Fake Service Dogs

Gardenlover

Gardenlover

Bedazzled Member
Location
Missouri & SWFL
A while back we went to a BBQ place for dinner with four friends, one of whom is allergic to dogs.

Before ordering our food, two teenage girls came into the restaurant, one with a dog in her purse (or appeared to be a purse) the other one had a chocolate lab on a leash. Neither dog had the service vest, but I guess that is not a requirement.

Our friend stated that he was allergic to dogs and that we'd need to leave. The guy running the BBQ place asked the young women if the dogs were service dogs. One of them laughed and said, "Their service dogs in training."

We left, but it made me wonder if this legitimate practice is being abused.
 

Yes, it's becoming common practice for people to take their lap dogs with them everywhere. They buy "service dog" vests for them, that are readily available. My husband was flying home from a job recently and encountered three different women with "service" lap dogs on planes. When asked what "service" they performed, he was told they are for anxiety, to calm nerves. Sure...whatever.
This abuse is multiplying everywhere and may curtail the rights of people who need actual service dogs.
The fake service dogs aren't confined to small dogs, either. Some people are trying to take large dogs, like Labs and German Shepards, everywhere they go. Not just pet store, either.
your-pet-bulter.jpg
 

The "Service Dog" issue is interesting. In the city where I live (in CA) "real" service dogs are permitted everywhere. But people were abusing the law & bringing their pets everywhere, claiming they were "service" dogs. A law was passed recently that requires a permit, signed by a doctor to allow dogs in restaurants, etc.
The law is different from city to city. A restaurant in a nearby city allows all dogs in the outside patio, but inside the restaurant, only service dogs.

Re: "Service dogs in training." Here that would require not only a permit but the dog would also be wearing a vest that says, "Service Dog in Training; Do Not Pet."
 
Just yesterday, at a sporting good store, we seen a couple, with a grade school age boy and a medium size dog. The husband was in a wheelchair and the dog's leash was tied to it. Nothing on the dog stating Service or Training.

Have seen people in Walmart with small dogs in their shopping basket walking around care-free.

What I'd like to see is, someone take a dog into Macy's, Norstroms or any other high-end department store. But, people are smart and won't take that chance of an employee or manager encountering them about the dog.

There was an online article about how airlines now are encountering passengers that try to bring a chicken, duck or other animal onboard stating that the pet is a service animal.
 
Duster said:
Yes, it's becoming common practice for people to take their lap dogs with them everywhere. They buy "service dog" vests for them, that are readily available. My husband was flying home from a job recently and encountered three different women with "service" lap dogs on planes. When asked what "service" they performed, he was told they are for anxiety, to calm nerves. Sure...whatever.
This abuse is multiplying everywhere and may curtail the rights of people who need actual service dogs.
The fake service dogs aren't confined to small dogs, either. Some people are trying to take large dogs, like Labs and German Shepards, everywhere they go. Not just pet store, either.
View attachment 89391
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Those would not have been "service dogs" in any case. Those would be "emotional support dogs." Totally different. A service dog must be trained to perform tasks,an emotional support dog is just there to,well,emotionally support. Those dogs can be disallowed in establishments.
 
ClassicRockr said:
There was an online article about how airlines now are encountering passengers that try to bring a chicken, duck or other animal onboard stating that the pet is a service animal.
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Yes, they try everything! ....

Popeyes suggests this to people instead ... 🤣🤣
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Two men were walking down the street, one with a German Shepard and the other with a Dachshund. They passed a bar and the man with the German Shepard said, "Let's get a beer". The other man said, "They won't serve us with these dogs", and the man with the German Shepard said, "Watch this". He put on a pair of dark glasses and walked into the bar with his German Shepherd. The bartender said, "You can't be in here with a dog. Get out.", and the man with the German Shepherd said, "This is my seeing eye dog". The bartender said, "Well, okay then. What will you have?"

