<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto"><div><br><br>Sent from my iPhone</div><div><br>Begin forwarded message:<br><br></div><blockquote type="cite"><div><b>From:</b> "Ginger Kutsch" <<a href="mailto:GingerKutsch@yahoo.com">GingerKutsch@yahoo.com</a>><br><b>Date:</b> August 6, 2013, 7:24:37 AM PDT<br><b>To:</b> "NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users" <<a href="mailto:nagdu@nfbnet.org">nagdu@nfbnet.org</a>>, "New Jersey Association of Guide Dog Users" <<a href="mailto:njagdu@nfbnet.org">njagdu@nfbnet.org</a>><br><b>Subject:</b> <b>[nagdu] Fake' Service Dog Certificates Being Used So Owners Can Take Pets To Restaurants, Clubs</b><br><b>Reply-To:</b> "NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users" <<a href="mailto:nagdu@nfbnet.org">nagdu@nfbnet.org</a>><br><br></div></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><div><span>Fake' Service Dog Certificates Being Used So Owners Can Take Pets To</span><br><span>Restaurants, Clubs </span><br><span></span><br><span>The Huffington Post </span><br><span></span><br><span>By Eleanor Goldberg Posted: 08/05/2013 </span><br><span></span><br><span><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/05/fake-service-dog-certificates_n_370">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/05/fake-service-dog-certificates_n_370</a></span><br><span>9720.html</span><br><span></span><br><span>According to the New York Post, a growing number of dog owners in New York</span><br><span>City are buying bogus service vests and certificates for their pooches so</span><br><span>that they can bring their pets everywhere with them. </span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>Instead of tying up their pooches to a lamppost, a growing number of New</span><br><span>Yorkers are obtaining fake service dogs certificates so that they can take</span><br><span>their pets with them wherever they go, the New York Post reports.</span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>In an exclusive story, the Post shared a number of accounts of candid dog</span><br><span>owners in New York City who have simply bought bogus patches, vests and</span><br><span>certificates that look like the real thing, slapped them on their dogs and</span><br><span>now head off together pretty much anywhere they want to go without any</span><br><span>trouble. Some say they do it for the convenience of it, others say it helps</span><br><span>them with their dating prospects. </span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>"He's been to most movie theaters in the city, more nightclubs than most of</span><br><span>my friends," Brett David, 33, a restaurateur told the Post of his Maltese</span><br><span>Yorkie."I don't care who you are, a teacup Yorkie will trump a black</span><br><span>[American Express] card when you're trying to pick up a girl."</span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>Legally, in order for a dog to qualify as a service animal, the owner must</span><br><span>have a documented disability defined under the Americans with Disabilities</span><br><span>Act, the dog must be trained to help its handler with the disability and the</span><br><span>service animal can't disrupt its environment, according to <a href="http://Petpartners.org">Petpartners.org</a>.</span><br><span>However, the ADA doesn't require service animals to be officially certified,</span><br><span>which is likely part of why there isn't enough oversight. </span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>"Currently, these companies aren't breaking any laws," Becky Barnes, former</span><br><span>president of Guide Dogs Users, Inc. told Cesar's Way, a website run by the</span><br><span>famed "Dog Whisperer." "With service dogs there doesn't seem to be a white</span><br><span>and black area but a huge gray area. Discussions have begun to make it a</span><br><span>misdemeanor to misrepresent your dog as a service dog. Unfortunately, it is</span><br><span>being taken as seriously as pirating music."</span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>Another issue that's beginning to now cause problems for people who actually</span><br><span>need service dogs is that establishments are not permitted to ask people to</span><br><span>show proof of a disability, or that their animal is certified, according to</span><br><span>Service Dogs America. </span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>But now that more people are claiming to need service dogs, people with</span><br><span>actual disabilities are being questioned more by frustrated store owners,</span><br><span>according to Cesar's Way.</span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>The other concerning problem is that dogs that are not trained to sit</span><br><span>patiently indoors may disturb the service dogs and affect the way they help</span><br><span>their owners. </span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>"People don't realize that if the dog misbehaves in any way," Toni Eames,</span><br><span>blind president of the International Association of Assistance Dog Partners,</span><br><span>told the Post, "if it isn't clean, barks or is overly friendly and jumps on</span><br><span>people -- that it aggravates other dogs and disrupts the way they do</span><br><span>service."</span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>_______________________________________________</span><br><span>nagdu mailing list</span><br><span><a href="mailto:nagdu@nfbnet.org">nagdu@nfbnet.org</a></span><br><span><a href="http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org">http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org</a></span><br><span>To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for nagdu:</span><br><span><a href="http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/judotina48kg%40gmail.com">http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/judotina48kg%40gmail.com</a></span><br></div></blockquote></body></html>