I see in a lot of circles that people are against the idea of having to prove a service animal is properly trained. People act like not wanting an animal in your business unless it is properly trained is some kind of unforgivable thing
I see in a lot of circles that people are against the idea of having to prove a service animal is properly trained. People act like not wanting an animal in your business unless it is properly trained is some kind of unforgivable thing
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It’s not illegal to ask, they just don’t have to prove it unfortunately.
It should have a prescription like a narcotic does. If you need one bad enough, getting a prescription should be a simple as asking for one during one of your many Dr’s appointments.
In the United States, a service animal does not have a distinct legal definition. So it can’t get any kind of federal license to “ prove” it’s a service animal. So whether you should or shouldn’t be able to do that is irrelevant
Well, I’ll give you a hint when a dog is a service dog. They typically wear bright colours, the leash is a bridge handle. The person walks around as, you know, blind.
It can depend on where the animal is being brought. I work in a zoo. We require that the service animals are properly up to date with vaccinations and you must provide proof of these. As well there are a few buildings where the service animals are not allowed to enter due to free roaming animals.
I used to work with a lady who had a service animal “in-training.” It was the most poorly behaved chocolate lab. It kept having accidents in the workplace. When the workplace asked her to clean it up, she sued them. Rumor has it that it was settled out of court, as it was cheaper for the organization to do that than fight it. Imagine suing somebody for your poorly behaved animal AND MAKING MONEY!
Of course you should be able to check.
Not everyone likes animals, and especially don’t want them in places where we eat.
But we’re forced to, as so many businesses are pet friendly, because god forbid people are parted from their bloody dogs for an hour !!!
“What work/service has the dog been trained to perform?” Is generally about the only thing you can legally ask and expect an answer.
You’re not asking specifically about a person’s disability, you’re asking what the dog was trained to do.
If they won’t answer, you can refuse service – because if they can’t list the dogs training then its not a service dog.
Emotional support animals dont fall under the umbrella of necessity- and are not trained the same as a true service dog. We will happily accommodate animals trained with specialized/medical related tasks. But your untrained familiar is not qualified to behave in a restaurant setting.
No, otherwise everyone would take the piss.
It’s a hindrance to disabled people. No other medical aid is questioned and there is already recourse to remove an ill behaving animal. Businesses just refuse to do it.
SHOW ME YOUR PAPERS!!!!
NOW!!!
It isn’t. Under ADA, you are legally allowed to ask whether or not an animal is a service animal, and what it’s trained to do.
I don’t think it’s illegal. It’s just a pain in the ass to enforce.
There needs to be a governing body to approve and properly certify service animals. Then there would not even be a controversy
What “proof” are you asking for? The vests are not regulated, you can get them off Amazon. In the US there is no registry so any certificate or whatever doesn’t mean much.
Idk why people are so defensive here. In my opinion, it is exactly the same as having a special card that allows you to park on the “disability” parking spots. You cannot just park there and expect people to believe you, you need to have a special document, visible in your car, in order to use the spot.
Service animals should have an ID, issued by a governmental agency, that confirms they are service animals. It doesn’t need to mention your disability, only confirm that the dog is indeed officially trained or passed an exam.
Canadian here. I do not have a service dog, but work closely with a large service dog facility.
It is not rude, OR illegal to ask for proof that a dog is in fact legally a service dog, in the right context; and most people with legit service dogs will be more than happy to produce their credentials.
When I reference context; it’s not really okay for Joe blow on the street to demand to see someone’s certification, however, absolutely appropriate for a store clerk, manager, property owner, or server.
I would even go as far as to encourage business managers/owners to ask for credentials more often, because it would weed out more of the Karen’s, who bought a service dog vest on their untrained/badly behaved animal, and make life more difficult for everyone who went through the correct channels.
This would also save a lot of headache for the rest of the patrons in any establishment, when Karen’s chihuahua that she’s plastered in 15 “service dog” patches starts barking/bathrooming/shaking in a restaurant, all things that trained service dogs will not do, unless in an emergency.
