tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684843.post7315521227976412684..comments2024-03-26T22:16:26.572-04:00Comments on Terrierman's Daily Dose: The "Emotional Support Animal" ScamPBurnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05781540805883519064noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684843.post-33038091277927058882018-12-08T18:28:21.164-05:002018-12-08T18:28:21.164-05:00From a friend who is a business owner:
The laws ...From a friend who is a business owner: <br />The laws are in desperate need of a total re-write and MUST be updated to require micro chipping on the dog and a registration card and ID for the dog, along with a yearly evaluation of the dog's behavior, health, and training, which the 'self-trained' service dog people are fighting. For they are NOT willing to have their dog 'third party' evaluated. Which mean in IMHO, they are not qualified, to begin with, to have a service dog. For keeping the dog trained, polite, groomed, presentable and healthy is what responsible service dog handlers do. Businesses are caught in the middle. And several have expressed the desperate need for some ID that is officially issued; NOT from a fake online store. Businesses have no way to properly filter out the fakers and are afraid of legal costs if they do. Currently: The two questions allowed are: "Is this a service dog? And: What tasks are the dog trained to perform to mitigate your disability?" At times: these questions can be answered by the fakers who have familiarized themselves with the ambiguous laws. Emotional Support Animals are NOT service animals and are not allowed in public places.. Dogs in shopping carts are NOT ALLOWED under any circumstance. If the dog is not 'four on the floor', small breeds can be carried in a specially designed harness or vest worn by the handler. The BIGGEST FEAR I hear from any TRUE service dog handler is that their dog is attacked by a fake dog. This happens a LOT more than you realize. And the fakers let the general public interact with the dog. That is a huge indicator of a faker. If the dog is on a retractable lead; that dog is a FAKE!!! You as the general public and especially your children should NEVER interfere with a dog, not petting, making noises at, the offering of food or any interaction. You and any children under your supervision are required to ignore the dog. If the dog is being unruly or not housebroken, Management can expel them from the premises. There are several FB pages regarding this very issue. Just look them up. www.guidedogs.org I feel is the best model to follow for providing service dogs. Based in FL and highly respected. Faking a service dog in Florida and several other states is now a crime. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/19-states-cracking-fake-service-dogs<br />https://www.ada.gov/regs2010/service_animal_qa.html<br /><br />Karen Carrollhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01602911871393351134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684843.post-85093005732756524812018-03-23T20:46:46.641-04:002018-03-23T20:46:46.641-04:00Thanks for the article. I like how you mention tar...Thanks for the article. I like how you mention taratulas on an airplane for some reason... although it would be funny and absurd to see someone defend their fondness for them. The world could end up like the wizarding world of Harry Potter. rustic societyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05078724699495698463noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684843.post-89224756085003766432016-09-24T00:13:33.682-04:002016-09-24T00:13:33.682-04:00I agree with the irrational use of ESA. For decade...I agree with the irrational use of ESA. For decades I've recieved the calming & anti-blues benifits of intuitive domestic dogs, cats, & parrots. As an on the surface functional it amazes even myself that I'm a person struggling to get life to work. I just don't relate to what I see as irrational behavior. Wearing offensive smells, smokers that are up wind of innocent down winders, & folks that force their idiosyncrasies on others. Keep it to yourself & be mindful of the world in your immediate midst. Don't argue, don't impose on others unless invited, & be curtious. If you wish to travel with a furry or feathered being make certain you sit near like minded people that are not offended or allergic. Paid or prescribed, have a heart for Ms. & Mr. Ihateanimals!!!JDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17823715264433338638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684843.post-76994816625583521532015-12-13T02:40:19.850-05:002015-12-13T02:40:19.850-05:00I hear many people claim social anxiety as a reaso...I hear many people claim social anxiety as a reason to bring their pet everywhere, but as someone with social anxiety, I can tell you that the last thing that will reduce my anxiety