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Tightening the leash on fake service dogs

Renae

Renae

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https://www.adn.com/nation-world/2017/10/18/tightening-the-leash-on-fake-service-dogs/
[FONT=&quot]WASHINGTON — Chris Slavin was in an elevator a couple years ago with Earle, her yellow Lab service dog, sitting calmly beside her wheelchair. The elevator doors opened and in walked a woman holding a purse. In the purse was a teacup poodle the color of apricots.
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[FONT=&quot]The doors closed just as the poodle spotted Earle. That's when the trouble started. In an instant, the poodle leaped from the purse, flung himself at Earle, and clamped his teeth into the bigger dog's snout, leaving Earle bleeding onto the elevator floor.
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[FONT=&quot]"As soon as this occurred the woman said the poodle was a service dog," said Slavin, who has a severe spinal injury that requires use of the wheelchair. "She then said he wasn't a service dog but an emotional support dog. Finally, she admitted he was a pet she just wanted to bring in the building with her."
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ABOUT DAMNED TIME. Crack down on these idiots.
 
As someone who believe in Animal welfare, the abuse of the Service Dog designation rankles me, it's unfair to the animals that ARE trained and those that need them and can endanger the untrained dogs.
 
Renae said:
As someone who believe in Animal welfare, the abuse of the Service Dog designation rankles me, it's unfair to the animals that ARE trained and those that need them and can endanger the untrained dogs.
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Rankled is your middle name
 
Renae said:
ABOUT DAMNED TIME. Crack down on these idiots.
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I agree!
The abuse of the service dog label as well as the abuse of the handicap parking tags.
 
Renae said:
As someone who believe in Animal welfare, the abuse of the Service Dog designation rankles me, it's unfair to the animals that ARE trained and those that need them and can endanger the untrained dogs.
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I completely agree. These people are abusing the system and giving real service dogs a bad name.
 
HowardBThiname said:
I completely agree. These people are abusing the system and giving real service dogs a bad name.
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My old neighbor was going to try that crap to get out of paying pet fees, I shut that **** down.
 
longview said:
I agree!
The abuse of the service dog label as well as the abuse of the handicap parking tags.
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Keep in mind that not all disabilities are obvious. I have cousin who suffers from a neurological condition that can trigger at any moment. She has a HC tag for her car because she can walk into a store, but if she has an episode, she will struggle to get back to her car (usually has to call a friend to come get her). So that lady who seems perfectly fine as she walks, may be crawling on her hands and knees on her way out.
 
faithful_servant said:
Keep in mind that not all disabilities are obvious. I have cousin who suffers from a neurological condition that can trigger at any moment. She has a HC tag for her car because she can walk into a store, but if she has an episode, she will struggle to get back to her car (usually has to call a friend to come get her). So that lady who seems perfectly fine as she walks, may be crawling on her hands and knees on her way out.
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Yeah but for everyone of those I KNOW people that abuse it. A guy that mows lawns for a living has a HC tag because of diabetic nerve pain. Because it hurts to walk... but he mows lawns of his own accord...
 
At a car show last weekend I saw a motorcycle with handicapped tags
 
I agree with you on this one, Renae... I mean, it's not something that I've actually ever encountered, so probably not as emotionally invested as you, but it seems a rather stupid thing to do, and one that could cause problems down the road for people who legitimately need these animals...would be too bad if all of a sudden legit folks need to present some kind of proof that their animal is a service dog prior to doing what they can do without being harassed now, simply because people want to break the rules. I don't think there's really a debate to be had here, I agree with you completely.
 
Renae said:
ABOUT DAMNED TIME. Crack down on these idiots.
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Dogs will be dogs.

But I'd be concerned with any "crackdown" that inflexible and ill-considered rules might cause someone with an ACTUAL service dog to be barred from some place, perhaps because some idiot hasn't heard of that kind of service dog before. Some people think the only service dogs are guide dogs.
 
