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A few weeks ago I was in a store and I saw a lady with a little dog. I overheard someone talking to her about it and she said, "He's my service dog. It's so easy to do, you just go online. It doesn't even cost very much". I was so annoyed because that's not a service dog. Those online things are just scams.
Even for an ESA you just need a letter from your mental health care professional stating that you need an ESA as part of your treatment plan. You would need the letter if you want to live in no pets housing or to fly with your ESA. They not allowed in public places that do not allow pets.
The dog was well behaved, I just didn't like the false information she was just spreading.
Sadly it's not false info. It actually is that easy. We have a teacher in a local school that has zero documentation of her child's alleged medical issue. But she found a place called something like service dog express. 12 week program where you train the dog at home and then they come check progress once a week. And voila! Now there's a large ill-behaved dog in her child's classroom. It is so unruly that they have to crate him by mid-morning and use a shock collar when he's not in the crate.
Businesses are legally allowed to ask specific questions, and ask customers to remove animals that don't meet the definition of service dog (or horse), however our 'unofficial' policy is to not ask about an animal until it creates a problem. As far as I'm concerned if I 'm not allowed to say anything until there is a problem that's asking for a lawsuit, because I'm allowing a potentially untrained animal in the store. I've been told to ignore the purse pups, the pups tucked into coats and jackets, the monkey, and the snake, because we don't want to upset customers by asking questions. You can't always tell when an animal IS a service animal, but you can usually tell when it isn't, by it's behavior.
You can tell when an animal is a service animal. You are allowed to ask the human if it's a service dog. You can also ask what tasks it performs and you're allowed to ask the owner and animal to leave if they aren't behaving well. Behavior might be a sort of indicator, but you can't automatically tell that the animal isn't a service dog if it isn't behaving 100%. There are no testing requirements for these animals.
There is a young girl in my neighborhood who has a small diabetic alert service dog. The family trained it themselves (this is allowed by law) and did an excellent job teaching it to alert when needed, but not so great with basic obedience. They simply lacked that skill. I've been working with them a bit to help, but I'm not even a professional. You can say they should take it to a pro, but the whole reason they went the service alert dog route is because they could not afford all of the specialized equipment their child needed and the dog was a good and safe cost saving measure. They can't afford professional training, but that doesn't mean that this dog isn't a legit service dog.
I predict Delta will keep this policy until they get sued and lose due to the way the ADA is written. It will happen just as hotels are regularly sued for not having handicapped accessible pools/hot tubs, usually by people who've never been to the property.
First, it's the Air Carrier Access Act, not the ADA that covers service critters on airlines. Second, this was not a policy written on the back of a napkin and rushed into use; it was vetted by Delta's legal team (who are also currently dealing with 'When alleged service animals attack and mail' lawsuits) as well as many other stakeholders including Delta's own disabled passengers discussion board, who hate how the fakers with poorly behaved animals make it harder for people with legit and well-trained service animals. Third, it's actually less strict in some ways than what the ACA allows in the name of passenger safety.
I like how you respond with the standard answer assuming it affects me, it doesn't my parking needs are not an issue. But its a symptom like these service animals that everyone is a victim, everyone needs to be comforted, everyone must be accommodated. The ADA is loosing its focus on what reasonable accommodation is.
To answer your question watching someone hop out of a sports car (after parking in handicapped) and strut into a mall really doesn't lend much sympathy. Yes I don't know the back story but when I then have to watch someone in a brace or a wheel chair try and manover in a standard spot because theirs no handicapped spots then I get annoyed. And I would be major annoyed if you expect me to fly next to someone traveling with a non-standard service animal, let them drive.
