SERVICE DOG FRAUD IS RAMPANT. THERE IS A SOLUTION! WATCH THIS!

IT’S GETTING A LITTLE RUFF OUT THERE!
Radical dog owners are pushing the envelope a bit to much.

● Our country has many divisions such as race [thanks for that Democrats], sex [thanks again Dems], abortion [yep, Democrats again], gun control [Dems are right there on this one], and a host of other things. But today I’m not talking about the Democrat platforms for a chaotic America.

● Nope, today I wanna talk about the insanity of Radical Dog Owners, also known as Cynophiliacs. These are, like Democrats, at odds with sanity, self-control, forward thinking, and good judgment on a variety of issues.

● Look around you if you will. A well-meaning Congress, Senate, and President long ago passed the ADA [Americans with Disabilities Act] to try and level the playing field for the handicapped. This law mandates such things as ramps, wheelchair access, preferred parking, TTL phones, and access preference for service animals. It’s this last one that really pushes reality to the edge.

● I was in the hospital today for tests and no less than a dozen dogs passed by me as I waited my turn.

● Two were obviously service animals, they were on control harnesses working with obviously blind owners. Another was pretty well obvious as a ‘hearing’ dog which addresses its owner’s extreme hearing loss.

● Now, let’s talk about the bulk of what I saw. I know a real service animal from a fake one but let’s define some of the more confusing fakes.

● Comfort Animals and Emotional Support Animals are the true ‘fakes’ in the field. The ADA makes no such distinction for these nebulously accredited animals.

● It’s a fact that a service animal is one trained to address a specific disability with specific actions to protect its owner. A blind dog protects its owner from stumbling on a curb, walking out into traffic, bumping into people in a crowd, and a host of other dangers confronting a blind person. This dog helps its owner to live in the mainstream of society.

● A dog for the deaf protects its owner from getting into dangerous situations or activities because he or she cannot hear that oncoming truck, that jackhammer, that screaming person, that honking horn, etc.

● These are specific actions the animals are trained to perform. Both dog and owner have been trained together, it’s not just saying to a blind person, “Here you go, here’s your seeing-eye dog.” No, once the dog is properly trained [which takes many months, even years, of expensive and intensive training] then the owner-to-be is matched with and trained with the dog. The two must learn to ‘act as one’ in order for a successful pairing.

● What to look for: * Service animals are leash trained. That means they don’t strain at the leash or cross in front of their owners in such a way as to trip them.

They don’t accept petting and other physical interaction with others. They only bark on very rare occasions, such as when it is a specific action the dog has been trained to perform to protect its owner.

● Toy dogs [teacup poodles, Chihuahuas, Pekingese, etc.] cannot be certified as service animals. Nor can certain of the more unstable breeds such as a Pit Bull Terrier or Bit Bull Mix. The same applies to Mastiffs or Mastiff Mixes etc. etc. etc.

● I watch as people drag their animals into hospitals, supermarkets, restaurants, public parks where dogs are prohibited, and every place they can possible bring their mutt all the while claiming it to be a service animal.

● They are protected by a very vague law, the ADA, which needs to be rewritten and resubmitted for legal redefinition because it just doesn’t work.

● When entering a public establishment that only accepts service animals, the proprietor’s hands are tied. All an employee can ask is, “Is your animal a service animal?” or “What is the specific action your animal is trained to perform in protecting you?” THAT’S IT! THEY CAN’T ASK WHAT DISABILITY THE PERSON HAS, BUT THESE TWO QUESTIONS, IF ASKED, GO A LONG WAY TOWARD CURBING SERVICE ANIMAL FRAUD!

● Unfortunately most business owners are so afraid of lawsuit they don’t bother to learn the ADA or train their people in how to screen for service dog fraud.

● The preponderance of fake service animals only serves to demean the value and status of true service animals. This gives ‘real’ service animals and their owners a ‘black eye’. This results in many cases where service animals and their owners are unfairly discriminated against in subtle but very substantial ways.

● We need a NATIONAL SERVICE ANIMAL REGISTRY. There must be an agency whose mission is to curb rampant service dog fraud and restore the respect and consideration due to the truly handicapped with service animals paired to them by qualified and registered trainers.