“Imposter” Service Dogs----
You Give Real Service Dogs a Bad Name!
I am an international access consultant and disability advocate. Since first becoming partnered with my own service dog, I have fought for the rights of service dog handlers who experienced illegal access denial (the illegal refusal of an establishment to grant entry to a partnered team). For the past ten years, I’ve been advocating for handlers’ rights, mediating in pre-court cases, and educating businesses about disabilities and their rights and responsibilities towards their disabled clientele. I’ve worked tirelessly to preserve the rights of service dog handlers everywhere, and to promote the wonderful benefits that service dogs provide for their partners with disabilities in order to help foster a more compassionate and accepting attitude towards these incredible canines. My work has opened many doors previously closed to service dog teams, and I am fully committed to opening many more.
Recently, I’ve gained a new and unexpected clientele—business owners who believed that their establishment had been visited by (and in many cases, damaged by) “imposter” service dogs. “Imposter” or “fake” service dogs are a growing problem throughout America. This is the canine version of illegally parking in a handicapped parking space. Many people have forgone any type of morality and have obtained vests and attached patches to illegally gain entry to public places with their pet dogs.
“This is the canine version of illegally parking
in a handicapped parking space.”
As unbelievable as it sounds, some offenders believe that their dog should be allowed to go with them everywhere and can’t see the harm in passing off just one dog. These folks pass off their pets, knowing it is illegal, but do it anyway because they lack any sense of wrongdoing. Still others believe that they are truly justified because they have an disorder and having their pet dog with them eases their symptoms; but they failed to do the research to learn how to become legally compliant with their dogs’ training.
According to Federal law, in order for any type of service dog to accompany their partner in public, they must be individually trained to do specific tasks. There is an alarming number of handlers who have not done any required training of their dogs or learned the laws that govern service dog use. They carry notes written by their doctors testifying to the fact that their dog helps to ease symptoms of disorders; and so, they feel fully justified in having their dog in a public place, claiming it to be a service dog. However, there are a large number of these dogs that have not received the proper training that would legally elevate their status from pet to service dog.
No matter what the reason, the simple fact of the matter is this: passing off any dog that is not specifically trained as per the Americans with Disability Act, state, and local laws is illegal (a federal offense) and carries Federal penalties.
“Service animals are animals that are individually trained to
perform tasks for people with disabilities such as
guiding people who are blind, alerting people who are deaf,
pulling wheelchairs, alerting and protecting a person who is
having a seizure, or performing other special tasks.
Service animals are working animals, not pets”
—(Source Link: United States Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division)
If a dog does nothing more than accompany a person into an establishment to “keep them focused” or “ease anxiety”, according to law, they are not in compliance with Federal law that plainly states and specifically requires task training.
There are many tasks that a psychiatric service dog can learn to do (a full list available here: http://www.iaadp.org/psd_tasks.html) to meet legal requirements of tasks, and to assist their handler—and yet there is a growing number of people who are not aware of or compliant with this aspect of the law.
Emotional Support Dogs are brought to light here because of the vast confusion that exists regarding their right to public access. Truth is, there are equally disturbing claims of service dogs in question; such as a five pound dog being a "balance" or "physical support" dog for a full grown adult, a growling, snapping Cujo being a task-assisting or alerting service dog, or a dog that rides in a stroller being used as a "cane"....the list goes on and on.
It costs $15,000-$20,000.00 to train a service dog. The high cost reflects intensive and high level training that takes hundreds of hours that ensure the dog to be obedient and able to perform its job in a variety of situations. Pet dogs that have not received adequate training are simply not equipped to deal with many unforeseen public distractions that service dogs have been carefully and meticulously prepared for.
“The high cost reflects intensive and high level training
that takes hundreds of hours that ensure the dog to be obedient
and able to perform its job in a variety of situations”.
As a person who fights for the rights of service dog handlers everywhere, and as a fellow handler who has invested thousands of hours and dollars into the training of my own dog, it is infuriating that while most service dog handlers invest the large cost and countless hours to properly train their service dogs, a growing number of imposters are simply (and illegally) mail ordering vests, slapping on patches and claiming their pet dog to be a service dog—then having the audacity to dare anyone to confront them on it; claiming protection under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the very law that they themselves are in violation of.
To make matters worse, there are unscrupulous businesses making a profit on these fake service dogs, by offering to “certify” or “license” them---at a cost. There is no such “certification” or “licensing” approved by the Federal government. These businesses set up their own standards and charge a fee—online, without ever having seen the dog in question, in order to ascertain that it has, in fact, been trained to Federal standards.
