We are frustrated.
In the past 10 years, we have had to retire two service dogs because they were attacked by other “service dogs” in public. We use “service dogs” in quotes because the dogs had vests and the owners yelled it’s a service dog.
We doubt it.
Ever gone to the grocery store and watched a dog with a service dog vest on his hind legs checking out the bakery goods? Been barked at or approached by a dog in a service vest as the handler says, “don’t worry, she’s friendly?” Have you wondered about the dogs who are straining at the end of the “don’t pet I’m a service dog” leash and jumping on people at the airport?
We have too. In fact, we’ve asked people the questions we’re allowed to by law:
- Is the dog a service animal required because of a disability?
- What work or task has the dog been trained to perform? You may NOT ask for a demonstration or ask the person to expand on why.
Identifying a service dog is intentionally vague. The intent of federal and state laws is to protect people with disabilities to not have to talk about why they have a service dog. Unfortunately, it also made it easy for people to not be truthful about whether or not they have a service dog. Afterall, if they have a service dog, then they are protected whenever they take their dog to public places. Right?
The simple answer is no. The Americans with Disability Act (ADA), which provides access and protections for service dogs, is also clear that a service dog that is disruptive and the handler does not take effective action to control the dog, the dog can be asked to leave. This behavior can include the dog being in the bakery goods, being aggressive towards people or other service dogs, barking or growling, or even having an accident.
Businesses have been reluctant to ask the dogs to leave. However, so many businesses have shared stories of ill-behaved dogs – dogs that have urinated on carpets, jumped on people, or any number of disruptive behaviors they are being forced to act. More than ever, we have calls from our veterans about a business that has put a blanket policy in place to prohibit any dogs from coming in. When we have called the business to learn more, they are frustrated. Most of the time, they did not understand they could ask the dog to leave, because of the general belief the service dog is always protected.
We are clear when we are talking to these businesses, if you see a Puppy Jake service dog misbehaving, we expect you to ask the handler to remove the dog. Then call us to let us know. Of course, we hope this will never happen because we work hard to ensure the dog has the behaviors and skills to be in public. We expect everyone who has a service dog to have a well behaved one. While that can be left open to interpretation, but we should not have to worry about the safety of our service dogs from another service dog. And neither should you.
We’ll revisit what is a service dog and what is not in future blogs. For now, if you have questions, the ADA website has a great Q&A section. Or, you are always welcome to email us at info@puppyjakefoundation.orgor call us at 515.777.2837.
