Sunday, December 04, 2016

Forget Tweeter in Chief and Get to My Pet Peeve FAKE Service Dogs. By Geniusofdespair

Forget your future president for a minute and focus on my pet peeve: FAKE service dogs. Many People are going on line for  a $100+ fee and getting their dog designated a service dog. A REAL service dog has training specific to the person's disability.

Basic kit for Service Dog, $79, Complete kit for emotional dog $159 and Deluxe kit for therapy dog is $199. The first two get free passage on airlines. Emotional Dog doesn't do a task. Therapy dog goes to hospitals and nursing homes to comfort people

I see all these poodle type dogs in every establishment. They are ALL not service dogs. You don't need your friggin' dog at the grocery store for your emotional support. And most of you smell bad enough on the plane. I don't want to sit next to your smelly mutt and have it under my feet too unless it is a REAL service dog. We are all depressed and have anxiety,  but we don't all drag around a dog. Get a teddy bear or talk to some human people (they are lonely too) and you won't be so in need of rover every minute of every day. And do not be a faker just so you can take your dog on a plane for free or get your dog in a pet free condo (emotional support dog). Here is all it takes to get your dog designated for Emotional Support:

Yes in 3 minutes you can qualify for an emotional support dog.
I can't find the link where I got this but I thought it explained the FAKE Service Dog better than me:
"Faking makes lots of people angry for valid reasons. And now, in Florida, you can be convicted of a misdemeanor for pretending your pet is a service dog. Yep, you can even do jail time for it under Bill CS.HB 71! The bill states: " ...provides penalty for knowing & willful misrepresentation with respect to use or training of service animal."

The bill passed unanimously. Bipartisan agreement in this day and age is rare but the idea of fakers wandering about pretending their pets are service dogs is universally despised.
Why?
Because every time egocentrists (folks who don't understand any perspective other than their own) pretend a pet is a service dog, they endanger some of those long-sought and deserved protections for disabled people. It creates an atmosphere in which business people have to bend over backwards to accommodate fakers.
A. Under the ADA, a service animal is defined as a dog that has been individually trained to do work or perform tasks for an individual with a disability. The task(s) performed by the dog must be directly related to the person's disability. 

Are emotional support, therapy, comfort, or companion animals considered service animals under the ADA?

According to Florida Law only Service Dogs are allowed in public places:

CS/HB 71 Service Animals - Apparently both parties can agree on something -- The Vote: Senate 38-0; House 112-0

Prepared by: Commerce and Tourism Committee (CM)

The bill amends Florida’s law related to service animals and aligns it with similar provisions in the American with Disabilities Act and the Fair Housing Act. The bill redefines “service animal,” and for the purposes of public accommodation, limits the term to a dog or miniature horse. The bill amends the definition of public accommodation to include a timeshare that is a transient public lodging establishment, and exempts air carriers covered by the Air Carrier Access Act of 1986.

The bill requires a business to modify its policies to accommodate the use of a service animal by an individual with a disability. Although a business may not ask about the nature of an individual’s disability, it may ask if the service animal is required because of a disability and what tasks the service animal is trained to perform. A service animal must be on a leash or harness unless it would interfere with the service animal’s ability to perform the tasks it is trained to do, and it must be under the handler’s control. If an animal is not under the handler’s control, is not housebroken, or poses a threat, the business may request its removal. In addition to the criminal penalties in current law, the bill requires a business unlawfully denying or interfering with an individual’s right to use or train a service animal to perform 30 hours of community service with an organization that serves individuals with disabilities.

The bill creates a second-degree misdemeanor for a person who knowingly and willfully misrepresents that he or she is qualified to use a service animal or is a trainer of service animals. In addition to the criminal penalty, an individual in violation of this provision must also perform 30 hours of community service with an organization that serves individuals with disabilities.

Vote: Senate 38-0; House 112-0

On Facebook people are angry with me over this. Mainly because they don't acknowledge that FAKE is so bad.

9 comments:

youbetcha' said...

It is an abuse of those who need the service animals, to have FAKE certificates and equipment. Perhaps, producing and selling FAKE service animal items should be illegal as well.

Here's your link.

http://www.vin.com/vetzinsight/default.aspx?pid=756&catId=5861&id=7012008

Anonymous said...

if you can't get along without your puppy for a couple of hours to soothe your anxiety, maybe a mental hospital would help or a handful of Xanax.

Anonymous said...

Huge problem. Putting an animal in a shopping cart raises some serious contamination issues.

Anonymous said...

OH thank you so much for covering this topic. I can go on and on about having encounters in stores where people bring in fake service, support or therapy dogs.

Just the other day I was in Bed Bath and Beyond in Dadeland taking my elderly father who is sight impaired shopping. As we made it through the isle towards the back of the store this so called "service" dog with a "service dog" jacket, seated as his master was shopping about 10 feet away. The dog jumps up and comes right to us to sniff. My father, unsteady and walking with a cane, nearly falls back as he did not expect a dog to approach him. Had this truly been a service dog it would not have even moved.

Another time I was in Jo Ann Fabrics with my young son where we were looking for buttons for a shirt I was making him. Down the isle comes this lady with a small dog that was again a "service" dog of sorts on a leash. The little dog begins jumping at my son. I brought this to the store manager's attention and even wrote to Jo Ann corporate.

What did I get--a brush off. Most of these stores are afraid to inquire about dogs when these fakers come in with their pet to shop.

Even in Trader Joe's in Dadeland these folk come with their dogs and put them right in the shopping cart. One employee said they are afraid to inquire. What if the dog defecates in the store.

And to those who bashed you on Facebook - well its ignorance.

Anonymous said...

If the owner is going to work each day and leaving their dog at home, then it's a pretty good indicator that you have a person who is abusing the system...

Anonymous said...

Our HR department says were not allowed to even ask if their service dog or what is the owners disability it's some kind of a ADA violations.

Geniusofdespair said...

The Florida service animal bill does protect businesses:

It may ask if the service animal is required because of a disability and what tasks the service animal is trained to do.

Geniusofdespair said...

And...the law says: A service animal must be on a leash or harness unless it would interfere with the service animal’s ability to perform the tasks it is trained to do, (remember you are allowed to ask the task) and it must be under the handler’s control. If an animal is not under the handler’s control, is not housebroken, or poses a threat, the business may request its removal.

Unknown said...

Thank you, thank you, thank you! I'm so tired of these entitled douchebags (yes grandma, even YOU) I saw a guy with his dog SITTING ON THE TABLE outside of Whole Foods. You bet I said something! I always say something to the person or the manager but yes, the management just shrugs and says "They're allowed."
Thank you for saying what many want to! Can I share on Facebook?