Pet Owners Who Skirt Rules With Fake Service Dogs Are Committing Fraud

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Service dog with owner

They’re the ire of legitimate service dog owners and they’re also guilty of fraud.

They’re pet owners who pass their animals off as service dogs by using phony credentials which in turn allows their pets to live in restricted housing, accompany them inside restaurants and hotels or fly for free in airplane cabins rather than in cargo holds

“I don’t want to say it’s a scam, but it is a scam,” said Nick Kutsukos, 72, who runs Elite K9 Academy in Jupiter, Fla., and has trained service dogs for 40 years.

People who fake a disability and/or pretend their pet is a service animal risk at least a fine or, in extreme cases, federal fraud charges.

And getting certification is as easy as filling out a form online, sending in your money and perhaps a photograph of your dog. For anywhere from $20 to $300, an owner gets a specially marked dog vest or collar, dog identification tags or ID cards, a certificate, training DVDs, information CDs and other official-looking items.

But none of it is actually required by law.

“There is no certification required, so there’s no such thing as a legitimate (document),” said Toni Eames, president of the Michigan-based International Association of Assistance Dog Partners, who is also blind and has her own guide dog.
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Given the time and money invested in training service dogs, disabled users and trainers are angered by those who buy or sell worthless service-dog items online for impostor pets. These fake certifications can make it difficult for people with legitimate service dogs to do certain things. A restaurant manager, for example, might think twice about allowing a legitimate service dog inside because of a bad experience with a fake service dog that barked or misbehaved.

The best way to tell if a service dog is legitimate is to observe its behavior, authorities say. Service dogs won’t appear restless or jump or bark. They will obey the disabled owner’s commands, perform tasks and lie down passively where instructed.

The U.S. Department of Justice last month amended guidelines to narrow the definition of service animals to dogs that are trained to perform specific tasks related to the owner’s proven disability.

Jose Lopez of The Lighthouse of Broward, Florida, who has his own guide dog and who is also a consultant for guide-dog training schools, sums up this unfortunate situation this way: “If you portray yourself as disabled, or your pet as a service animal, the minute you go out in public you’re committing a crime. It’s felony fraud.”

Story By Elaine Furst For Dog Files

Chris

I don’t see why there can’t be a national registry. I know one guy who bought a vest online for his dog and takes him everywhere. Malls, restaurants, hotels, etc. He even got into a heated discussion regarding his dog after a security guard asked him to remove his pet from a soccer game. This person has no disabilities.
Sgt Family

Be careful when you say that…there are service dogs and companion dogs for psychological disabilities too, which are not always visible!
Janette Hamilton

Personally I think people who try to pass off the family dog as a service dog really have no respect for the disabled or their amazing dogs. It takes a vast amount of time and patience to train a service dog, they are highly intelligent animals that perform a great service to society, That having been said perhaps if restrictions of access for dogs were not so limited people would not feel the need to do this.
Special Education teacher

I’m training my dog to be a therapy dog and have purchased her a vest to wear, but my dogs vest clearly states “Therapy Dog IN-TRAINING.” She has to be allowed into places to get use to being inside buildings and walking on the slippery floors. Our house is 90% carpet. It’s part of her training and it’s part of her learning right from wrong. Yet, she makes mistakes occasionally. I always correct her and make her do the right thing. I’m also a special education teacher so I would in no way ever want it to seem like we are trying to be fraudulent or hurt people with disabilities, but I’m sure some people would see it as that. My intent is to have my dog help people with disabilities when training is completed, not to make an excuse to have my dog with me. I love having her with me, but not at the cost of our team and hard work ruined. Please be careful not to group or judge situations all as one thing without knowing each and every persons story.
Dakotagirl403

Special Education Teacher, I totally agree. I to have a 8 month old Therapy Dog In Training and he is also deaf. He wears a vest that reads “please ask before petting” and “dog in training” and a band that says “Nitro – Deaf Dog”..I still have people in public rush up to pet him even with his vest on. Since he is training for his CGC Certification and he is in a level 4 training, he knows when he wears a vest it is time to be serious and work. I have been to events where security has asked me if he is a service dog in training and I clearly state no he is a Therapy dog in training and I never enter under false pretense. Also my dog is in training 5 days per week and goes out 4 days a week into the public arena. We only take him to restaurants that welcome all dogs (outside seating area) and he lays under the table and does not move. I’m lucky because my dog is in the media often and everyone knows what he is training for but I have seen dogs with wearing choke collars (wearing a service vest) who behave badly and you have to wonder what thier owners are thinking. Everyone should be very careful not to judge.
Shelter Diaries