is attracting attention or increasing the likelihood of someone talking to me. It is probably unkind of me, but whenever I hear that someone has an emotional support dog I think they must be a self-diagnosed hypochondriac, or a selfish jerk who doesn't care about the health and safety of others because they want to take Floppykins shopping. I've seen barking GSDs in clothing stores and Chihuahua puppies being carried in a coat pocket, and in neither case did the stores bother to do anything about it. The woman with the puppy actually stopped semi-hiding the dog in her coat and moved it into the cart when she realized the grocery store wouldn't do anything even after other shoppers complained. It's appalling. MJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13994239226324322959noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684843.post-61634905286813328452015-06-30T11:16:40.956-04:002015-06-30T11:16:40.956-04:00Law takes effect July 1st: http://postonpolitics....Law takes effect July 1st: http://postonpolitics.blog.palmbeachpost.com/2015/03/30/fake-service-dog-bill-passes-house/#__federated=1<br /><br /><br />It's a start. Karen Carrollhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01602911871393351134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684843.post-63806865880478137482015-05-21T17:08:56.071-04:002015-05-21T17:08:56.071-04:00These scammers are terrible. You cannot just make ...These scammers are terrible. You cannot just make pets service animals and take them anywhere, they need training. Emotional support animals I do understand to a point. You should not be allowed to take an emotional support animal anywhere BUT so many apartments will not let you have a pet when some people need one. Emotional support animals help out so many at home. There is a need for them, but not just anywhere.Emily Chttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01247882695497626648noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684843.post-36978326916600045882015-02-09T10:16:02.707-05:002015-02-09T10:16:02.707-05:00Anthropomorphism has gone rampant !...but that'...Anthropomorphism has gone rampant !...but that's a whole other yopic.<br /><br />My late husband took a small beagle to his doctor visit and it got hepatitis 3 days later with lethargy and yellowed eyes . Never did that again !Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04633905221947723031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684843.post-50360543245628223312014-12-30T17:00:36.723-05:002014-12-30T17:00:36.723-05:00Just right click and save. Out there on the net.Just right click and save. Out there on the net.PBurnshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05781540805883519064noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684843.post-51123018898174404752014-12-30T08:42:22.174-05:002014-12-30T08:42:22.174-05:00Where may I find the "Please don't pass o...Where may I find the "Please don't pass off your pet..." image? It sums it up nicely and hopefully shames the cheaters.Morganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00445976817632236451noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684843.post-63944649687471331312014-12-09T21:51:57.285-05:002014-12-09T21:51:57.285-05:00To test the behavior training of the so-called ...To test the behavior training of the so-called 'service dog'. My friend asks the owner to make their dog do these basic commands" Sit, Stay, Lie Down Stay. <br />If the fail, service dog fails with these two cammands, then the dog is a fake. <br />Karen Carrollhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01602911871393351134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684843.post-48946579252170663182014-12-09T12:42:47.778-05:002014-12-09T12:42:47.778-05:00good article but if the airlines stopped charging ...good article but if the airlines stopped charging people who fly with pet an exorbitant amount for what is basically a "carry on" lots of the fakery would stop. pigs etc are not the norm.. chihuahuas and little fuzzies are. It cost 125 dollars to take a small pet on an hour flight from SFO to San Diego.. EACH WAY that is twice (plus) the round trip ticket price for the human. I asked the airlines why.. their answer..? because we can. They gouge people for no real reason and then expect people will not find a way around their nonsense. a pig on a plane yes i have been forced to sit next to plenty of them.. the two legged kind..bestuvallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16010527907760825413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684843.post-42954838691962758802014-12-08T15:15:25.560-05:002014-12-08T15:15:25.560-05:00Finally, some investigative reporting into this te...Finally, some investigative reporting into this terrible scam that hurts real, properly trained service dogs and the people the help. I have see in person (and been