It seems like it’s becoming more rampant these days that pet owners pretend their dogs are service animals.

The A Bill H 3657, which was filed by Rep. Kimberly Ferguson, will give a civil infraction for people who lie about their dogs to be service animals to get special treatment.

“This is a bill about fraud,” said Ferguson. For the first offense, violators could be fined up to $500 and/or do 30 hours of community service for an organization related to people with disabilities, while a harsher penalty will be imposed succeeding offenses.

Training will be done by the Massachusetts Office on Disability to better equip police officers and animal control personnel in catching violators.

So far, almost half of the 200-seat Legislature has expressed their support for the bill.

Article source: Bostonherald.com

Do you own an assistance animal? Register your pet. 

The Service Animal Registry of California invites you to have your assistance animal registered in order to designate its status. We also encourage you to take our online classes so you can be fully aware of your rights and gain more knowledge about your support animal.

Finally, we present to you our book entitled, “ASSISTANCE ANIMAL LAWS: LEARN YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING SERVICE ANIMALS, EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMALS, THERAPY PETS, AND OTHER DOGS, CATS, AND ASSISTANCE ANIMALS” to provide you with a complete education on assistance animals.

Purchase your copy of the book by clicking the image below.