It's my service dog; really!

 I held, what I deemed to be a successful open house yesterday.  I had several couples come through and ask very good questions about my property. 

I was guiding a family through the house, a person came to the door asking if it was all right to bring their service dog in.  "Of course!" I replied.

I finished with a couple I was working with and went over and introduced  myself to my new guests.  The service dog was extremely well mannered and was sitting next to the couple as we spoke.  It wore the appropriate vest identifying it as a service dog.  To my surprise the people told me that there are so many people signing up their dogs as service dogs, many vendors are now questioning the legitimacy of their dog.

I told them, of a woman, on the plane back from Arizona, who had three small dogs that she proclaimed for her service dogs.  She required early boarding and additional storage for her animals.  The flight attendant asked her if she had her service dog permits and she went ballistic saying that she has never had to show certification.  She was offended!

Wikipedia defines service dogs as;

 "A service dog is a type of assistance dog specifically trained to help people who have disabilities including visual or hearing impairment, and also to help people with mental disabilities including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and severe depression. Some dogs are even trained to help with medical conditions such as recurrent seizures or diabetes. Additionally, they may also be trained to carry life support equipment such as oxygen tanks.

Desirable character traits in service animals typically include good temperament or psychological make-up (including biddability and trainability) and good health (including physical structure and stamina). "

My in laws went to a time share meeting where the salesman told them that none of their resorts allowed pets of any kind however for a small fee they could have their dog certified as a service dog and the resort would have to allow the dog to stay with them. In the United States, the Code of Federal Regulations for the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 requires such action. This salesman was committing a fraud both upon his employer and other legitimate service dog owners. I, for one, am discusted that people would fraudulently pass their animals off as service animals just to gain special attention and admittance to facillitys.  

Have you run into dogs and cats, you suspect, were passing as service animals?

This post was authored  by Paul Henderson ©2012, All Rights Reserved, This content may not be reproduced or reprinted (Except for ActiveRain Re-blogging) without express written permission of Paul Henderson, RE/MAX Professionals, Tacoma, WA.

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