Edit to say: the people that are making a huge stink about not having to prove their dog is trained, are probably upset about it because… Their dog isn’t trained
There is no universal way to prove it.
I agree. I think if you want your service animal to be allowed entrance into wherever, you 100% have your documentation to show if asked. Where I live, you do have to show documentation if asked.
We were at this shop that stays open 24/7 but is in a big shopping centre the other night. It was like 9.30 pm, so only this store and the grocery store were open. This dude wanted to bring his big dog in and the security guard asked for their paperwork and the guy just kept saying ‘centre management know about it and have it’. The security guard was like, ‘dude, centre management don’t run this store and they’re not even here at the moment so I can’t check’. The guy started to get really aggressive and eventually was told to leave. Like if he just had his papers and showed them, they would’ve walked in and done what they needed to do.
Selling fake ‘Service Animal’ pet accessories should also be illegal.
Just because a dog has a “badge” does not mean it will be properly trained unfortunately.
I agree that if people want to ask for proof they are a legit service/assistance dog then they should.
I work specifically with blind people and if they are asked about their dog they will provide their licence etc. have also been turned away from places and that’s not okay but it is to the business owners discretion.
Not once has the handler been aggressive or upset at not being allowed to go into the establishment.
There needs to be more awareness around disabilities and service/assistance dogs as a whole.
Completely agree – it’s exactly the same as having a badge for your car to prove you are allowed to park in accessible bays
I had a licensed service animal (dog) and was always prepared to show documentation! The idea that people have fake service animals disgusts me, and documentation should always be shown on request! It gave the phone number of the city animal registry office, and my Dog’s registry number, the same number as on his dog tag. I would also show my identification to prove that I was the legitimate owner of the service dog.
agreed. proof or get the animal out the door.
I live in a country in Europe, and all service dogs need to be properly registered. It’s not an easy task either. You have to show that the dog was officially trained in its field of specialty.
Businesses are allowed to ask to see this registration before admittance. They obviously can’t deny you entrance with the registration, but if you don’t have one, then it’s tough luck. Your word isn’t enough.
I think it’s more than fair, or else you’d have the problem that I see America is having now. Everyone brings their dog with them everywhere, claiming it’s an emotional support animal.
Your title and your post discuss two completely different standards. Which is it? And if it’s the latter, what is acceptable proof to you?
I work in customer service in a grocery store and we had a guy that came in with his service dog all the time But he never put a vest of him or anything. The dog seemed nice enough but definitely didn’t seem like a service dog. He’d try to give it commands and it didn’t listen half the time. And then he would let go of the leash and expect the dog to stay or follow him. One day he did that and the dog ran off and literally fully jumped onto a customer entering the store. And then acted like nothing happened and left.
A woman comes in and I guess thought we had kicked him out and got supper pissed. We absolutely did not kick him out as we are not allowed to do such a thing. We just happened to be watching in horror at the customer service desk as this “service” dog jumped onto this customer. She clearly didn’t believe us and shook her head and went on her way. I happen to be bagging at a register a little bit later and she comes down my line. My store managers office is right behind us and of course she wants to talk to a manager. I listen to her explain RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME that she didn’t feel it was right that we “kicked him out” that SHE was literally HIS PHYSICAL THERAPIST and that he’s a veteran and that she KNOWS he likes to make trouble (and boy does he, not even about the dog) but that he doesn’t mean any harm. Store manager has our back and assures her that that was not something we would do. After she was done talking to my manager, I decided fuck it, ima tell her. I did it as nicely as I could and said, since you know him and all, maybe you could still talk to him about his service dog since that dog jumped onto a customer. She said “what that man in the suit?” YES KAREN. You may not have seen him jump on him but you knew who I was talking about? She got real petty and said maybe I should talk to the manager about it. Lol little did she know, we told our manager about her and the dog situation before she even came up to talk to the manager. Simply because if the customer that was jumped on wanted to escalate things, we were prepared to have our manager in the know and prepared.
Anyway, haven’t seen him since then, but I’m sure he will return one day with more disgusting returns and more unruly “service” animal things.