A woman walks into McDonald's with her pet kangaroo. . . . But this is no joke. People are trying to pass off pets as service animals. The pretense upsets folks with genuine needs. Now lawmakers in several states are considering laws to change that.
Governments in Maine, Virginia, Arizona, Hawaii, and New York—plus Puerto Rico—may pass new bills. The bills would recommend service animal certificates. They could also penalize people who falsely claim to have service animals.
Here's the problem: Dog owners don’t need proof of the animal’s status as a service dog in public places. Dishonest people can sneak a pampered poodle into a restaurant by lying. They simply claim Fifi is a service dog.
Adding to the confusion are emotional support animals—pets that provide comfort but lack service dog training. An emotional support animal can be any kind of pet approved by a doctor. Public establishments do not have to allow them. But they must accommodate service dogs.
In many cases, people simply misunderstand the difference between a service animal and an emotional support animal. In some cases, people are being sneaky.
Animal impostors pose a problem. People fear legal action for not allowing a pet, says Donna Hodges, an apartment manager.
Hodges recalled a prospective tenant with a rowdy pit bull. The dog owner waved a certificate and called his animal a service dog. But she knew service dogs didn’t have certificates. She also knew the dog was a fake because it was so badly behaved.
Sean McDonough has a brain injury. His goldendoodle Bruno is a trained service dog. Bruno distracts McDonough from stress by pressing against him. McDonough has noticed others becoming increasingly suspicious of Bruno.
Security officers at a courthouse experienced a run-in with a fake service dog, so recently they tried to keep Bruno out, says McDonough. "The court people treated me badly because of what other people had done," he claims.
Experts suggest ways to weed out fakers. They say lawmakers could issue owners a verification card. Or they could give out an official patch for an animal’s vest.
It’s fallen human nature to try to break rules. People claim service animal status for everything from pigs and turkeys to llamas and snakes. That creates serious problems for disabled people.
Under federal law, dogs are one of only two animals recognized as service animals. What’s the other? A miniature horse may legally substitute for a service dog. But that's it. Kangaroos need not apply.
