[nagdu] Fake service dogs provoke resentment, possible rule changes

Sun Nov 25 21:31:18 UTC 2012

Fake service dogs provoke resentment, possible rule changes

By Christine Stapleton

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer 

Source:
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/lifestyles/pets/fake-service-dogs-provoke-
resentment-possible-rule/nTD9C/

Macy and Milo, blond Labs with constantly wagging tails, look and goof off
like the other pooches at the dog park.

Their owner, 20-year-old college student Shoshana Rappaport, looks like the
other doting dog moms, telling her dogs to knock it off when they play too
rough and smothering them with hugs when they are worn out.

But Macy and Milo are not like the other dogs at the dog park. When
Rappaport turns her head to the right and her neon orange hearing aid is
visible, it is obvious that she also is not like the other dog moms at the
park.

Macy and Milo are service dogs. They have been trained to alert Rappaport,
who is profoundly deaf and also has vertigo, to vital sounds that many of us
take for granted - car horns, door bells or a stranger approaching from
behind. Shoshana also uses the dogs to support, stabilize and right her
during vertigo episodes.

Because of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Macy and Milo can go
wherever Rappaport goes - including restaurants, hotels, taxicabs and
theaters. Also because of the ADA, Rappaport doesn't have to prove she is
disabled - a provision in the law designed to protect the privacy of people
with disabilities and to prevent discrimination.

In fact, all any dog owner needs to do to be eligible for access privileges
guaranteed under the ADA is to say that the dog is a service dog. And that
has led some dog owners who do not have disabilities and whose dogs are not
service dogs to use the ADA as a loophole to take their pets everywhere they
go.

As more dogs are being trained to assist people whose disabilities are not
readily apparent, such as deafness, post-traumatic stress disorder and
diabetes, fake service dogs are seen more in public places, said John
Ensminger, a New York attorney and author of the books "Service Dogs in
America" and "Police and Military Dogs."

"I think it's definitely increasing," said Ensminger, who said he is
receiving more requests for interviews and more reports of fake dogs on his
blog, The Dog Law Reporter. Among the most recent reports, show dogs being
passed off as emotional support dogs, he said.

The phenomenon can infuriate people with real disabilities who rely on their
highly trained dogs to lead as normal and active a life as possible.

"For everybody that needs a service dog, it's a slap in their face for
somebody to go on-line and get a service dog vest so they can go into a
store or a restaurant with their dog," said Joe Rainey, a Marine who was
wounded in Vietnam.

Rainey, of Greenacres, relies on his service dog, Tanker, who has had
mobility and stability training to assist Rainey when he is unsteady or
cannot get up. "I am a Marine and it's like someone pretending to be a
Marine who was wounded while serving their country."

The problem stems in part from the protections for the disabled set up under
ADA. Businesses can ask only two questions when a dog enters their
establishment: Is your dog a service dog? What tasks has the dog been
trained to perform?

Businesses cannot require special identification for the dog or ask about
the person's disability. It does not matter whether the dog is wearing a
service-dog vest or the owner's disability is visible.

"A business person is very limited in what they can do when someone declares
they have a service animal," said Geoff Luebkemann, vice president of the
Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association. "The average restaurant owner or
hotelier just isn't versed in this and they are concerned they will be the
subject of an ADA lawsuit."

Other laws supersede the ADA when it comes to air travel and housing, but
the service-dog issue is posing special problems for airlines, especially
those that no longer allow pets in the cargo hold.

Many passengers falsely believe that the ADA covers air travel and are
surprised to learn they must abide by the stricter rules of the Air Carrier
Access Act if they want to fly with their dog. Unlike the ADA, the Air
Carrier Access Act allows airlines to require passengers with emotional
support and psychiatric service dogs to prove they are disabled and that
their dog is trained to assist them.

Many airlines require a letter on the letterhead of a licensed psychiatrist,
psychologist or clinical social worker stating that the passenger has a
medically recognized mental or emotional disability and is under the
professional's care. The letter must be dated within one year of the flight
and also include the state in which the professional is licensed.

"People are going to be hard pressed to get psychologists and psychiatrists
to sign letters," Ensminger said. "I think this is an area where we are
going to see a lot of friction."

Nevertheless, there are enough passengers trying to board with emotional
support and psychiatric service dogs - which fly in the cabin for free -
that agents at ticket counters have been provided written guidelines on the
law and the U.S. Department of Transportation has opened up rule-making for
changes in rules on allowing such dogs on planes.