I can't argue with you about some abusing the placard/plate as I see it frequently. What's even more outrageous and frequent is what I call plate/placard "borrowing" or "sharing". A handicapped person will be in the vehicle as it parks in the designated spot and then stays in the vehicle while non-handicapped people jump out and go about their business. I used to see this every darn day at my son's schools where a parent with a plate would park and wait for their kid(s) to come RUNNING out the door at the end of school while kids with full leg casts,wheel chairs etc would have to walk/wheel/hobble across the lot covered in snow/ice. The placard/plate law clearly states that is not allowed. What I wonder is how thick of skin someone would need to have to have a handicapped plate on a motorcycle. They've got to know people look skeptically at someone who pulls up on a big Harley and then pulls into handicapped parking. See that a lot in AZ.
I've got a plate and most times you would have no idea why just by looking at me (hence I've been cursed out/yelled at) Unfortunately as one doctor told me years ago at 35 years old "you have the spine of a 70 year old, the good news is we'll all catch up to you if you live long enough".
With me it's total time standing that kills me not to mention I never know when my back will go out stopping me dead in my tracks. So yes, extra walking can/does make a big difference to me. I feel okay at the start of the day but go downhill as the day goes on or if I'm standing for too long at one time I pay for it dearly.
I refuse to use a scooter or wheel chair as long as I have any walk left in me as I see that as giving up. I can tell you that if I'm pulling up to a spot and I see a wheel chair van also pulling up I'll yield to the van as they need it more than I but that's just my opinion.
Strange but in my community the Companion/Therapy Animal thing peaked 5 or 8 years ago. I'd see them everywhere. Dollar store, Rite Aid, grocery store, etc.
I've seen nary a one in those places in years. Haven't been on an airplane or other public transportation so I have no idea if maybe they are still bad in those places.
You can tell when an animal is a service animal. You are allowed to ask the human if it's a service dog. You can also ask what tasks it performs and you're allowed to ask the owner and animal to leave if they aren't behaving well. Behavior might be a sort of indicator, but you can't automatically tell that the animal isn't a service dog if it isn't behaving 100%. There are no testing requirements for these animals.
There is a young girl in my neighborhood who has a small diabetic alert service dog. The family trained it themselves (this is allowed by law) and did an excellent job teaching it to alert when needed, but not so great with basic obedience. They simply lacked that skill. I've been working with them a bit to help, but I'm not even a professional. You can say they should take it to a pro, but the whole reason they went the service alert dog route is because they could not afford all of the specialized equipment their child needed and the dog was a good and safe cost saving measure. They can't afford professional training, but that doesn't mean that this dog isn't a legit service dog.
I'm sure the parents of the other students would appreciate a better trained dog not disrupting the classroom
Strange but in my community the Companion/Therapy Animal thing peaked 5 or 8 years ago. I'd see them everywhere. Dollar store, Rite Aid, grocery store, etc.
I've seen nary a one in those places in years. Haven't been on an airplane or other public transportation so I have no idea if maybe they are still bad in those places.
Take a trip to "snowbird central" AZ and you'll see an explosion of purse/stroller/shopping cart dogs. Some as old and ragged as the freaking owners, so old if they barked they'd probably keel over from exhaustion/effort. Great "service dog" though...
.......... a small diabetic alert service dog. The family trained it themselves (this is allowed by law) ............... They can't afford professional training, but that doesn't mean that this dog isn't a legit service dog.
There is absolutely no excuse for a home trained service dog to be unruly in public. Walking on a leash and sitting when told is much easier to teach than any of the activities a service dog is trained to do, and that includes medical alert. Any book on obedience training will give even an incompetent doofus enough information so that they can train a dog to walk quietly on a leach. For those who can't even do that, there is specialized equipment to force an ill behaved dog to walk nicely on a leash.
I know dozens of home trained service dogs and every one of them has perfect manners in public, concentrating on their owner, which is their job. A diabetic alert dog isn't going to be much use if it is running around the grocery store, jumping on people and peeing on the displays at the moment when it should be alerting on the child.
The world is full of children who have trained their dog all by themselves to compete in obedience,
.
Dont even try to claim that non-professionals can't train a dog to behave in public. There is nothing completed or difficult about training some basic manners while out in public.
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