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

Fri Aug 9 18:49:42 UTC 2013

Tami,
	Oh, that's funny! I'll practice in front of a mirror, too! (grin)

Marion

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Tami Jarvis
Sent: Friday, August 09, 2013 2:19 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Fake service dog gear creates problems for Americans
withdisabilities

Marion,

Teehee! Okay, I will see if I can pull that off with a straight face next
time it comes up. You'd better be good, or else! Maybe I should try looking
like I'm worried for them, just letting them know for their own good... I'll
practice in front of a mirror! /lol/

On 08/09/2013 10:31 AM, National Association of Guide Dog Users wrote:
> Tami et al,
> 	Perhaps one thing we can do is strike a little paranoia in the minds

> of the fraudsters! Many of them are likely ignorant of the service 
> animal laws to begin with, so asking them, "Do you know what will 
> happen to you when you get caught committing this fraud?" Even though 
> the answer is "Nothing!" do they know that? Probably not! Remember the 
> lines from "For What It's Worth".
>
> Paranoia strikes deep!
> Into your life it will creep!
> It starts when you're barely alive!
> Step out of line and the man will come and take you away!
>
> Fraternally yours,
> Marion Gwizdala
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Tami Jarvis
> Sent: Friday, August 09, 2013 11:56 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,
>
> Thank you! Couldn't have said it better myself. Hold the frauds 
> responsible and penalize them for breaking the law. What a novel idea!
>
> I noted the article mentioned that there is no penalty for such fraud 
> in Florida, and that seems largely true elsewhere. That seems worthy 
> of hangwringing and moaning and, well, maybe even something to activate
about.
> It's also danged inconvenient in the public education process...
> "You're committing fraud, you know!" I might say. It would be nice to 
> add, "And do you know what will happen if you get caught?" Since the 
> answer to that last one is, well, zilch, I am denied a very nice 
> gotcha, and that is no fun for me. Also, it is kinda depressing 
> because I know that I am going to have to keep hearing about how the 
> problem is everything but the frauds themselves and trying to educate 
> people about the law which can be broken with impunity. Sigh.
>
> I'll admit, I get pretty grumpy these days when I do an internet 
> search involving the phrase "service dog" because I get a zillion 
> links to companies peddling service dog gear and id and all that 
> specifically for pets. Grrr! But in the end, it's the people who buy 
> the gear and use it to commit fraud who are at fault for committing 
> fraud. They seem to be the only ones popular opinion does not hold at
fault, though.
>
> I'm with you on the behavior issue. If the dog is not a problem, then 
> I can't bring myself to be upset about its presence or worry about 
> whether it's a real service dog or whatever. If the person with the 
> dog announces cheerfully that it isn't, loud enough for everyone to 
> hear, I just mention the "F" word -- the 5-letter one with legal 
> implications -- and that the business has the legal right to refuse 
> the dog now that everyone knows the truth. A lot of the time, someone 
> responsible in the business is standing right there, so I can figure 
> they know now. I might even make a point of telling them directly that 
> they can have the dog removed. Nothing happens as a result of this, 
> but it is the business's decision whether to allow the dog to remain 
> there. So I can't get uptight, since if I'm talking to the person it's
because their dog is not a problem for my dog, so not a problem for me.
> Whaddaya do?
>
> Tami
>
>
> On 08/09/2013 07:45 AM, Julie J. 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-servi
>> c
>> 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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