Jail time now possible if you have a fake service animal

[scrapquitler]

Jail not prison. If people are going to do something like this, there needs to be consequences.

jail, prison, whatever. It doesn't seem to make sense to me to lock someone up at a high cost and remove them from the productive part of society over this. Community service and a fine? sure, but locking them up seems silly.

 

[Bluestars]

I'm glad they made the law and are at least making an effort to cut down on fraud. If a person does something like this, they deserve jail time. The punishment fits the crime.

 

[bsblady01]

I have a relative over on the Gulf coast that bought a service animal vest and certificate online. Her dog has no training at all. She says she did it so she can carry it onto a plane without paying for it.

wow that is just sad

 

[smokeyblue]

Here is an explanation of the difference between a psychiatric service dog and an emotional support animal. The big difference is the psychiatric support dog is specially trained to alert and provide a service to the handler while an emotional support dog is just there for comfort.

http://www.servicedogcentral.org/content/node/76

Here are some of the things a Psychiatric Service dog can be trained to do:

http://www.pawsforveterans.com/our-dogs.html

For instance, a emotional support animal is not trained and is there for comfort. A service dog is specifically trained to recognize the onset of a panic attack and can bring meds or redirect the handler away from a stressor.

Wowzer. If a dog/service animal can do some of the things described in the examples in the link you provided that is simply amazing. This makes the fakes that much more disturbing.

I knew of a young lady who did have and need an emotional support dog. If she was going somewhere in public where animals traditionally wouldn't be allowed, she would call ahead and ask permission to bring her dog with.

 

[tinkerbellandeeyor]

wow that is just sad

Sounds like two members of my family


They are like you don't know what it is like to pay the fine to let your pet on, no but it can't be as bad watching able bodies claim they have a disability when they don't for special treatment

 

[mamacatnv]

My DD wants to raise a Guide Dog Puppy for Guide Dogs for the Blind. The puppy training is intensive, I was amazed and very surprised at the amount of training, breeding and selection proves that goes into these dogs, it is truly impressive and the end result is an amazing companion for someone without sight. The dogs that don't make it are often paired with sighted persons with other disabilities because they are so well trained. These dogs earn their vests, they are working dogs and they have a very important job to do.

Huge difference from the "service animal" my former assistant claimed to have and got a Dr. friend to sign the form for, all so they could take the dog with them on an airplane and not have to pay for the animal to travel. This dog was less than a year old and was completely untrained.

To cheat the system like this was a complete insult to the true working dogs that are trained for the blind, seizures, hearing impaired etc.

I don't know how they will ever enforce it but I am glad to see some effort being made to crack down on all the helicopter animal parents who cannot leave their snowflake animals at home.

 

[tinkerbellandeeyor]

Pp could not have said it better

 

[tvguy]

That is a shame. How many people have a pretend service animal?

No way to know. IMHO some of the legal reasons for a service animal might be on thin ice too. But, I have no allergies, as long as they are well behaved it makes no difference to me. But if I see one more shaking chihuahua in the basket at the grocery store, I may suggest the DOG needs a service animal.

 

[NotUrsula]

I suspect that the real purpose if dissuasion -- it gives security guards a credible threat they can use to eject people who are toting about troublesome animals. Folks who might have decided it was easy to do and had no consequences might decide not to take the chance of a whopping fine (which is what you would end up paying if you are pleading down from possible jail time.)

I saw an obvious fake at MK about two weeks ago. It was a Westie on a long leash, and it was barking constantly and running under people's feet. No trained working service dog would behave that way. I would have applauded if Security had been able to eject the animal from the park.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Our most recent siting was puppies in training at Disney. Obviously at that young age, they can't perform a service. They are at the stage of learning to be around crowds and how to behave in public. I actually talked to the handlers about it because the smallest puppy was tuckered out. Dogs were well in control though and it helped they had the jackets. I had no reason to believe it wasn't real.

 

[DizBelle]

How is this even remotely enforceable when you can't ask for proof that the animal is a service animal? In what situation could this end up in court?

 

[daughtersrus]

There is bigger fraud in parking placards than service dogs. The toughest part, some Doctors will write a note for a placard without regard to actual need. So you have met the letter of the law for the placard, but you really don't have a need.

I long ago gave up on wondering whether a service dog is legitimate. As long as they are well behaved I don't care. The problem is, there is no licensing, or universal registration for service animals to even verify whether the animal is legit..

That Florida law is a joke. If they choose to enforce it, I see the state having to pay out settlements for violating the rights of people who somehow find some strange way to legally justify their service animal.

