FAUX PAWS - Fraudulent Service Animals

By Renee Michaels

Due to the lack of education within businesses combined with the ease of access to service animal gear and fake IDs and documents, I see way more people misrepresenting their pets as service animals than I do legitimate service animals.

In this article I will be giving a brief overview on this sensitive topic but will go into more details in the following articles.

Know The Law
Before I get into why it’s a problem for legitimate handlers let’s talk about the legalities of misrepresenting a service animal. Service animals are protected under Federal Law; therefore most states currently have laws in place or are working on passing bills that make the use of fraudulent service animals illegal. Depending on the State, penalties can range from fines to imprisonment.

False Claims Are Damaging
People who falsely claim their pets as service animals are not only inconveniencing others who have to put up with their (usually) untrained and misbehaving animal, they are (even worse) creating problems for legitimate service animal handlers by poisoning the minds and attitudes towards us and we face discrimination because of it.

The general public is not educated enough to know the difference, so they assume if the handler doesn’t look disabled then they are clearly faking it. Most disabilities are invisible.

Businesses do not understand their own rights under the ADA Law as it pertains to service animals. They will either refuse all animals, causing access issues for legitimate handlers, which is illegal OR because many businesses have had to pay a hefty fine for denying access to a service animal, they choose to do nothing for fear of being sued.

Dangerous
In my previous article I explained the importance of not distracting a service animal. Pets in non pet-friendly places can be a huge distraction.

These distractions range from untrained pets barking or lunging at service animals to actual physical altercations.

I know several handlers who have had to retire their service animals early due to being attacked by a pet in places that pets shouldn’t be. There have also been incidences of service animals being killed by pets while in a non pet-friendly store.

Keep in mind that service animals can cost thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours of training so losing their animal, whether due to forced retirement or worse, is devastating to a handler who depends on their animal for safety and/or survival.

More Than Inconsiderate
Many handlers fear being denied access because of their service animals or that their animals might be harmed. As a result they may choose to stay home and not live the life that having their animals affords them.

The Takeaway
There are safe and fun options for those who don’t want leave their pets at home. A simple Google search will list businesses that are Pet-Friendly, you might be surprised how many there are.

Perhaps your pup would enjoy a day or two at Doggy Camp or Doggy Daycare. There are some wonderful programs available. Getting involved in low pressure Dog Sports, such as Agility or FastCAT would be a fun option OR a simple walk through the park on a nice day would be enjoyable.

There are a multitude of things pets would enjoy doing with you a lot more than going to that big box store.

To Learn More About Renee Click Here
To Listen to Renee's Podcast Click Here