In my job I work with a lot of tourists and on a regular basis people come into our establishment and claim their dog is a service dog. Here in California you cannot refuse to allow a service animal onto your property. But looking at some of these dogs I cannot help but be suspicious since I notice that these ‘service dogs’ come in a wild variety of breeds and sizes.
Also the people who accompany these animals often show no signs of impairment.
So my question is, how can I know if a dog is really a legit service animal???
I don’t want to offend people by challenging them but also don’t want to be taken advantage of.
Many people with emotional difficulties use service dogs as companion animals. These can be pretty much of any size or breed. But I presume that even these must be trained and certified as service animals. I think some people believe they can just put a “Service Dog” jacket on their pet and Presto! Service Animal! It’s controversial, and I think some states are passing laws saying that companion animals don’t really count as service animals.
Why do you feel you are being taken advantage of if someone brings a bogus service animal onto your property?
service animals are very well trained and that should show. If the dog acts like it’s not very well controlled by the owner that’s a pretty big clue it’s not a real service dog.
Turns out I just saw a dog in a local bookstore today. He seemed like a normal dog to me so I was wondering about his status.
“Why do you feel you are being taken advantage of if someone brings a bogus service animal onto your property?”
Even a service dog requires extra cleaning considerations after they’ve been reclining on your furniture and carpets. While a true service dog is well trained not to cause problems, an untrained dog can leave a mess of your property that you won’t know about until the customers leave. Also the claws on dogs can damage upholstery.
I hate to tell you this but some people want to take their dog with them because if they were to leave their precious pet at home alone then the animal does damage to their own property.
This is a myth. Under federal and state laws you most certainly can ask someone if an animal is a service animal. If there is no banner on the animal saying so why wouldn’t you?
Where the fuckedupness part of the law comes in is, once someone claims it is a service animal you can’t challenge them on it. Meaning they don’t have to provide any certificate, card, ID, etc proving it’s a trained service animal.
And some state laws are more liberal than the federal law regarding what kind of animal can be considered a service animal. You just know some dick is going to show up with a walrus or something weird like that one of these days.
You can legally ask what service is the dog trained to provide.
Companion animals are not service dogs. this also applies to emotional support animals.
You can look at the Great Smoky Mountain National Park Page as they have had ongoing trouble with dog owners trying to get their dog in where they are not allowed.
Fair Housing Laws require landlords to make reasonable accommodation for service animals, which means they have to be allowed even if the rental unit usually doesn’t allow pets. Landlords are allowed to request a statement from the prescribing authority be they medical doctors, psychologists and the like. These professionals know how to word this document such that they establish the clinical need for the animal, but not disclose the reason.
Depending on the jurisdiction, the service animal may be only to provide companionship to the patient and still require reasonable accommodation.
The OP’s tale is starting to become common, and I am beginning to see signs of backlash … the sign on the restaurant door “No animals allowed, even service animals” … some motions modifying the documentation of service animals … more retailers challenging someone bringing an animal in … court cases involving pit bulls where they are otherwise forbidden. I’m expected refinements and “tweeks” to the laws in the future, some balance that serves everyone. Except those who misrepresent their pet as a prescribed service animal.
Is anyone else imagining a Hustler cartoon of an Old Maid and her Poodle? Or is it just my sick sense of humor?
But seriously, what kind of “service” do dogs perform? I’m aware of guide dogs for the blind but that would be obvious and asking what they do is unnecessary. Somebody walks in your store with a dog on a leash and tells you it’s a service animal he better come up with a good answer when asked “what is that dog doing for you that you can’t do for yourself?”
Bogus service animals are a serious problem that is going to have to be addressed eventually, I’m guessing through the establishment of accreditation programs licensed through state governments or something. This will cause some shrieking. Professionally trained service dogs are not cheap. Figure it costs about as much a car.
I saw a diabetic alert dog at the farmers’ market today. Seizure alert dogs are also becoming increasingly common. These dogs smell chemistry changes that precede episodes, they are real. You can’t see this kind of impairment.
But there are service animals that assist persons with other kinds of disabilities in their day-to-day activities. Some examples include:
_ Alerting persons with hearing impairments to sounds.
_ Pulling wheelchairs or carrying and picking up things for persons with mobility impairments.
_ Assisting persons with mobility impairments with balance
I’d also add dogs that can detect an impending seizure and signal their handler to lie down in a safe spot until it passes.
Many of the services that legitimate service animals provide are not going to be apparent when the person walks in. In some cases (like the diabetes and epilepsy dogs) they are there in the event of an emergency, and if you’re lucky they won’t be providing their service at all. But they’re still good to have on hand in case.
Please note that it is perfectly acceptable to ask a person with a disruptive animal to remove the animal from your premises, even if they are a totally legit and glaringly obvious service animal. Poor behavior is not protected under the ADA. If they bark or growl or assist threatening, it’s perfectly legal to kick the animal (but not the person) out. Of course in reality, the person will leave too, but always word it that the disruptive animal must leave, not the person with a disability.
But what you cannot do is assume that an animal walking in is going to be disruptive based in previous experience or stereotyping.
Just an anecdote from Colorado: A handicapped person in my apartment complex allows her ‘service dog’ to roam free in the complex and is unable to pick up after him. The complex has been trying to evict her for months but it apparently is a very tricky task. The person is also on subsidized housing (not sure which kind).
YOu can ask if it’s a service animal and what task it is trained to perform. But my own policy when I managed a restaurant was simply to go the negative route. I don’t mean by being negative, just instead of bothering the people to make sure it was a service animal, I’d just assume it was unless the animal was doing things that required removal even if it was a service animal. Even service animals must remain under the owner’s control. They must not bite or threaten other customers. They must not be noisy(unless they are alerting for seizures or something they are trained to do). They must be clean. As long as a dog is clean, well behaved, and non-threatening, just ask if it’s a service dog, and if they say yes, your ass is covered. Any health inspector who comes in will ask about the dog, you’ll say “service dog” and they can’t ding you.
The main reason I don’t bother people with dogs is because kids are actually a much worse health hazard in practice.
I’ll make it a point to drop by that particular establishment next time I’m in The Big City. I talked to the manager and pointed out that under Fair Housing Laws this was strictly illegal. That unless she had book, chapter and verse in the law that exempts restaurants, she better clear this with a lawyer.
I have not actually been back there since … I guess I was a little more offended than I’m willing to admit.
