[nagdu] Fake Service Dogs Raise Concerns

[Ginger Kutsch]

Fake Service Dogs Raise Concerns

 

Legitimate Service Dog Handlers See Increase In Discrimination

Jaclyn Allen, 7NEWS Reporter

POSTED: 11:10 pm MDT July 11, 2012

URL: http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/31266629/detail.html

 

DENVER -- People who buy fake "Service Dog" vests to get their pets into
public places are a growing concern, according to some disability rights
groups, and they say companies selling these products are facilitating
fraud.

"I've seen several instances of this happening," said Kyle Walpole, who has
a service dog to assist with his hearing impairment. "I have seen dogs in
restaurants that are eating off tables and dogs taken off leash running in a
store that people are claiming are service animals."

His service dog, Matilda, had years of training with the Canine Companions
for Independence, so Walpole said when he saw an advertisement on SkyMall
for a $149 Service Pet ID Kit, he couldn't believe it.

 

The company, Free My Paws, has a Facebook page with photos of service
animals wearing vests on planes and in public places.

The company does not require any proof that the animals have been trained as
service animals.

"It makes a mockery of the Americans with Disabilities Act," said Walpole.
"And it makes it very difficult for those of us who use service animals and
have a legitimate disability to have access to public places."

The director of the Rocky Mountain ADA Center, Jana Burke, agreed, saying
people trying to pass of their pets as service dogs is becoming a serious
problem.

"I am concerned about companies like this one that try to capitalize on
people with disabilities by using misinformation," said Burke.

Walpole said most legitimate service dogs receive vests and identification
from the organization that trained them, while some organizations sell the
vests but require proof of training.

But the president of Free My Paws, Jason Michaels, said his company is
providing a needed product for legitimate service animals and the law needs
to be clarified.

"We're literally caught in a catch 22," said Michaels. "We try to qualify
people. When somebody calls in to our customer care center and clearly does
not qualify, we're candid about it and tell them they do not qualify. But
under the Americans with Disabilities Act, we can only ask certain
questions, and there are no requirements or certifications for service
animals."

Walpole agreed that the law is ambiguous and said service animals groups
have been lobbying to have the industry regulated.

Until then, he said, people are becoming more and more suspicious of his
service animal.

"It gives the public a misrepresentation of what a service animal is," said
Walpole.