Quote:
Originally Posted by Ruffus
Hey TT
Service dogs are suppose to be vested and ID'ed and a real trained service animal would not be peeing on plants in a store or up on a counter sniffing the meat. The problem here is that people can go on line and register their animal for fifty dollars as a service animal because of the way the ADA is written. The other problem and really the biggest problem is that the people at the stores and restaurants and other establishments are not trained or do not know the law because they have never taken the time to read it and are scared that if they refuse a person and their dog they will be chastised in the news or even lose their job. It's really a shame that our law makers did not research what they were writing when they passed the law. Those of us that need them appreciate what was done for us and but the law needs some fine tuning because human nature is that if someone can take advantage of a law and save a dollar they are going to try.
A disabled Vet's point of view.
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I think owners of service dogs need to be careful of what they wish for. In my conversations with lawmakers about the ADA regarding service dogs, the language is left open and rather vague for a reason - to give deference to those with disabilities that require a service dog and not cause them a hard time. If the law were written with a hundred qualifiers before you could use your dog then it would become so onerous to try to take it with you that you couldn't, or wouldn't, and those that didn't want that animal with you could make your life miserable trying to prove the law allowed you to have it. That is what the law is trying to avoid to my understanding.
In my earlier post I mentioned that the business owners just asking the 2 questions allowed by the ADA would deter a lot of abusers and I think you agree. Personally, I don't think more laws trying to complicate the use of a service dog are required. I do think that if it is an issue for a business owner they should learn the law and ask the questions.
As far as the IDs and vests; one poster said it was a dead giveaway that they were "fake". That's not true. The animal should have the vest and ID anytime it is "working". My dog knows the vest and she's trained to know it means she's working in public. And yes, any dog that pees on flowers, raises up on counters, runs all over the place or anything else like that IS NOT a service dog. YMMV