adversely affected) by 'fake' service dogs and animals that lunge at (or flee from) wheel chair users passing by. Being petted by everyone around them, growling, barking, snapping at the general public. Please also address the 'service animal in training' scam that also can be a loophole from prosecution.Karen Carrollhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01602911871393351134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684843.post-18199104885294254982014-12-06T15:12:57.388-05:002014-12-06T15:12:57.388-05:00I appreciate you taking the time to research this ...I appreciate you taking the time to research this scam and post your findings. I first found evidence of it on a website touting theraputic "miniature horses", which of course are just really dwarf ponies. Having had horses, I can tell you that they are not theraputic. With very few exceptions they will drive you nuts.<br /><br />Here's a twist on this scam: on a plane a few weeks ago I saw a 30-ish woman who spent the whole flight from Cincinnati to Washington holding a teddy bear on her lap that was the size of a six year old child. During disembarking she repeatedly rammed into me with this damned thing. I told her if she did so one more time I would disembowel it with my car keys. She replied that this was her "therapy support animal" and that she had a right to take it on the plane and with her everywhere she went. The sad thing is that no organization has the balls to contest this BS for fear of lawsuits.Olde New Englandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09397384097494331275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684843.post-70329491060135052652014-12-04T19:46:11.480-05:002014-12-04T19:46:11.480-05:00Claiming you animal is a service dog should be ill...Claiming you animal is a service dog should be illegal with a financial stiff penalty. The airlines at least, have your id, and can check. Hotels insist on 48 hour advance notice and also do some checking.concretenprimroseshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12615278788874155439noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684843.post-10734122531790302792014-12-04T18:36:16.673-05:002014-12-04T18:36:16.673-05:00PS- Patrick- I won't be insulted if you tell m...PS- Patrick- I won't be insulted if you tell me to get my own blog for my anti-psychology anti-pseudoscience rants...Jeff T.https://www.blogger.com/profile/01520811975339950553noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684843.post-62659079498159681712014-12-04T18:35:17.560-05:002014-12-04T18:35:17.560-05:00Just want to say, "thanks," Patrick, for...Just want to say, "thanks," Patrick, for bringing to light a very real problem. One of my best friends is a Deputy County Attorney who has been blind from birth and has used a guide dog since she was 5, when she first trained her own because she was too young to be accepted into guide dog schools. As soon as she could, she applied to a professional school and received her first official guide dog. Without the help of her dog, earning her J.D., not to mention other college degrees, would have been much more difficult, and her mobility would be much more limited. Service animals need to be trained to perform specific tasks to assist their people. Thank you for showcasing this problem and raising public awareness through your blog!<br /><br />Please do not publish this unless you feel it adds to the discussion.<br /><br />(I am not signing my name because I do not want to give away her location, to protect her from "bad guys" she helps prosecute. I hope that your comments section will reveal my identity to you; this is just to say "atta boy!" and thanks!)Jerri Blackmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09439685458831354084noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684843.post-38302108544680536112014-12-04T18:34:44.954-05:002014-12-04T18:34:44.954-05:00I love your blog for postings like this. A finely ...I love your blog for postings like this. A finely tuned Bullshit-o-Meter indeed! Well researched yet coming from your curiosity (who ARE these people?). An email leads to your discovery of a classical type scam. And I love your passion- true enough that these people give service dogs a bad name- as surely as fit (albeit fat) people with their little blue placards using the Handicap Parking right next to my work. Every day. Funny- that passion you feel is the same as I have when I get exposed to the latest "Neuroscience" or "Evolutionary Pyschology" SCAM I read on the website of the university where I work. The latest one I read today: "Scientists detect brain network that gives humans superior reasoning skills"! These scammers "discovered" that the human brain really did evolve so as to give us better learning skills than other primates! To quote: "In reviewing dozens of studies – including their own – that use