“…He admitted that he was not disabled,
and that his dog was not (or ever would be) a service dog---
he simply wanted to get a vest and claim service dog
status to get into a no pets facility”
I was on an Internet dog message board just last night, and came across a post from a person who wanted to know just how much trouble they could get in if they passed off their pet as a service dog because the interim place he was staying in didn’t allow pets. He only planned to stay there for one month until his permanent home was ready. He admitted that he was not disabled, and that his dog was not (or ever would be) a service dog---he simply wanted to get a vest and claim service dog status to get into a no pets facility. Many responders posted, "Just get a vest and tell them its a service dog---no one can even question you." Obviously, they fell under the same assumption born out of misinformation as the aforementioned imposter handlers who failed to do their homework regarding service dog law. Businesses, landlords, airlines, and other public entities can and are questioning the validity of service dog----now more than ever; because of the blatant abuse of the laws that govern service dog use, and imposters can pay dearly for their offense.
In the past week alone, several faux handlers, claiming to have had their “rights” violated by a business or establishment, have contacted me for access representation. Upon closer inspection in each of these cases, the dog in question damaged property (one bit several people), created a disturbance, or defecated and was asked by management to leave.
None of these dogs had task training, and none had any formal training of any kind on record. These were pet dogs whose owners decided one day that now they were going to be service dogs, didn’t bother to have the dog trained at all, then got a note from their doctor, and illegally sited the ADA as protection from eviction from a public place—and then contacted me to advocate for them. Upon learning about their noncompliance with local, state and federal laws, they were turned into the federal authorities to face the consequences of their illegal actions.
Stiffer laws to define service dogs
On September 25, 2008, President Bush signed into legislation, changes to the Americans with Disabilities Act (The ADA Amendment Act). The ADA Amendment Act tightens the ADA’s definition of a service dog and increases the severity of penalties in response to this growing, and potentially dangerous problem---a step in the right direction to help eliminate the explosion of people illegally (intentionally or unintentionally) passing off non-or barely trained pet dogs as service dogs. This explosion has caused irreparable harm to real service dog handlers who have worked tirelessly for decades for free, unobstructed access to public places with their trained canine assistants.
The Department of Justice recently stated in excerpts from the ADA Notice of Proposed Rulemaking: "The Department wishes to clarify the obligations of public accommodations to accommodate individuals with disabilities who use service animals. The Department continues to receive a large number of complaints from individuals with service animals. It appears that many covered entities are confused regarding their obligations under the ADA with regard to individuals with disabilities who use service animals. At the same time, some individuals with impairments--who would not be covered as individuals with disabilities--are claiming that their animals are legitimate service animals, whether fraudulently or sincerely (albeit mistakenly), to gain access to hotels, restaurants, and other places of public accommodation. Another trend is the use of wild, exotic, or unusual species, many of which are untrained, as service animals. The Department is proposing amendments to its regulation on service animals in the hope of mitigating the apparent confusion".
The DOJ goes on to explain how they plan to eliminate the obvious confusion about emotional support dogs: "The Department is proposing new regulatory text in § 36.104 to formalize its position on emotional support/comfort animals, which is that "[a]nimals whose sole function is to provide emotional support, comfort, therapy, companionship, therapeutic benefits, or promote emotional well-being are not service animals."
While the brunt of "imposters" have been in stores and businesses, it has been found that an equally alarming number of people are illegally claiming their pet dogs are service dogs or emotional support dogs so they would be allowed to have their dogs fly in the passenger section on airplanes. The U.S. Department of Transportation released new regulations under the Air Carrier Access Act on May 7, 2008. Airline employees have been retrained in accordance to the ADA's changes and tighter definitions of service dogs, and according to the US DOT:'s final ruling, "We also note that, under section 382.117(e), airlines can require passengers traveling with emotional support or psychiatric service animals to provide certain documentation". Furthermore, employees are being requested to take further measures to ascertain whether a dog, is in fact, a legitimate service dog.
“…there are plenty potential disasters waiting to
happen when close attention is not paid to the careful
socialization and intense training that a service dog needs
in order to be safe and effective in a public environment.”
So where's the harm in passing off a pet as a service dog? Other than the fact that it IS illegal (a Federal offense), there are plenty potential disasters waiting to happen when close attention is not paid to the careful socialization and intense training that a service dog needs in order to be safe and effective in a public environment.
Pet dogs that have not received the proper socialization, high-level obedience, and distraction training are apt to misbehave (or even bite) in high stress environments. Stores, movie theatres, restaurants and other public places are filled with stressors that most dogs have never encountered in their lives as a pet. There are no short cuts to introducing a dog to such things. Precise attention and hundreds of hours of careful training and socialization are key to producing a calm, consistent, and properly behaved service dog.
“…ill behavior from imposters give real service dogs
a bad rap, and service dog handlers are having
even more difficulties with access”.