The man with the Dachshund saw this and thought, "Oh well. I'll give it a try" so he put on a pair of sun glasses and went into the bar with his Dachshund. Again the bartender said, "You can't bring a dog in here. Please get out". The man said, "but this is my seeing eye dog". The bartender looked at the dog and said, "but that is a Dachshund". The man said incredulously, "They gave me a Dachshund?!"
 
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The U.S. Department of Transportation has proposed a new rule to allow airlines to ban allowing emotional support animals onboard. Service animals with the proper credentials would still be welcomed aboard.

The most unusual emotional support animal that I ever encountered was in New York and a woman had tried to bring her parrot onboard. The gate agent wouldn’t allow her to board.
 
oldman said:
The U.S. Department of Transportation has proposed a new rule to allow airlines to ban allowing emotional support animals onboard. Service animals with the proper credentials would still be welcomed aboard.

The most unusual emotional support animal that I ever encountered was in New York and a woman had tried to bring her parrot onboard. The gate agent wouldn’t allow her to board.
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They wouldn't allow her to bring her parrot? That's strange; they allowed me to board with my pet:

King cobra, the longest venomous snake in the world
 
Next time I fly, I'm going to spray my over-sized carry-on with adhesive, throw a lot of dryer lint on it and claim that it's my Emotional Support Suitcase and that it eases my anxiety that my baggage isn't going to end up in Afghanistan. I mean...….it's going to make me feel much better to have it with me at all times.

A friend of my niece's has a huge "service dog" that she MUST have with her everywhere for "anxiety". She'll interview for a job, not mention the dog and then show up the first day with the dog in tow. For "some" reason, she never seems to make it past her 90-day probation period. Recently she wanted to fly to my niece's city and stay with her in order to attend a big party. My niece said OK BUT NO DOG! Amazingly, her anxiety was temporarily put on hold long enough to put the dog in a boarding kennel and fly across the country to attend the party. By the way, you don't board service dogs in kennels; there's a whole network of service dog trainers who will take care of your "real" service dog if needed.
 
oldman said:
The U.S. Department of Transportation has proposed a new rule to allow airlines to ban allowing emotional support animals onboard. Service animals with the proper credentials would still be welcomed aboard.

The most unusual emotional support animal that I ever encountered was in New York and a woman had tried to bring her parrot onboard. The gate agent wouldn’t allow her to board.
Click to expand...

There was quite a kerfuffle last year here at the Orlando airport when a woman tried to board with her "service squirrel" in her arms. The airlines won't accept squirrels, hamsters, gerbils, guinea pigs, etc. because if they get loose, they can slip into small openings and possibly chew wires, cables, etc. She refused to leave and was taken off by the police.

And there was the woman with the "emotional support peacock". Of course, that was just a stunt to further interest in her website, that features nude people posing with the peacock.
 
Gardenlover said:
We left, but it made me wonder if this legitimate practice is being abused
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I think it's absolutely being abused, and should be stopped. I hear a lot of bad stories about planes being loaded with dogs who are not trained and in no way service animals, allegedly 'companion' dogs, something else which seems to be greatly abused these days.

I am an animal lover, currently have a dog and cat, both who I love to pieces. It would be great for me to take my friendly Labradoodle everywhere I go, but that's not a good idea, that's not considerate of everyone present, especially in a restaurant. I personally love to see dogs in supermarkets, big box stores, etc. If they're cute and friendly I'll often give them a pet and coochie-coo them. But, I'm not allergic to dogs and have no real fear of them unless they are aggressive guard dogs.

I have the ultimate respect for those people who have disabilities and have true, trained service dogs. It is a disservice to them to have these other dogs, often unruly, nearby to cause a disturbance and perhaps approach the service dog of a blind or crippled person, threatening a possible dog fight in some cases, I imagine.
 
Ken N Tx said:
Marley the Service Dog.
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https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=477261602943254
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Now that is just fine, thanks for posting. There are also service dogs who assist with those who have epileptic seizures. Also, if one of our military troops comes home after war with PTSD, then allowing them to have a service dog that is trained to support them emotionally is fine by me too.
 


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