“Guide and service dogs” are specially trained to act as guide dogs for the blind while others are trained to help people in wheelchairs, people with hearing impairments, PTSD therapy, autism or to act as seizure alert dogs amongst other needs and training.
These specially trained dogs are allowed by law to accompany owners into areas where they would otherwise be restricted such as stores, restaurants, public transit, airports, etc.
They are usually identified by tags and a blue jacket.
It seems however, that some people are cheating. It’s now easy for dog owners to buy fake blue “service” jackets and IDs online with no verification of their need, disability, or proof of dog training.
The concern amongst people who legitimately train and use service dogs is that fake service dogs can give real service dogs a bad reputation. Because they are not trained, these pets may act inappropriately through barking or whining, urinating or defecating inappropriately, damage property, or act aggressively.
After increasing occurrence of people using fake service dog apparel to bypass restrictions on taking their dogs with them, the western province of British Columbia is poised to take action.
A new proposal is to create provincial licences and a registry.
Bill Thornton, the CEO of BC and Alberta Guide Dogs, an organization that trains service dogs, said it is awkward for someone to challenge a person who purports to have a disability and they’ve got a jacket on the dog. “It’s very difficult and often those folks behave very poorly when challenged,” he said.
He said the new law would make things better for everyone, including people who legitimately need a service dog. “They’ll be able to check for the … licence and if you have it then you’re entitled to go in, and if you don’t have it you’re not entitled to come in with the dog.”
The Psychology Today website notes that for about ten dollars, unscrupulous dog-owners in the US can even buy an official-looking and somewhat ominous card that states owners rights and hints at legal action if the owner and dog are refused access.
Last year an American TV news channel KESQ-2, bought a fake jacket and ID for $142 and with an untrained dog and handler with fake disability, entered unchallenged through two grocery stores. They then took the jacket and ID an put it on another dog and entered unchallenged into two restaurants.
In their newsletter of February 2015, the Guide Dog Users of Canada included an appeal to readers to write to politicians about the issue of people faking their dogs as service dogs..
“The Fake Service Dogs Committee of Guide Dog Users of Canada needs each person who works with a guide dog to contact their member of Provincial Parliament to request help in changing laws. We can succeed in making it less likely that people will misrepresent their pets as service animals if the fines are increased. (…) We have the greatest number of members living in Ontario, (…). Ontario could lead the way for changes to heavier fines for people who misrepresent their pets as service dogs.”
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