To date, there is no specific government-issued documentation that certifies service animals. Because of such ambiguity in the ADA, businesses are offering identifying items such as vests and collars to help owners of legitimate service animals access places where pets are normally not allowed.
In order for an establishment to know whether a dog is a service animal or not (and only posing as one), that establishment is only allowed to ask two questions to the animal owner:
- Is this animal required because of a disability?
- What task is this animal trained to perform?
Chris Kreiger president of WNY Heroes, a support group for veterans, mentions that while some people are taking advantage of paraphernalia to make a false claim that their pets are service animals when they’re really not, animal gear can still serve useful for real service animal owners.
However, remember that animal gear can help shortcut uncomfortable conversations with business owners but it does not give an animal its status. Kreiger states that he hopes that the government “tightens up” the law to eliminate fake service animals.
Article source: Wivb.com
Are you an owner of an assistance animal?
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 text or image below.
