[nagdu] Some pet owners try to skirt rules with fake service dogs

[Ginger Kutsch]

Some pet owners try to skirt rules with fake service dogs
They get look-alike certifications and vests off the Internet
By Wayne K. Roustan, Sun Sentinel
April 7, 2011
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/fl-hk-fake-service-dogs-20110405,0,70
59372.story?page=2
 
Legitimate service dog owners and trainers in South Florida say
they are increasingly frustrated by loopholes and gray areas in
state and federal law that allow some pet owners to pass off
their pooches as certified service dogs.
 
The deception allows their pets to live in restricted housing,
accompany them inside restaurants and hotels or fly for free in
airplane cabins rather than in cargo holds.
 
"I don't want to say it's a scam, but it is a scam," according to
Nick Kutsukos, 72, who runs the Elite K9 Academy in Jupiter and
has trained service dogs for 40 years.
 
All a person has to do is log onto one of many service dog
certification websites, fill out the form online and send a
check, money order, or credit card number and perhaps a
photograph of their dog.
 
For between $20 and $300, the pet owner will get a specially
marked vest or collar for their pet to wear, special
identification tags or ID cards, a certificate suitable for
framing, training DVDs, information CDs and other official
looking items not required by law.
 
One website recommends annual certification, while another offers
increasingly expensive bronze, silver, gold, and platinum
packages. Still another site features misspelled words and poor
grammar.
 
"There is no certification required, so there's no such thing as
a legitimate [document]," said Toni Eames, president of the
Michigan-based International Association of Assistance Dog
Partners.
 
"Anyone who sells you a certification is a scammer," said Eames,
who also is blind and has her own guide dog.
 
Kutsukos, who has a service dog to help with his seizures, said
the fake certifications "make it it difficult for people with
legitimate service dogs to do things."
 
The Americans with Disabilities Act was passed in 1990 to protect
the rights of the disabled, including their use of service
animals. But confusion ensued when monkeys, cats, ferrets and
other critters were utilized to help people with special needs
function in public places, such as restaurants and hotels.
 
The U.S. Department of Justice amended guidelines on March 15 to
narrow the definition of service animals to dogs that are trained
to perform specific tasks related to the owner's proven
disability.
 
Guide dogs are the most recognizable, having assisted the blind
or visually impaired for more than 50 years, according to Jose
Lopez with the Lighthouse of Broward, which serves the sight
impaired. He has had a guide dog for five years and is a
consultant for guide dog training schools.
 
"It's a heavy gray area," Lopez said. "Basically everybody can
print [certifications] from the Internet and say 'that's my
assisting dog.'"
 
Legitimate service dogs of almost any size or breed can be taught
a variety of tasks that include alerting a deaf person to sirens
or alarms, retrieving medication, warning of impending seizures,
or stopping autistic children from wandering off.
 
The dogs are also trained to wake up a veteran with Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder who's having a nightmare, and help to
prevent or interrupt destructive or impulsive behavior by people
with a neurological or psychiatric disability, Kutsukos said.
 
Dogs that provide emotional comfort are not considered service
animals under the new ADA rules, but dogs, monkeys, ferrets and
other support animals still are allowed in airplane cabins under
the Air Carrier Access Act and in homes under the Fair Housing
Act with appropriate proof from the owner's doctor, according to
Eames.
 
Still, not everyone bothers.
 
"People come up to me all the time and ask 'Where do I get one of
those harnesses to take my dog with me?'" Eames said. "They don't
have any clue [my dog] had two years of training before I was
able to take her on a plane with me."
 
There are about 20,000 legitimate service dogs across the country
and between 600 and 2,000 in Florida, according to Ken Lyons,
director of Orlando-based Service Dogs of Florida.
 
It takes up to two years of training with a three-year waiting
list at most training schools and only 2,500 dogs graduate each
year. Training guide dogs for the blind can cost up to $40,000,
Lyons said.
 
"If you are truly disabled, then it's worth the money," Kutsukos
said.
 
However, given the time and money invested in training service
dogs, disabled users and trainers are angered by those who buy or
sell worthless service dog items online for imposter pets.
 
"I'm condemning the people who are irresponsible and force people
into cheating," Eames said.
 
Any certification, ID card, vest, tag and harness should include
contact information for the service dog's school and trainer but
it's not mandatory, Lopez said.
 
By law there are only two questions that can be asked of a
disabled person with a service dog:
 
Is this a service dog for disabilities?
 
What tasks or assistance does the dog provide you with?
 
Barring a disabled person and their service dog from a
restaurant, hotel, airplane or other public place is a
second-degree misdemeanor in Florida, punishable by up to 60 days
in jail and a $500 fine.
 
Or a federal judge can order a change in business policies to
allow access by disabled customers and their service dogs.
Monetary penalties are rare.
 
If a person tries to fake a disability and pretend their pet is a
service animal, they risk a fine at the very least or federal
fraud charges in extreme cases, Lyons said.
 
"If you portray yourself as disabled, or your pet as a service
animal, the minute you go out in public you're committing a
crime," he said. "It's felony fraud."
 
wkroustan at tribune.com or 561-243-6623