Fake Service Dogs

[PIMking]

in the hotel business this sucks... You cant ask and you know some are not but cant say anything. That is until someone tried saying their therapy dog was a bull mastiff that loud and barked at everything.

Ma'am I need papers proving this is a therapy dog. "how dare you! you know that's illegal" well ma'am we have complaints of a small lion making a bunch of noise and I highly doubt a service animal would act like that.

well I don't have it! you're going to hear from my lawyers.

yup...

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Is it actually illegal to require some confirmation that the dog is a service dog beyond the owner's bald assertion? That seems crazy but I don't doubt you...

[Reaper]

Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague

There are many instances where a support animal is needed generally but is not specifically needed 24 hours a day 7 days a week. In other words, having your cat with you does not necessarily help you deal with the anxiety-inducing ordeal that is public transit.

If it actually IS necessary - i.e. if you're the sort of person whose anxiety disorder is so overwhelming that you can't leave the house without being overcome - and if you're further a part of what I assume is the rare subset of such people that having a cat or dog next to you makes all the difference to allow you to do so - sure. But if we're licensing people to have support animals or guide dogs (as BC is according to that story), surely we can make that assessment on a case by case basis.

Why would you think the assessments are not made on a case by case basis? It's not like they just rubber stamp all forms they receive in the mail.

[para transit fellow]

Originally Posted by Burninator

For Calgary Transit you can already bring a dog onto a bus or train. You have to pay a fare for the dog and keep it on a leash. Service dogs don't require a fare and you can bring other animals in a cage.

Um... I believe that has changed in the past year. Rover can travel with you for free on Calgary transit

[bc-chris]

this thread reminded me of a time my neighbour wanted to take her dog somewhere 'normal' dogs aren't permitted (i can't remember where). she brought her dog in and an employee notified her that dogs weren't permitted.

she replied by saying that she has epilepsy and he was trained to detect an upcoming seizure. i still remember her telling us that story thinking it was sooooo funny and how she 'got away with it'. i just stood there sorta dumb-founded trying to comprehend how she would even dream something like that up!

[Minnie]

Originally Posted by bc-chris

this thread reminded me of a time my neighbour wanted to take her dog somewhere 'normal' dogs aren't permitted (i can't remember where). she brought her dog in and an employee notified her that dogs weren't permitted.

she replied by saying that she has epilepsy and he was trained to detect an upcoming seizure. i still remember her telling us that story thinking it was sooooo funny and how she 'got away with it'. i just stood there sorta dumb-founded trying to comprehend how she would even dream something like that up!

This sort of thing, and the fake service dogs irritates me nearly beyond belief. It adds such an extra burden to the lives of people who legitimately need service animals and who need extra hassle added on top of everything else, like they need another hole in their head. Gah. Jerkasses.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Originally Posted by Reaper

Why would you think the assessments are not made on a case by case basis? It's not like they just rubber stamp all forms they receive in the mail.

My assumption is that any direction to obtain a an emotional support animal is based on it providing a benefit to the person in question's life. This does not take into account whether that person needs the animal to come with them on a plane. Further, in the case of support animals, is there any assessment done by any independent body? What the video is talking about is a regulatory agency... which is also what I'm talking about; the standards that any such agency should use for issuing licenses.

[CaptainYooh]

Pretty much anyone can obtain a license for an emotional support animal by obtaining a letter of recommendation from a psychiatrist or psychologist. And, as pointed out, fear of flying is an easy enough cause to ... misrepresent, if you will and a difficult enough cause to verify professionally. So, yes, those who really make an effort to get a "free pass" on a pet can get it. What's more, Canada recognizes those licenses issued by other countries where bureaucratic procedures are quite corrupt.

The problem is that those pets are not necessarily trained service animals and have a higher chance to behave unpredictably. One example: when a person goes to the washroom and leaves their pet on a seat unattended, which in turn becomes anxious. Another example: an untrained pet can misinterpret flight attendant's or another passenger's intentions when they're coming through or passing by close to an owner and may become overprotective.

This is where I think the licensing authority must draw the line there and insist that if an owner wants to have a pet accompanying her/him anywhere for support, the animal MUST go through the fully-certified training protocol, just like the real service dogs do.

[Ducay]

Real service dogs are great and a great help to those that need them (siezure, other detection dogs, seeing eye dogs, etc). I'm sure there are some good cases, but "Emotional support" dogs? What a bunch of crocks.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

^ It's absolutely proven that emotional support animals are an effective therapeutic tool to address real and serious health conditions. Your amateur opinion is irrelevant.

[CedarMeter]

You got to be some kind of a dead beat to try to pull something like this off.

[Burninator]

Originally Posted by para transit fellow

Um... I believe that has changed in the past year. Rover can travel with you for free on Calgary transit

The bylaw wasn't clear. It said service dogs were free, implying that other dogs had to have a fare. But good to know!

[RedHot25]

FYI, here is Gov of AB's page on Service Dogs: http://humanservices.alberta.ca/disa...vice-dogs.html

[Cuz]

Originally Posted by para transit fellow

Um... I believe that has changed in the past year. Rover can travel with you for free on Calgary transit

Originally Posted by Burninator

The bylaw wasn't clear. It said service dogs were free, implying that other dogs had to have a fare. But good to know!

As a transit operator, I can tell you with 100% certainty that dogs are indeed free. The policy changed during the summer of 2012 (dogs required a fare before this, with service dogs being exempt) and the only stipulation is the dog must be on a leash and well behaved.

[chemgear]

Disgusting people.

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-31646970

Canine Companions for Independence say the situation is threatening the ability of genuine owners to exercise their rights of access under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Erin, who preferred not to give her full name, lives with her boyfriend and their dog, Bo, in Los Angeles.

She went online to buy a service vest for her pooch, because she wanted to avoid the fees charged by airlines for non-service animals - in the region of $90-$150 (£60-£100) to fly, one-way. Unlike working animals, they must be restrained in a container for the entire flight.

Erin, who is not disabled, travels everywhere with Bo because she says she can not bear to leave him home alone.

"I just love him so much, it's crazy," she says.

For $150, she purchased from a website a vest and certificate, stating that Bo is a full service dog.

She says she feels guilty about cheating the system, but adds that she has a number of friends who behave in the same way.

"It concerns me when there are four dogs on a flight, and I know that mine isn't fully certified," she says. "I know he's fine but I don't know if some other dog is going to freak out."

Another area of concern is people flying with animals that they falsely claim they need for emotional support.

Still, she says, "I know more faux emotional support dogs than real ones," says Dunbar.

[Incogneto]

Comedian Adam Carolla has been railing on about this for the past 2-3 years. As a comedian, he flies almost every weekend, and has recently said there are more flights with multiple dogs than flights that are dogless.

The people that are doing this because 'she can not bear to leave him home alone' need to stop this immediately.

[octothorp]

Idea for a movie:
someone with multiple serious anxieties including flying and fur successfully applies to have pet snake designated as emotional support animal. Goes on transatlantic flight. Passenger in next seat played by Samuel L Jackson.

[Yasa]

Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague

My assumption is that any direction to obtain a an emotional support animal is based on it providing a benefit to the person in question's life. This does not take into account whether that person needs the animal to come with them on a plane. Further, in the case of support animals, is there any assessment done by any independent body? What the video is talking about is a regulatory agency... which is also what I'm talking about; the standards that any such agency should use for issuing licenses.

I'm not sure I understand your argument. Are you saying that there should be classifications of support animal licenses, allowing some the ability to go on public transport and others to not be, based on the level of support needed for their owners?