Furthermore, ill behavior from imposters give real service dogs a bad rap, and service dog handlers are having even more difficulties with access. Business owners who have had experiences with imposter service dogs are less than jubilant when a real service dog comes into their establishment, leaving the business-client relationship strained.
There are some non-disabled dog owners/trainers with very well behaved dogs who have been guilty of passing of their pet dogs to enjoy public access with their dogs; in stores, businesses, and air travel. When confronted, the offenders often flippantly remark that their dogs are better behaved than most of the kids they see in public; so what's the big deal? The "big deal" is that first and foremost, passing off any dog not specifically trained as a service dog to assist a person with a documented disability in order to gain public entry is an illegal federal offense which can carry heavy penalties; even for the first offense. Not to mention, that every imposter that walks through the doors of a public establishment erodes the independence that, for decades, service dog teams have worked tirelessly to obtain. People who do not need a helping hand (in this case, paw), for their independence can never know how vitally important it is to have that right. To see others callously abusing such a privilege is very upsetting.
It is critical that business owners be made aware of these imposter dogs, to learn how to protect their clientele and their business interests while abiding by the law and protecting the rights of real teams.
The immorality of this issue propels me to set out on a new mission to right a tremendous wrong that is being played out against real service dog handlers throughout this country; ones who have taken the time and expense to abide by the law and painstakingly trained their dogs (and themselves) to the letter of the law.
For business owners who feel you may have been invaded by an “imposter” service dog, you are not expected or required to sit idly by while an untrained and illegal imposter causes your business damage or threatens the smooth running of your establishment.
“Current law provides for stiff federal penalties
(including heavy fines and jail time)—even for first time offenders.”
There are legal steps that can be taken to stop these imposters in their tracks, and assistance in helping you to recoup damages. Current and new laws provide stiffer federal penalties (including heavy fines and jail time).
If you are in doubt as to whether a dog is a real service dog, you may legally ask the following:
1. Do you have a documented disability? (Note: you may not ask what the disability is)
2. Is that a trained service dog? If the answer is yes, and you still doubt the validity of the team; you may ask what tasks the dog has been specifically trained to do for the person with disabilities. If you still doubt the answer of the "handler", you may call the United States Department of Justice Disability Rights Section at: (800) 514-0301, and/or your local barracks of your state police.
**NOTE: Any properly trained team has been fully versed in the law, knows their rights and responsibilities and will have no issue answering such questions. Alternatively, if a person balks at answering these questions, or becomes unreasonably defensive; you are most likely dealing with an imposter. At this point, you should refrain from saying anything more, and phone the DOJ and police immediately to intervene.
If the dog enters your establishment and exhibits any type of behavior not expected of a service dog (urinating/defecating, damaging goods, sniffing/bothering other customers, barking, growling, snapping, etc…) you are well within your rights to ask them to leave. If the dog or its equipment is not clean (visibly dirty or emits an unpleasant odor), you are within your rights to ask them to leave. If the handler gives you any trouble; call the state police barracks nearest your location, then report the incident to the DOJ. If the dog causes damage to your facility, or causes an interruption of your business, you may pursue the incident in civil court to recoup damages. For illegal handlers with “imposter” or “non-task trained” dogs; beware---Uncle Sam, the entire service dog community, and myself are onto you, and we’re cracking down.
***Note: This article is not about, nor designed to discriminate against, any program and/or owner-trained, physical or psychiatric service dogs that have been well trained to fully meet Federal requirements; and handlers who have learned and fully versed themselves in Federal, State and local law---This is an alert about the vastly growing problem of people who are illegally, and often intentionally, passing off their pet dogs without learning about governing laws, or providing any specialized training and task work for their dogs as required by law).
Copyright 2008 by Kimberly Carnevale and Canine and Abled, Inc. All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be copied by any means without expressed, written consent of the owner.
--Kimberly Carnevale
Canine and Abled, Inc.
About the author:
Kimberly Carnevale is an author, disability advocate, and motivational speaker. She is the President and founder of Canine and Abled, Inc. (the award-winning program featured on TV, magazines and in her first book). She is invited to speak nationally on service dog law, business service dog education (including policy and procedure revision/implementation), and corporate motivation.
Kimberly presents her award winning educational and character-building assembly to schools, scout troops and other youth organizations throughout the country, and has been published numerous times nationally and internationally as an expert in her field.
Ms. Carnevale is available to advocate for the rights of service dog handlers (who fully meet the requirements of “ disabled” and “service dog” as per the ADA), and to businesses who need employee sensitivity, service dog, and/or disability training, or feel they have encountered “imposter” service dogs in their establishment.
Kimberly also consults in service dog training/acquisition, helps assist people with disabilities train their dogs to the title of service dog, and has plans to build a breeding/training/provision center in the near future.