Renae said:
Yeah but for everyone of those I KNOW people that abuse it. A guy that mows lawns for a living has a HC tag because of diabetic nerve pain. Because it hurts to walk... but he mows lawns of his own accord...
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Could be some days are better than others. Last week I had to get out my cane to walk without falling for a couple days. Yesterday I went to the gym. Just depends.
 
Goshin said:
Dogs will be dogs.

But I'd be concerned with any "crackdown" that inflexible and ill-considered rules might cause someone with an ACTUAL service dog to be barred from some place, perhaps because some idiot hasn't heard of that kind of service dog before. Some people think the only service dogs are guide dogs.
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The ADA covers Service Dogs, the problem is there isn't a standard on what is or isn't a SD.
 
Goshin said:
Could be some days are better than others. Last week I had to get out my cane to walk without falling for a couple days. Yesterday I went to the gym. Just depends.
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Trust me on this Goshin, he abused it terribly. "Why shouldn't I, I got a disability so I'm getting my due!"
 
faithful_servant said:
Keep in mind that not all disabilities are obvious. I have cousin who suffers from a neurological condition that can trigger at any moment. She has a HC tag for her car because she can walk into a store, but if she has an episode, she will struggle to get back to her car (usually has to call a friend to come get her). So that lady who seems perfectly fine as she walks, may be crawling on her hands and knees on her way out.
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In my area the abuse is common.
I know a guy who has a handicap sticker because his wife was sick,
She died more than a year ago, but he still parks in the handicap spots.
 
Renae said:
Trust me on this Goshin, he abused it terribly. "Why shouldn't I, I got a disability so I'm getting my due!"
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I don't know the guy so I won't dispute that. Certainly there are people that abuse, well, everything.

Just sayin', sometimes things are not as they seem at first glance.
 
Goshin said:
I don't know the guy so I won't dispute that. Certainly there are people that abuse, well, everything.

Just sayin', sometimes things are not as they seem at first glance.
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True, tis why I don't confront people, but I sure would love to call out the bums.
 
Renae said:
The ADA covers Service Dogs, the problem is there isn't a standard on what is or isn't a SD.
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And what if we get a standard that ends up excluding some service dogs that someone really, genuinely needs? Or a set of rules that are too inflexible, or allow some A-hole enough wiggle room to harass legit SD people.
 
Renae said:
Yeah but for everyone of those I KNOW people that abuse it. A guy that mows lawns for a living has a HC tag because of diabetic nerve pain. Because it hurts to walk... but he mows lawns of his own accord...
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You're not his doctor, mate.

Common sense, in this matter, tends to be wrong.

Sent from my LG-H910 using Tapatalk
 
Staying with the topic of service dogs, what I am hearing Renae and a few others say is that you all would like more government involvement and you would support the additional funding it would require. Good on you for that.

There are TABs (*temporarily able bodied) people who do abuse the use of dogs (animals) as service animals for people with disabilities, yes. People who do that, non-disabled people, are likely to abuse any number of rights and/or privileges such as using the last stall, often the handicapped stall, in a public restroom when other stalls are available. It is a character flaw.

There are also people with disabilities who have service dogs that have been poorly trained. There are people with service dogs who are lax owners who do not or cannot maintain the level of training necessary for the dog to function as a service dog. There are many reasons that might be the case.

This is not a small topic.



*Many, perhaps most, people will have a disability before the die. Think about that. That means you and/or someone close to you, someone who means the world to you. With that in mind often people active in the disability community refer to people who have not yet received their disability or disabilities as TABs.

We are probably going to get a disability. We'd rather not think about that.

Three things you don't know is when it will be, how you will be disabled and how you will function in the world as a disabled person. Often when talking to an adventitiously disabled adult about their newly acquired disability you will hear them say, "I never thought this would happen to me."

What we do for others today we do for ourselves and people we love in the future.
 
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