and I am in the DC area. I use to donate to a seiing eye dog foundation by the name of "Guiding Eyes". My neighbor has a dog trained to be one but is a pet. My own dog is well behaved enough to take anywhere though he loves people too much. He smiles and goes out of his way to greet people while wagging his tail. He is my companion and goes everywhere with me. All I need is a vest and we are gold.
Sorry, but people are beginning to catch on to this scam, and are starting to bust the fakers. It isn't about being well behaved or not. I've seen people asked to leave a restaurant because they had a dog that was clearly not an ADA Service dog.
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Those who complain need to get a life or a dog.
Those who don't understand the issues they cause for people who are genuinely disabled deserve to get tickets with the same fines as those who park in Handicapped Parking spaces. Say, $500. That might help people get their heads straight about this problem. Service animals are not pets. Pets are not service animals.
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Originally Posted by moved
You can buy these from eBay for a nominal amount of money, and have the "fake" service dog wear it. No one will ask any questions.
Like I said... that scam worked before people caught on. And be clear, it is a scam. But now, as more and more people recognize it as a scam, you can also expect more people to be busted for it.
We always try to stay in hotels that do not allow pets due to serious allergies. Believe me, a room that had a dog the night before cannot be cleaned enough for someone with severe allergies. So when someone brings in a fake service dog or sneaks a dog into a room, it could be life threatening.
Yes, we take the necessary medication with us. But medicine still means being uncomfortable until it takes effect, feeling dopey from medication, and losing time while we deal with the situation.
I think too many people get upset about nothing. Is it your dog? Does it put you out of your way? How many do you see in a given week?
Spousal Unit's higher ed employer right now is having problems with students trying to play the 'emotional support animal' card and bring dogs on campus. (They're actually somewhat regulated compared to a lot of other entities because the office of disability services has to formally fill out paperwork saying that the service animal is necessary for their ability to complete classes successfully, and while seeing eye dogs are well-known and liked on campus, there is a firm 'no' for emotional support animals.)
Worst case, the totally untrained 3/4 grown German Shepherd puppy freaks out in English class and is a trigger for a PTSD for a military student not back long from the sandbox. (It's a company town, lots of active duty and veterans taking classes all the time.) It was apparently a pretty awful scene, caused by someone outright lying that the dog had been allowed by the disability services office as an ESA when the office had never heard of the dog-bringing student before.
Disabled passengers and Service Animals traveling in commercial aircraft ARE NOT covered under ADA. They are covered under the Air Carrier Access Act (49 USC 41705) ACAA.
Disabled passengers and Service Animals while on commercial airport property, in terminals, jet ways, and concourses ARE covered under ADA but not ACAA.
The best way is to view it is ADA stops at the aircraft doors and ACAA starts inside the aircraft.
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The larger picture is that ADA and ACAA are based on an honor system. A person makes a claim of “service animal” and there is no effective way to challenge it. As a matter of fact, the laws are written in such a way that challenging in the wrong manner could make you in violation of these laws.
A more balance approach (still far from perfect) is the Fair Housing Act (FHA) which makes the accommodation of a assistive animal a “request”. This request comes with additional qualifications whereas the landlord can make qualifying request to their satisfaction.
Unfortunately, past proposals for changes to ADA and the ACAA that would create some legitimate way of identifying true service animals was met with stiff resistance from the disabled community. Their steadfast opposition to anything to change the laws has now resulted in the fake service animal users and the industry around fake service animals overshadowing the legitimate users. Now as the legitimate users of service animals speak up, they are drowned out by the scammers and fakers.
Because of the open knowledge of the wide spread abuse, Congress has taken notice and if people think the last change of limiting service animals to only dogs (and certain miniature horses) was harsh, wait until they see what is approved next go around. Can you say “national identification”…….
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