[nagdu] Fake service dog gear creates problems for Americans withdisabilities

Fri Aug 9 17:27:15 UTC 2013

Minh and All,
	I agree with what Julie has to say. It is not necessarily a matter
of allowing pets in places with no pets policies; rather, it is helping
businesses better protect themselves from complaints of discrimination. I
support the current implementing regulations that do not require
documentation that an animal has been trained as a precondition for access.
Not only does NAGDU believe in the individual's right to train their own dog
and have a number of owner-trainers among our ranks, many other service
animals are owner-trained. As such, owner-trainers do not have documentation
of such training.

	I think it is better for us to educate places of public
accommodation about their rights and responsibilities under the law. One of
these rights afforded to places of public accommodation is the right to
refuse an individual with a disability the right to be accompanied by a
service animal if the animal is not housebroken, is out of control and the
handler does not take effective action to correct the behavior, or if the
animal poses a direct threat - a significant risk to the health or safety of
others that cannot be eliminated by a modification of policies, practices,
or procedures.

	I am very outspoken when I encounter an animal in a place of public
accommodation that is barking or out of control. I advise the individual and
the public accommodation that such an animal need not be allowed and, should
the individual be denied the right to be accompanied by the animal, it is
within their right, provided they allow the individual to continue to enjoy
the goods and/or services of the public accommodation without the animal
being present. As more public accommodations learn their rights, perhaps
fewer people with pets who act inappropriately in public will begin leaving
their pets at home.

Fraternally yours,
Marion Gwizdala

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of minh ha
Sent: Friday, August 09, 2013 11:51 AM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Fake service dog gear creates problems for Americans
withdisabilities

Julie,

I understand your point, but businesses do not allow pets into their areas,
only service animals. I really don't care how well-behaved your pet is, if
it's a no-pets-allowed policy, it does not belong in the place of business.
If a precedent of which you described were to be established, I can only
imagine how many people would bring their pets into restaurants and stuff.
In that case, we might as well forgo not having pets in places they don't
belong.