A large part of what sets a “service dog in training” apart from a “service dog imposter” with many people is, honestly, the behavior of its handler. I share a lot of the same frustrations (trying to prepare a dog to begin SaR training), but respect for others is at the heart of every service that a dog performs, and most legit handlers I’ve seen reflect that. A lot of places that allow service dogs do not permit service dogs in training, however, and it’s just part of the whole package deal to handle those situations with grace, dignity and friendliness. Besides, it sets a good example for the dog.

^ Note to Special Education Teacher, above: The best place I’ve found to socialize my dog indoors thus far has been Bass Pro Shops. There are a ton of unusual new stimulii (wood, tile and concrete floors, elevators in some stores, duck ponds and fountains, open stairways, and all sorts of vehicles), and the staff are exceptionally dog-friendly and encouraging.
Cjustpeachie

THAT’S PRETTY SAD!!
Caninescando

If a store is not selling open food items I have no problem with people shopping with their dogs as long as they are well-behaved. Many cities have a relaxed attitude toward this practice like Boston, NYC, and LA. More access is a good thing. But people lying and dressing their dogs up in vests to gain special access is just plain wrong. Be careful though, some disabilities are psychological, or related to epilepsy, so don’t be too quick to judge. And if you are injured or recovering in a hospital and are visited by a therapy dog, remember that his owner put in many hours to train him, including public visits, so that he could be well-behaved when visiting you!
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abslutely agree with you!!!!
Georgievegas

By law a service/companion dog doesn’t have to wear a vest. A service/companion dog owner, should only be ask “Are you disabiled & is that a serviceand/or companion dog”. The answer to both question is “should be Yes”. The way the owner & the dog behaves should tell you the answer. As posted in the above statements, You can’t always tell what a person’s disabilities are just by looking at them, shouldn’t judge. Shouldn’t leave notes or make nasty statements about someone’s conditions, when you have no idea what that person is going through.
Kathryn

National registrys, special training, public tests? Nonsense! You don’t see people rushing to suggest the same for kids. My service dog has been in many grocery stores with open food stock and not once did she put her paw in a bulk food basket or sneeze and cough on the offerings at the olive bar. As usual, the actions of few have brought on miseries to the many. Many of the businesses that complained to the DOJ did so because they and/or their employees did not “see” any diability and therefore decided that the person was not diabled and was passing their pet off as a service animal. Many of us do not have visible disabilites. And, yes, some of us react negatively to questions because we have had bad experiences with other shops and the ignorance of the employees.

The answer to this problem is education. Businesses, their employees and service animal owners/handlers need to know their rights and responsibilities regarding service animals. Businesses can ask 2 questions: 1) Is this a service animal?; and 2) What task(s) does it perform? Each business should ask (in a non-accusory tone) these questions of anyone who enters the establishment with a service animal. If the owner/handler of the service animal gets upset, tough! The owner/handler is financially responsible for any damage caused by the service animal. A business can ask an owner/handler to remove any animal that becomes aggressive or is out of the owner’s control. This is a matter of public safety and not discrimination. So there are limitations regarding service animals.

While there are people out there who take advantage, the overwhelming majority of animals are undoubtly service animals. And while the DOJ has revised the definition of a service animal, I suspect they will again revise the law again to accomodate the disabled who use non-traditional service animals such as cats, parrots, monkeys etc..
Z3nyatta

According to the law, your therapy dog does not “have to be allowed into places”. Therapy dogs do not have the same access rights as assistance dogs and must have permission before they can legally be allowed in any public place.
MsTazzy2000

I have a service dog in training who wears a head halter ,he used to pull me in the wheelchair when i broke my ankle .So if i dont put it on he thinks he has to pull me . Also i dont look like i need a service dog , but i Have hipdisplaysa ,fibromyalga, backproblems , asthma . So on the outside i dont look like i need help .But there is more then once he saved my life. And i have people say bad things to me and i am very sad that they dont ask before they juge me .
http://frankiethelawdog.com/ Digitaldarling

Lifted any good articles from the Miami Herald lately?

Apr 25, 2011Comments: 14

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