Service Dogs and Qualifications

Service Dogs and Qualifications

YI-FENG HO Staff Writer

Animals are often regarded as people’s best friends: they play around with their owners and often help out as well. As people’s relationships with these animals develop deeper, people find ways for them to assist those who need help, such as those who are blind or have a disability. However, some people take advantage of these animals and services and use it for their selfish purposes. One of the most common ways to do so is by disguising one’s house pet as a service animal, which their owners can bring with them when they are travelling, which is normally not allowed.

Another way includes calling their pets emotional support animals without the proper qualifications. To curb such behaviors, the federal government has passed bills to punish those who abuse the help of service animals as well as to better define what a service animal is. To be recognized as a service animal, there are many rules that need to be followed. As defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act, a service animal is usually a dog that is trained to perform tasks for someone with a disability.

While they are allowed to be brought out in public, they must be controlled, meaning they need to be leashed or harnessed and they need to be providing service to their owners. In California, the service dog owner needs to sign an affidavit proving that the dog is trained to help out, or else they could face six months in jail or $1,000 in fines. The same punishment is given to those who pretend to be owners of these service dogs, under the Air Carriers Access Act.