Minh

On 8/9/13, Julie J. <julielj at neb.rr.com> wrote:
> You know, it's not the gear that's fake and it's not the dogs that are
fake.
>
> It's the people who are faking a disability.  Why is the focus in 
> these stories always on the dogs and the gear?  The dog isn't the 
> problem, the people are.  The dog's don't decide to put on a vest, go 
> in the grocery and
>
> act a mess.  It's the people taking the dog that need to be held 
> responsible.
>
> And if the dog is well behaved why is it a problem?  Perhaps the 
> person has
>
> a disability that isn't readily apparent.  If the dog is behaved, it 
> isn't any of my business what type of service the dog provides.  Sure 
> there are going to be a few, a very small few, people who don't have 
> disabilities who
>
> take the time to train their dogs appropriately to be in public.  
> Mostly though, it's obvious that the dog isn't trained.  That's what 
> needs to be used as an indicator for removal.  Honestly it doesn't 
> matter to me if the person has a dog from a program, owner trained or 
> a well behaved pet, if it's not creating a bother to me, then it's 
> simply not a problem.  To me the
>
> problem is the ill behaved dogs no matter where they came from.  
> People need
>
> to be responsible for the behavior of their dogs in public.
>
> Perhaps if there were legal penalties for your dog disturbing the 
> peace  in
>
> public, people would think twice about parading their ill behaved pets 
> in public. The owners would be held responsible for their actions and 
> that is how I see the situation being resolved without infringing on 
> the rights of people with disabilities.
>
> Anyway that's how I see the issue,
> Julie
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ginger Kutsch
> Sent: Friday, August 09, 2013 8:52 AM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users ; 
> New Jersey Association of Guide Dog Users
> Subject: [nagdu] Fake service dog gear creates problems for Americans 
> withdisabilities
>
> Fake service dog gear creates problems for Americans with disabilities
>
> August 7, 2013
>
> By Kate Santich, Orlando Sentinel
>
> http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2013-08-07/features/os-fake-servic
> e-dogs -20130807_1_service-dog-dog-walk-service-animal
>
>
>
> Public confusion, legal loopholes and shady Internet businesses have 
> led to an "epidemic" of fake service-dog certificates, vests and 
> harnesses for use on ordinary pets. And advocates for the disabled say 
> the issue is creating big headaches for those who truly need the canines'
assistance.
>
>
>
> The problem has gotten so bad that Canine Companions for Independence 
> - the nation's largest breeding and training service-dog program - 
> launched an online petition this week asking the U.S. Department of 
> Justice to take action.
>
>
>
>
>
> "Unfortunately, people are trading on the fact these harnesses and 
> vests have become distinguishing marks of service dogs, so now you 
> find unscrupulous businesses who sell these things to people who want 
> to take their dogs into the store or restaurant or in the passenger 
> cabin of the plane," said Paul Mundell, national director of canine
programs for CCI.
> "It
> happens all the time."
>
>
>
> On a recent flight to Orlando, where CCI has its regional 
> headquarters, Mundell said he watched a man with a toy breed of dog 
> walk off their flight to the baggage area, remove the dog's "service 
> animal" vest and leave the airport. "It was quite clear that he was 
> simply using the vest to get cabin privileges," Mundell said.
>
>
>
> Under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, state and local 
> governments, businesses and nonprofit organizations that serve the 
> public generally must allow service animals to accompany those with 
> disabilities in all areas of the facility where the public is normally 
> allowed to go. And inquiries are limited. When it's not obvious what 
> service an animal provides, workers may only ask if the service animal 
> is required because of a disability and what tasks the dog has been 
> trained to perform.
>
>
>
> Legally, they can't ask for documentation. And some say that fact is 
> being exploited.
>
>
>
> "There's no penalty for people in Florida who fraudulently claim their 
> dog is a service animal," said Paul Edwards of Miami, president of the 
> Florida Council of the Blind. "There are some of us who feel it isn't 
> unreasonable to ask folks to carry identification for dogs that shows 
> them to be a trained service animal - and most legitimate service-dog 
> organizations do issue those. The danger is that you may throw the 
> baby out with the bathwater."
>
>
>
> Some advocates, for instance, are concerned that doing so may put an 
> unreasonable burden on those with disabilities to "prove" their dog is 
> legitimate. But others say that, because of the fraud, humans are 
> already facing more hassles.
>
>
>
> "It has become an epidemic," said Kris Baker, 63, who lives in Orlando.
> "And
> what we're getting is the aftermath. Somebody will take Fluffy with 
> them into a restaurant, and the dog will bark or snap at someone or 
> poop on the floor. So when we come in with a legitimate dog, we get 
> the questions and the resentment. It's harder for us."
>
>
>
> Baker, who had polio as a child and has used a wheelchair for 30 
> years, needs her CCI dog to help pull her along when she gets 
> fatigued. The dog also opens and shuts doors, retrieves the phone, 
> picks up objects she drops and helps open the refrigerator and 
> cabinets. So when people ask her in ignorance, "Hey, where can I get 
> one of those vests for my dog?" she educates them.
>
>
>
>
>
> "This is not something that is for pets," she said. "This is an 
> indication of training that my dog and I have been through. These dogs 
> are the brain surgeons of the canine world."
>
>
>
> Luke McGregor, a 48-year-old Delray Beach resident, also has to do his 
> share of educating. On a flight home from New York this week, McGregor 
> witnessed a woman who claimed to have an "emotional-support dog" that 
> whined and scratched at its cage throughout the trip - behavior 
> considered unacceptable in a legitimately trained service dog.
>
>
>
> Though he could do little more than roll his eyes at the scene, McGregor,
> who uses a wheelchair and CCI dog, knows he'll be left to deal with the
> fallout.
>
>
>
> "I'm already stopped in restaurants and grocery stores sometimes by
workers
> who say [wrongly], 'You can't bring that dog in here,'" McGregor said.
> "There will be a time when the public is going to reach critical mass
> regarding all of the alleged service dogs out there, and we will suffer
for
> it."
>
>
>
> Already, in 2011, the Department of Justice issued revisions to its ADA
> regulations singling out dogs as the only legally protected assistance
> animals. Before that, some people were claiming monkeys, snakes and other
> creatures were helping them cope with disabilities. The department also
> clarified the definition of a service dog as one that is "individually
> trained to do work or perform tasks for a person with a disability."
>
>
>
> But while some states have laws against residents pretending to have a
> legally protected disability in order to gain access for their dog, most
do
> not. And there is no law against the sale of merchandise emblazoned with
> phony "service dog" logos.
>
>
>
> A search of eBay under "service dog patches," for instance, reveals more
> than 22,000 sellers.
>
>
>
> While some can certainly be used for legitimate purposes, advocates for
the
> disabled say many are not.
>
>
>
> CCI.org is seeking to get 10,000 signers in the next week to say the
> problem
> needs to be stopped.
>
>
>
> "That's the exact purpose of our petition," said Martha Johnson, a CCI
> spokeswoman for the Southeast region. "We want to go to the Department of
> Justice and say: 'Look at how many people agree this is a problem, and
> something needs to be done.'"
>
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