Ensminger owns a therapy dog, which is trained to go to schools, hospitals,
nursing homes and other institutions to comfort and offer companionship.
Therapy dogs are not protected by the ADA or the Air Carriers Act and
although he knows he could pass her off as a service dog and fly with her to
his winter home in Arizona, he does not. Instead, he drives the 2,600 miles.

"To be honest, I've been tempted," Ensminger said. "But she is a therapy
dog, not a service dog."

When it comes to allowing service animals in condos and apartments with
no-pet or weight-limit rules, the ADA is again trumped by another federal
law - the Fair Housing Act.

Unlike the ADA, which defines dogs and occasionally miniature horses as
service animals, the FHA is broader and protects other species, such as cats
and birds.

Just as restaurants and airlines are seeing more unqualified service dogs,
landlords and condo associations say tenants are seeking exceptions for
their pets under the FHA.

"The trend has gone up and down since this service dog issue first arose,"
said West Palm Beach attorney John Sheppard, who specializes in condominium
and homeowner association litigation. "When it initially came up, there was
a fairly high standard the owner had to meet to keep the dog."

Those standards loosened and "if they could show a doctor's prescription
saying they needed a dog for some reason, that was enough to pass muster,"
Sheppard said. The pendulum is swinging back and now condominium
associations can ask specific questions about the disability and how the
animal assists, Sheppard said.

Still, he said, "There are people who come in and have a dog and they say,
'It's my sister's dog. I'm just watching it.' Then they come out and say
they have a disability."

Is there a solution?

Corey Hudson, secretary of Assistance Dogs International, which has a
well-known accreditation program that sets minimum standards for behavior
and training, suggests some form of government-sanctioned certification for
service dogs.

"We all get drivers' licenses after somebody impartially figures out that
you are capable of driving," Hudson said.

Ensminger sees problems with that approach. Who will set those standards and
how much will credentials cost? Professionally trained service dogs can cost
more than $20,000. Each dog is individually trained to meet the specific
needs of its owner's disabilities. Many people with disabilities are on
limited budgets and train their dogs themselves.

"What I'm afraid of is that if the government doesn't want to get in the
business and turns it over to private entities, that will mean people will
essentially have to pay a significant amount of money to some organization
that will bless their service dog," Ensminger said. "I see that as a big
problem."

Rappaport, who herself trained Macy and Milo, has her own solution:
confronting pet owners and businesses when she encounters misbehaving dogs
wearing service dog vests.

"These people should be grateful they don't have a disability," Rappaport
said. "Do they think we want to be disabled so we can take our dogs
anywhere? Don't they realize we would trade our service dogs to get rid of
our disabilities?"

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Service dog laws

Three federal laws grant service dogs special privileges:

Americans with Disabilities Act: Gives service dogs access to public places,
such as restaurants, stores and offices. Owner may not be questioned about
disability but may be asked about the tasks the dog performs. Harnesses or
leashes must be worn at all times unless it interferes with the dog's work.

Air Carrier Act: Enables service dogs to fly in cabin of airplane.
Passengers with emotional support or psychiatric service dogs may be asked
to provide proof of disability and treatment from mental health
professional.

Fair Housing Act: Allows people with disabilities to keep emotional-support
animals, even when landlord's or association's policy prohibits pets. Allows
limited questioning about disability and animal support.

Types of support animals

Federal laws give access privileges to service dogs, including guide and
hearing dogs. Therapy dogs and emotional support animals can be denied
access to public places, airplanes and housing.

Guide dogs: Highly disciplined and trained service dogs. Assist blind and
visually impaired people by avoiding obstacles, stopping at curbs and steps,
and negotiating traffic.

Hearing dogs: Service dogs trained to alert the deaf and hard of hearing to
common sounds, such as a doorbell, telephone, baby crying or smoke alarm.

Service dogs: Provide assistance unrelated to vision or hearing
disabilities. Individually trained to meet unique physical, medical or
psychiatric needs of owner.

Therapy dogs: Provide comfort and companionship to people in hospitals,
nursing homes and other institutions. To encourage petting and avoid
confusion with service dogs, often do not wear vests seen on service dogs.

Emotional support animal: Domesticated animals - not necessarily dogs - that
provide therapeutic companionship and affection. No training required beyond
that of a pet.