[Cagdu] Fwd: [nagdu] Fake' Service Dog Certificates Being Used So Owners Can Take Pets To Restaurants, Clubs

[tina thomas]

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Begin forwarded message:

> From: "Ginger Kutsch" <GingerKutsch at yahoo.com>
> Date: August 6, 2013, 7:24:37 AM PDT
> To: "NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users" <nagdu at nfbnet.org>, "New Jersey Association of Guide Dog Users" <njagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: [nagdu] Fake' Service Dog Certificates Being Used So Owners Can Take Pets To Restaurants, Clubs
> Reply-To: "NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users" <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> 
> Fake' Service Dog Certificates Being Used So Owners Can Take Pets To
> Restaurants, Clubs 
> 
> The Huffington Post  
> 
> By Eleanor Goldberg Posted: 08/05/2013 
> 
> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/05/fake-service-dog-certificates_n_370
> 9720.html
> 
> According to the New York Post, a growing number of dog owners in New York
> City are buying bogus service vests and certificates for their pooches so
> that they can bring their pets everywhere with them. 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Instead of tying up their pooches to a lamppost, a growing number of New
> Yorkers are obtaining fake service dogs certificates so that they can take
> their pets with them wherever they go, the New York Post reports.
> 
> 
> 
> In an exclusive story, the Post shared a number of accounts of candid dog
> owners in New York City who have simply bought bogus patches, vests and
> certificates that look like the real thing, slapped them on their dogs and
> now head off together pretty much anywhere they want to go without any
> trouble. Some say they do it for the convenience of it, others say it helps
> them with their dating prospects. 
> 
> 
> 
> "He's been to most movie theaters in the city, more nightclubs than most of
> my friends," Brett David, 33, a restaurateur told the Post of his Maltese
> Yorkie."I don't care who you are, a teacup Yorkie will trump a black
> [American Express] card when you're trying to pick up a girl."
> 
> 
> 
> Legally, in order for a dog to qualify as a service animal, the owner must
> have a documented disability defined under the Americans with Disabilities
> Act, the dog must be trained to help its handler with the disability and the
> service animal can't disrupt its environment, according to Petpartners.org.
> However, the ADA doesn't require service animals to be officially certified,
> which is likely part of why there isn't enough oversight. 
> 
> 
> 
> "Currently, these companies aren't breaking any laws," Becky Barnes, former
> president of Guide Dogs Users, Inc. told Cesar's Way, a website run by the
> famed "Dog Whisperer." "With service dogs there doesn't seem to be a white
> and black area but a huge gray area. Discussions have begun to make it a
> misdemeanor to misrepresent your dog as a service dog. Unfortunately, it is
> being taken as seriously as pirating music."
> 
> 
> 
> Another issue that's beginning to now cause problems for people who actually
> need service dogs is that establishments are not permitted to ask people to
> show proof of a disability, or that their animal is certified, according to
> Service Dogs America. 
> 
> 
> 
> But now that more people are claiming to need service dogs, people with
> actual disabilities are being questioned more by frustrated store owners,
> according to Cesar's Way.
> 
> 
> 
> The other concerning problem is that dogs that are not trained to sit
> patiently indoors may disturb the service dogs and affect the way they help
> their owners. 
> 
> 
> 
> "People don't realize that if the dog misbehaves in any way," Toni Eames,
> blind president of the International Association of Assistance Dog Partners,
> told the Post, "if it isn't clean, barks or is overly friendly and jumps on
> people -- that it aggravates other dogs and disrupts the way they do
> service."
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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