neuroimaging, neuropsychology, developmental cognitive and other investigative methods, Bunge and fellow researchers concluded that anatomical changes in the lateral frontoparietal network over millennia have served to boost human reasoning skills." Wow- the data creators discovered that man's prefrontal cortex is superior to that of animals! All said with a straight face by serious "scientists". Making hundreds of thousands of dollars a year...Jeff T.https://www.blogger.com/profile/01520811975339950553noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684843.post-19137583561562925032014-12-04T17:07:55.219-05:002014-12-04T17:07:55.219-05:00Excellent article. These fools make things worse f...Excellent article. These fools make things worse for the folks who have true disabilities and rely on their trained dogs to keep them safe from harm (like stepping off a curb into traffic). Grrr!Susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18087070645740489255noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684843.post-59903696373481266782014-12-04T16:36:14.076-05:002014-12-04T16:36:14.076-05:00I have seen some dubious "service dogs" ...I have seen some dubious "service dogs" in Amtrak sleeping cars, and according to personnel, the rule from management is "Ask no questions."<br /><br />The problem is that on a cross-country train the time between "fresh-air stops" sometimes exceeds a puppy's bladder capacity.Chas S. Cliftonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00923547685265741325noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684843.post-59725990018596430602014-12-04T15:39:38.646-05:002014-12-04T15:39:38.646-05:00Love this article. Well written, and spot on to th...Love this article. Well written, and spot on to the point! Thank you!<br /><br />As someone who actually trains dogs and handlers, works with therapy dogs, and works with organizations supplying REAL service dogs, this is a topic that is of great concern to me. <br /><br />My pet dogs (competition obedience dogs who are much better trained and mannered than most children) are NOT service animals. My therapy dogs, in spite of the great work they do to help people, are NOT service animals. Your pig, goat, alpaca, turtle, hamster, etc. is NOT a service animal. None of thee animals have any special access rights, and anyone who tries to tell you otherwise is a liar and a cheat. <br /><br />To the woman I recently saw dragging two unruly Labradors around the supermarket on one flexi-lead... shame on you. Anyone with a room temperature IQ knows within seconds that these aren't service animals. They are spoiled, poorly trained pets. Service animals don't work on pairs. And certainly not on a "Y" lead on the end of a flexi. And yes I did call her on it... rather loudly. <br /><br />The "organizations" that claim to "certify" these animals as something other than pets are nothing more than scam and frauds. They perpetuate misinformation for a profit and seriously damage the credibility of real service animals and their owner / handlers. <br /><br />So, BRAVO! You are spot on correct that we need Federal legislation and (GASP!) regulation. Fraud is fraud, and these organizations need to be called out. But there has to be specific, enforceable laws on the books in order to do that. <br /><br />And.. by the way... if someone is so emotionally fragile that they need the company of a pig to get on an airplane, they shouldn't be traveling. They should be in therapy!Eric C.https://www.blogger.com/profile/05594140012327896253noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684843.post-92231936771117129152014-12-04T09:05:03.892-05:002014-12-04T09:05:03.892-05:00Try that one with a pig in the UK, or indeed anywh...Try that one with a pig in the UK, or indeed anywhere in the EU and you would be in a whole world of hurt. Trying it in Germany or the Netherlands would, if anything, cause an even more extreme reaction. The reason is Swine Flu and several other highly contagious pig diseases. The UK regulations can be seen here: <br /><br />https://www.gov.uk/pigs-identification-registration-and-movement<br /><br />These amount to pigs being considered only as livestock, and never as pets, and if you take one off a holding (which must be registered as such, and have a herd identification number which must be on ear tags of all livestock on that holding) then you need paperwork to support this movement.<br /><br />A Pig Movement could even just be taking the pig out of a field, walking it down a lane, and back to the same field. Simple as that, but the movement has to be documented. Try taking a pig onto a plane, and the pig will be confiscated and treated as a biohazard until further notice, and the loon trying this likely stuck on a no-fly list (whether official or unofficial).Danhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02618328278732100203noreply@blogger.com