Fake Service Dogs

This is, apparently, a growing concern.  There are a number of companies that sell “service dog identification kits” or official-looking certificates for fake service dogs.  Some companies will sell certification kits for any animal at all.  Want to certify your pet gerbil or goldfish as a service gerbil or service fish?  There are companies that will send you a certificate and official-looking ID card for them!  With many of these companies, you do not have to prove that you have a disability, that your dog or other animals has had any training whatsoever, or even that the animal actually exists.  Want to certify your teddy bear as a service animal?  You can do so online for a couple hundred dollars!

What’s wrong with this?  Well, it’s illegal to actually take your dog into certain public places, like restaurants, unless it really is a service dog, for one thing.  You could be fined or even sentenced to jail time, although it seems that these laws are not often enforced.  It’s not fair to the restaurant owner, who may think he has to let you bring your dog in if you have some sort of certificate, even if he doesn’t want to.  In fact, in some instances, the restaurant owner may be violating local health codes by allowing dogs other than service dogs into the restaurant, which could result in hefty fines.  It’s not fair to other customers, who may be allergic to dogs, afraid of dogs, or just not wish to dine with your dog.

It can also create problems for people with real service dogs.  Since many fake service dogs haven’t received the extensive training that real service dogs typically receive, they often don’t behave appropriately in crowded public places or places that hold many temptations for a dog, like restaurants where food is readily available.  Untrained dogs may bark or growl at customers or at legitimate service dogs, lunge at customers or at legitimate service dogs, sniff customers (apparently some people object to having a large dog sniff their butt), jump up on people, lick people, eat food dropped on the floor or take food from tables, sniff or lick food on salad bars or in display cases, beg for food from customers, sprawl out in the middle of the floor where they get in the way of customers and staff, and pee (or worse) on the floor.  And yes, I’ve heard stories of dogs doing all these things when their handlers claimed they were service dogs.  When business owners have experiences with dogs that behave like this, is it any wonder they don’t want service dogs coming into their establishments anymore?

I think part of the problem, though, is that many business owners don’t seem to know their rights.  They are required by federal law to allow disabled people to bring service dogs into their places of business.  They are not permitted under federal law to ask what kind of disability someone has or to ask for proof that someone is disabled.  They are not permitted to ask if a dog is certified as a service dog, since there is no official certification system for service dogs.  They may, however, ask if a dog is a service dog and they may ask what tasks the dog is trained to perform.  If a customer cannot or will not answer those questions, the business owner does not have to permit him to enter the establishment.

If a service dog behaves in a way that is disruptive to a business, the business owner is legally permitted to ask the handler to remove the dog from the premises.  Business owners rarely seem to do this, maybe because they are afraid they will be sued for discrimination or maybe because they think that legally they must allow a service dog to enter no matter how it behaves.  But this is not true.  If a dog is barking at customers or trying to eat food off tables or salad bars or anything inappropriate like that, they can legally be asked to leave.  And they should be.