[nagdu] Fake' Service Dog Certificates Being Used So Owners Can Take Pets To Restaurants, Clubs

[Ginger Kutsch]

Fake' Service Dog Certificates Being Used So Owners Can Take Pets To
Restaurants, Clubs 

The Huffington Post  

By Eleanor Goldberg Posted: 08/05/2013 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/05/fake-service-dog-certificates_n_370
9720.html

According to the New York Post, a growing number of dog owners in New York
City are buying bogus service vests and certificates for their pooches so
that they can bring their pets everywhere with them. 

 

 

Instead of tying up their pooches to a lamppost, a growing number of New
Yorkers are obtaining fake service dogs certificates so that they can take
their pets with them wherever they go, the New York Post reports.

 

In an exclusive story, the Post shared a number of accounts of candid dog
owners in New York City who have simply bought bogus patches, vests and
certificates that look like the real thing, slapped them on their dogs and
now head off together pretty much anywhere they want to go without any
trouble. Some say they do it for the convenience of it, others say it helps
them with their dating prospects. 

 

"He's been to most movie theaters in the city, more nightclubs than most of
my friends," Brett David, 33, a restaurateur told the Post of his Maltese
Yorkie."I don't care who you are, a teacup Yorkie will trump a black
[American Express] card when you're trying to pick up a girl."

 

Legally, in order for a dog to qualify as a service animal, the owner must
have a documented disability defined under the Americans with Disabilities
Act, the dog must be trained to help its handler with the disability and the
service animal can't disrupt its environment, according to Petpartners.org.
However, the ADA doesn't require service animals to be officially certified,
which is likely part of why there isn't enough oversight. 

 

"Currently, these companies aren't breaking any laws," Becky Barnes, former
president of Guide Dogs Users, Inc. told Cesar's Way, a website run by the
famed "Dog Whisperer." "With service dogs there doesn't seem to be a white
and black area but a huge gray area. Discussions have begun to make it a
misdemeanor to misrepresent your dog as a service dog. Unfortunately, it is
being taken as seriously as pirating music."

 

Another issue that's beginning to now cause problems for people who actually
need service dogs is that establishments are not permitted to ask people to
show proof of a disability, or that their animal is certified, according to
Service Dogs America. 

 

But now that more people are claiming to need service dogs, people with
actual disabilities are being questioned more by frustrated store owners,
according to Cesar's Way.

 

The other concerning problem is that dogs that are not trained to sit
patiently indoors may disturb the service dogs and affect the way they help
their owners. 

 

"People don't realize that if the dog misbehaves in any way," Toni Eames,
blind president of the International Association of Assistance Dog Partners,
told the Post, "if it isn't clean, barks or is overly friendly and jumps on
people -- that it aggravates other dogs and disrupts the way they do
service."