The idea that some pet owners are falsely passing off their pets as service animals is maddening to those who have tried to gain greater acceptance for pets who assist their human owners.
Dog trainer and behavioral therapist Ann Heathman owns Bark Busters. She trains dogs for the deaf, veterans with PTSD, and people with mobility issues.
“These people and their dogs go through 6-8 months of training, 160 hours of public access practice, and must pass several tests along the way before they can be certified,” Heathman said.
Service dogs fly with their owners, are welcomed in restaurants and are not charged additional fees in hotels.
She said she finds it frustrating that people can purchase a vest and expect the same privileges for their pet.
Stonecrest resident Howard Moon, founder of the Marion County Disability Alliance and long–time advocate for those with disabilities, worked for several years for the passage of service animal legislation. Part of the law deals with fake service dogs, however the main thrust of the law was to bring Florida in line with the federal law which allows service animals for all disabilities and limits the service animals to dogs and miniature horses. Previously, Florida law limited service animals to the visually and hearing impaired but did not limit the type of animal.
Although there are stated penalties for misrepresenting your pet as a service dog, Moon said he doesn’t for see anyone actually being cited for violating the law.
How is a proprietor to know whether he is dealing with a legitimate service dog? It is hard to tell as Moon points out. Proprietors can only ask two questions. Is it a service animal? What service does it provide?
There are different types of training for service animals. The training for a Medical Alert dog is much less intense and can be done on your own as Moon did with his service dog, Maggie. With either of these trainings a legitimate service dog is trained not to react in certain situations.
Heathman sees this as one of the hazards of the fake service dogs. Because of a lack of training pets can be aggressive and inappropriate in given situations.
Heathman definitely sees the fake service dogs as a growing trend. She thinks a state registry agency would be a good solution.