[Nfbf-l] An example of a fake service animal

[Patricia A. Lipovsky]

I am forwarding one person's experience with fake service dogs.; 


From: 
labs4me55 at gmail.com 
Sent: Saturday, August 10, 2013 6:03 PM
To: 
GuideDogHandlerAdvocacy at yahoogroups.com 
Subject: RE: [GuideDogHandlerAdvocacy] FW: fake service dog gear  

Charlie
I'm not at all surprised the problem is as large
as it is. When I was living in Medford, the
housing complex (received funds from HUD) allowed
Comfort dogs for some residents It was an
application process and documentation from a
doctor stating the dog was a "medical need" for
the person- 

When we moved out of Medford about a month ago,
there were 12 "approved Comfort Dogs" living in
the complex Seven of those Comfort Dog owners
got vests, Jackets and patches on-line (one made
them herself) and are in fact taking these dogs
into public places - passing them off as Service
dogs (or medical need dogs) 

3 of the dogs ride around in carts at stores- and
when management approaches the individuals, they
get beligerant, gonna sue their u know whats off-
this is a service dog- I have medical needs- etc
and NO these dogs do not have even basic obedience
training The only purpose the dogs serve is to
keep people away from the individuals cuz all they
do is growl, snarl, bark and yes one has snapped
at several folks 

The remaining "Comfort Dogs" are not in places
of public, the owners do keep the dogs under
control and when they've been asked why they don't
have a vest or jacket for their dog and just take
them to stores, I've heard a couple of these
owners say it is fraud to pass an untrained dog
off as a service dog just because person wants the
same privileges as a person in a wheelchair,
person who is deaf or blind and their dogs are
legitimately trained

Heck there's a guy in my former area who takes
his pet dog into stores, no leash, collar, jacket
or whatver and claims the dog is a service animal
Says dog helps him with his balance- this is a
very obese Chow-Chow This guy also passes
himself off as a service dog trainer. 

In the month I've been here, I've encountered
3 dogs in stores- one is another guide dog but the
other 2 dogs are nothing more than yippers, riding
inside store carriages Heard one of the owners
say the stores make dog nervous and when he walks
on floor he leaves puddles all over the place.
The second dog is a pitt bull and owner claims she
was a rape victim and breeder gave her that breed
of dog to train for her balance. If I had to
guess, this woman is about 5'10" weighs well over
200 pounds and this 8 or 9 month old Pitt Bull pup
is supposed to be trained to help her with her
balance The dog has a nylon collar, a
seatbelt/walking harness and a leash as well as
all sorts of patches sewn into the mesh
seatbelt/walking harness. NO adaptive handles
(I refer to them as a suit case handle- and even
if there were, the dog is too low to the ground
for the person to reach the handle OH yes this
person staggers quite a bit but her clothes, body
and breath reek of alcohol (and I'm not talking
rubbing alcohol either)

On a positive note (its culture shock for me)
pet owners have their dogs on leashes and when we
encounter them in Public, at the beach or just
walking around the neighborhood, the dog owner
alerts me to fact s/he has a dog and the dog is on
a leash (not flexi leashes either)

Pat & Jack

Pat & Jack


Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply.
Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God.

PL 
Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply.
Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God.

PL