Service animals are vital companions to people with disabilities, diligently and selflessly helping them to live their lives with as much freedom as possible and protecting them from harm. However, some people abuse the system and lie about their dog being a service dog. Roisin Leonard, a 24-year-old resident of Gloucester, Massachusetts, faces challenges daily due to people who abuse this system.
Imagine you are eating lunch at a restaurant on a Sunday afternoon. Suddenly, a young woman walks in with a small Pomeranian in her purse. The hostess at the counter politely informs her, “I’m sorry, but we do not allow dogs in this establishment.” The young woman rolls her eyes, sighs, and states, “he is a service dog, he is allowed to come with me.” While not knowing much about service dog law, and worrying about getting sued for asking further questions, the hostess sits this woman down at a booth. It is there that the woman promptly unzips her purse and places the dog on the seat next to her. When the woman’s food comes out, the tiny dog begs, and she feeds him bits off her plate. Since this dog has not gone through the training required for service dogs, he proceeds to yap at those who walk by. To put in plain terms, this dog is a nuisance and is causing many in the restaurant to complain to the manager. However, a manager cannot do anything but inform the customers that the dog is a service animal, and they cannot ask the woman to leave. Instead, it is the annoyed customers who end up leaving.
Now, Roisin Leonard walks into the restaurant with her highly trained service dog, Beans. He is pressed against her leg in a beautiful heel position; however, she is quickly bombarded by the hostess and the manager as they call out “no dogs allowed.” Confused, she informs them that this is her medical alert and response service dog. It is her right to have him accompany her; this is protected under federal law. Inconsiderately, the manager rolls his eyes and the hostess seats Roisin at a table further away from customers. Beans immediately sits under the table, out of sight. When her food arrives, Beans is still tucked tightly under her feet because he knows that he should not eat while on duty. Unlike the Pomeranian, he ignores those who walk by for the remainder of her meal. Roisin gets up to leave and hears a woman by the door surprisingly say, “Wow! I did not know there was a dog in here.”
Ideally, this is how a service dog should be. Fake service dogs create real problems and the ones who are impacted are the true service dog handlers who rely on their dogs everyday to help manage their disability. There is a difference between an actual, properly trained service dog, and one that has been simply labeled as a service dog for its owner’s selfish convenience.
Roisin Leonard has been working with Beans since 2016. Beans performs a variety of tasks, some of which include panic attack alert and guide, deep pressure therapy, tactile stimulation, self-harm disruption, and retrieving dropped items. From just this small list, one can see that real service dogs really do help those who struggle. Not only is the lying dishonest, but the trend of fake service dogs is causing real problems to those who need them. This makes already difficult situations more difficult. While there are bills that have been proposed to Congress, it has been deemed that requiring to explain such certification would be discriminatory and in violation of the ADA.
Just because you have self-diagnosed or acute anxiety, does not mean you can reserve the right to call your pet a service animal. Like everyone else with a disability, you need to go through the training process that results in becoming a service or emotional support dog. Everyone should be able to find a companion within a dog, but that does not mean you can diminish the rights of those who need that “emotional support” or service from an animal.