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

[Star Gazer]

I have thoutht this for awhile. The flurry of recent stories along with how they are written make me think of a publicity machine. 

Sent from my iPhone

On Aug 22, 2013, at 11:15 PM, "National Association of Guide Dog Users" <blind411 at verizon.net> 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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