In IL, the doctor needs to fill out an application, not write a letter. The application includes the diagnosis, the reason (can't walk 200ft, lung disease...) how long the disability is expected to last and include their medical license number along with their name, address...For us, it wasn't a difficult process since DD's disease is progressive and she has never been able to walk but I know others that have had difficulty. I don't think that the problem is them being issued incorrectly by doctors but people using the placard illegally. We have disability plates on our van and a placard if DD is in another vehicle. My DFIL also has a placard. If he is in our van and DD is not or will not be exiting the van, by law, we need to hang DFIL's placard from the mirror because the license plate is only for use by our DD. I try really hard not to judge because I have been unfairly judged in the past but all too often I see an elderly person waiting in a car while someone else literally runs into a business. Sure there's a chance that the person running could be the person the placard was issued for.

 

[Tiggeroo]

I was at starbucks recently where a couple had what they called a service dog there. They had brought in a bed, a bag of toys and what looked like a baby bottle. They continually fussed over the dog who was barking and whining while they also worked on a computer and argued about some sort of business matters. It was odd and unfair to anybody with allergies.

 

[Hrhpd]

How is this even remotely enforceable when you can't ask for proof that the animal is a service animal? In what situation could this end up in court?

I think it may be semi enforceable since even service dogs must meet a certain standard of behavior to have the right of access.

There are plenty of examples here of dogs that are clearly not service dogs. The business owner has the right to ask them exactly what service the dog is trained to do. So, the dog in the baby bed would have to have a job to do that the owner would need to be able to explain. For instance, a person in a wheelchair may say "my dog provides a service for me by picking up objects that I drop." What I think this law does is give the business owner a tool so that they feel comfortable already enforcing the policies in place. They know that if they have a law to state to help them weed out the fake dogs vs the real service dogs.

Also, even a service dog can be asked to leave if they are not under control. So, the Westie that was barking or the other dog that was whining can be asked to leave and the business owner can press charges to get them to prove the dog is a service dog in court.

The other thing I see is now there is a law to report people. There are so many examples in this thread of people that somebody knows is scamming. A Florida person can make a call and say so-and-so's dog is being passed off as a service dog and it has not had any training.

 

[Hrhpd]

I was at starbucks recently where a couple had what they called a service dog there. They had brought in a bed, a bag of toys and what looked like a baby bottle. They continually fussed over the dog who was barking and whining while they also worked on a computer and argued about some sort of business matters. It was odd and unfair to anybody with allergies.

According to the law posted earlier in this thread and I believe it is also a Federal law, allergies or fear of animals is not allowed as a cause to ask a true service dog to leave. The service dog, since it is vital to the person's ability to live, has precedence over an allergy.

 

[Tiggeroo]

According to the law posted earlier in this thread and I believe it is also a Federal law, allergies or fear of animals is not allowed as a cause to ask a true service dog to leave. The service dog, since it is vital to the person's ability to live, has precedence over an allergy.

Absolutely. I even support a service dog for PTSD. However, these fake service dogs are making it difficult and giving a bad name to persons with true needs. My son has a restaurant and feels he always needs to allow in a dog claiming to be a service dog with any sort of papers. Asking too many questions can appear discriminatory. I have certainly seen what I believe to be fake service dogs. You can print our own papers online and order vests also.

 

[Goon]

According to the law posted earlier in this thread and I believe it is also a Federal law, allergies or fear of animals is not allowed as a cause to ask a true service dog to leave. The service dog, since it is vital to the person's ability to live, has precedence over an allergy.

That's not what she said. Kindly re-read her post; she was referring to what would almost have to have been a fake service dog causing possible issues for guests.

No one is claiming a true service dog is a burden.

 

[Tiggeroo]

That's not what she said. Kindly re-read her post; she was referring to what would almost have to have been a fake service dog causing possible issues for guests.

No one is claiming a true service dog is a burden.

sometimes people decide to follow all of your threads and pick them apart just to start a fight. I am choosing to ignore somebody with that much time on their hands.

 

[Hrhpd]

Absolutely. I even support a service dog for PTSD. However, these fake service dogs are making it difficult and giving a bad name to persons with true needs. My son has a restaurant and feels he always needs to allow in a dog claiming to be a service dog with any sort of papers. Asking too many questions can appear discriminatory. I have certainly seen what I believe to be fake service dogs. You can print our own papers online and order vests also.

I agree wholeheartedly that the fake service dogs are giving the real ones a bad name.

 

[Hrhpd]

sometimes people decide to follow all of your threads and pick them apart just to start a fight. I am choosing to ignore somebody with that much time on their hands.

Sorry, not following your threads. I happened on this thread because I have worked with service dogs.