[nagdu] Despicable' Epidemic: People Using Fake Service Dogs

Fri Aug 23 04:25:52 UTC 2013

Well, I keep wishing the articles would go away, but then there is 
another one. I can't tell if they're just trendy these days or what. I 
do not think the articles are helpful, though I liked this one for 
calling the folks who pass off their pets despicable. /evil grin/

Something about the tone annoys me something fierce. I can't help 
thinking the whole thing is terribly overblown. There's a problem, worse 
in some areas than others, but not so much the end of the world as we 
know it as the publicity makes it seem.

I'm catching a push for certification from several quarters, but I can't 
tell if there's a single origin. A lot of service dog users from 
organizations sure do go on about how their dogs are certified... And 
the quote from the CCI rep in this article seemed to me to be downright 
misleading. True, their dogs are certified. By them. So... It has 
nothing to do with whether they are legal for public access. And those 
hundreds of hours of training again. Oh, my! All of that is true, so far 
as it goes, but to make it seem as if their dogs are more legal than 
others seems a bit much to me.

Here's what I wonder. Are organizations like CCI really thinking this 
through? Do they think that if there is a national certification system 
established that they will be exempted for it or somehow not have to pay 
for it? How will this affect the supply of service dogs of all types? Do 
the advocacy groups consider that aspect of it?

It's not in the interest of the nonprofits who train dogs for the 
disabled -- be it the guide dog specialties or others -- to let on that 
disabled people really can train dogs themselves. The whole fundraising 
premise of a lot of these organizations is how they are giving light to 
the life of the helpless and pathetic... Well, it sometimes sounds like 
that to me, but I get kinda grumpy about it. /lol/

I dunno. I'm not ready to call it a deep dark plot; probably just a 
publicity ploy that may end up the very organizations that are using it. 
Hm...

Tami

On 08/22/2013 08:15 PM, National Association of Guide Dog Users wrote:
> Dear All,
> 	I am wondering if CCI is simply promulgating the myth that there is
> a problem in an effort to support their petition to ban service animal gear.
> Perhaps it is all just a ruse in an effort to gain publicity and position
> themselves as the experts in this field. It certainly seems as if we are
> seeing more stories about this in the past few weeks! In the words of that
> great philosopher Gallagher, "Makes one go 'Hmmm!'"
>
> Fraternally yours,
> Marion Gwizdala
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Ginger Kutsch
> Sent: Thursday, August 22, 2013 12:40 PM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> Subject: [nagdu] Despicable' Epidemic: People Using Fake Service Dogs
>
> Despicable' Epidemic: People Using Fake Service Dogs
>
> August 21, 2013 6:18 AM
>
> Source:
> http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2013/08/21/despicable-epidemic-people-using-fake
> -service-dogs/
>
>
>
> CHICAGO (CBS) - Despicable. That's the word used by advocates for the
> disabled to describe the newest trend - people disguising their dogs as
> service dogs to travel, shop, and even go to night clubs.
>
>
>
> "People think what they're doing is harmless but it's not. It's very
> harmful," said Marcie Davis, founder of International Assistance Dog
> Awareness Week.
>
>
>
> As a paraplegic, Davis uses a real service dog, one that's been trained and
> certified over hundreds of hours.
>
>
>
> "This is jeopardizing people like me who really need a service dog. It's
> jeopardizing our ability to be a working team out in public," Davis said.
> She called the fake service dog problem an epidemic that's happening all
> across the country.
>
>
>
> The evidence appears blatantly on YouTube.
>
> "I took Bubs out for a walk and it started raining and I don't feel like
> walking him home so we're going to get on the bus and I'm going to make him
> a disabled dog," said an unidentified man in a video in which he brags about
> putting a muzzle and fake vest on his dog to ride public transit and later
> get special treatment at a restaurant. "This service dog scam works pretty
> good. Take a bow Bubs. Good service dog!"
>
> In recent New York Post story, several candid dog owners bragged of their
> own fakery. After purchasing vests, patches and certificates online, they
> talked about taking their dogs grocery shopping, nightclubbing and to the
> theater.
>
>
>
> "He's been to most movie theaters in the city and more nightclubs than most
> of my friends," a 33-year old New Yorker told the newspaper about his
> Yorkie.
>
> "If you provide a photo, then you can get an ID," said Davis, describing how
> easy it is purchase the equipment and documentation needed to make a dog
> look legitimate.
>
>
>
> A search of eBay for "service dog patches" and "service dog vests" produced
> more than 22,000 results. Several websites sell similar items for as much as
> $150 after requiring answers to just a few easy questions.
>
>
>
> "There needs to be some accountability," Davis said.
>
> She said the fakers are also taking advantage of laws that limit the
> interaction a business owner can have with a disabled person. The Americans
> with Disabilities Act prohibits requiring identification documents for a
> service animal and does not allow any questioning about specifics of a
> person's disability.
>
> "This is safety issue for people with disabilities and the general public,"
> Davis said.
>
>
>
> She knows firsthand what it's like to be in a situation involving a fake
> service dog that threatens the safety of those around it.
>
> "My second assistance dog was actually attacked by a dog at a professional
> conference by someone who was trying to pass off their pet as an assistance
> dog who had no business being in public," she said.
>
> Davis said spotting the fakers is pretty easy. Her dog is highly trained and
> almost invisible in public. That's not the case with the frauds.
>
> "They're disruptive, they're eating food in restaurants and they're acting
> very inappropriately," Davis said, but trained service dogs act much
> differently. "They are supposed to be very quiet and go under a table or
> chair and really be unseen when they are out in public."
>
> The ADA does not require service animals to be officially certified, which
> may be part of the problem. The law does require an owner to have a
> documented disability and requires the animal to be trained to help its
> handler. Service animals cannot disrupt their environments.
>
>
>
> Some states are moving to make service dog fraud a crime. Davis says, in her
> home state of New Mexico, lawmakers have passed a law that includes
> penalties for trying to pass a dog off as a fake assistance dog.
>
> The problem is so widespread that the nation's largest breeding and training
> program for service dogs, Canine Companions for Independence, launched an
> online petition asking the U.S. Department of Justice to crack down on
> service dog fraud and end the online sale of fake service dog certification
> products.
>
>
>
>
>
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