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Service dog loophole exploited

The Spectator - 4/3/2019

April 03-- Apr. 3--WELLSVILLE -- Local service animal owners are blowing the whistle on companies they allege are taking advantage of people with disabilities.

The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), which governs the use of service and emotional support animals in the United States since 1990, has faced several challenges, as more and more people rely on animals for physical, developmental and emotional conditions.

Several companies offer "emotional support and service animal starter kits" that offer non-ADA accreditation for animals without verification of obedience course or additional training.

Mary, a Wellsville resident who has had a service dog for three years, says that these companies are exploiting people with disabilities, and hoped to warn the public of companies that certify dogs without any follow-through on training. After confronting one company offering such a service, Mary says she was told "It's up to the owners to follow through."

The companies offering questionable credentialing came to her attention after seeing an allegedly certified dog snarling at someone.

"The dog isn't supposed to be aggressive at all, or pull on the leash. It couldn't follow basic commands," she described. "It didn't show any kind of obedience."

She fears that dogs with less than upright credentials endanger everyone, including handlers who think they're getting a real service dog, the general public who may be confronted by unruly animals, the businesses that allow them inside, and the very credibility or real service animals.

"If an animal doesn't meet ADA definitions, then it's not legitimate," she said. "Because of illegitimate sites like this, nobody wants to believe that actual service dogs are real."

As a result, Mary finds herself forced to carry her dog's credentials everywhere she goes to defend herself when bombarded by questions and accusations asserting that her dog is not legitimate.

While there are many requirements for what a service animal must be able to do to be service or emotional support animals, there is no guidance in the Americans With Disabilities Act to define who may or may not act as a certifying agency for the animals.

Service animals may either be dogs or miniature horses, according to the most recent version of the law, amended in 2018. Animals must be on a leash or tether, or the handler must maintain control of the animal through voice, signal, or other effective controls, according to language in the ADA.

"Service animals are defined as dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities. Examples of such work or tasks include guiding people who are blind, alerting people who are deaf, pulling a wheelchair, alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure, reminding a person with mental illness to take prescribed medications, calming a person with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) during an anxiety attack, or performing other duties. Service animals are working animals, not pets. The work or task a dog has been trained to provide must be directly related to the person's disability. Dogs whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support do not qualify as service animals under the ADA."

However, states may have more or less restrictive laws. New York continues to use the ADA as the gold standard, while states like California and Washington have looser standards.

According to the New York State Attorney General's Office, the ADA defines a service animal as any dog that is trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric or other mental disability.

"Dogs that satisfy this definition are considered service animals under the ADA regardless of whether they have been licensed or certified by a state or local government, or any other entity."

This is where most companies find a loophole to operate under, and offer their "no-fuss" starter kits.

Some states have since moved to state certification systems to curb the behavior, but not all. Several reputable non-profit organizations have also stepped in to provide services.

The US Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, Disability Rights Section is the federal administrator of ADA, and more can be learned about service animal best practices by visiting their frequently asked questions page.

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(c)2019 The Evening Tribune, Hornell, N.Y.

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