I have to chime in here. There are valid reasons to have an emotional support animal. An emotional support animal can be anything a dog a cat a a parrot a pig etc.
I know someone who has an esa sun conure. The Conure they love is their whole reason for being a functioning human.
I am not advocating abusing the privelidge or breaking the rules. I think doing that is horrible.
Just plrase dont let those who abuse the privelidge sour you on thide who truly have and need an esa.
Please and those lol. Stupid typos.
i dont doubt it, but look at the quandry it creates.
basically anyone who claims they need to bring their animal with them somewhere for some reason, you have to allow them to and not question why they feel it is necessary.
it is, in a de facto way, a system in which an animal is allowed to go anywhere it's owner deems is necessary. if we feel the good of not depriving those who need them of their emotional support animals, well then the unavoidable abuse is the price we pay for it.
on the other hand, we can decide that the ramifications of allowing this are not worth it and that the handful of people who truly need it are going to have to deal with it for the good of all the other people and places who would be impacted.
the notion that somehow we are only going to have those with truly legit need make use of the leniency afforded ESAs and that abuse will not be rampant is fantasy land stuff.
itd be more to the point and straightforward and honest to say this- "please do not bring your pet here as it will negatively impact the place and the other people here to enjoy it." while conceding that pets are, in fact, allowed.
that is in essence what is in place now. we have an unenforceable "rule" prohibiting something, but its nothing but an honor system. we are, in effect, requesting that people not bring their pets and trusting them to not do so, while totally helpless to prevent them. i suppose we're hoping not many people get wise to this, but that wont last long.
I've trained 3 SD for my wife who had MD. You'd never find her on uneven ground.
While we were active with the SD we never had a problem in Illinois/Iowa. We carried plenty of federal and state laws with us, but with the obvious harness on "Shadow" and my wife's gait no questions were needed.
With those without an 'obvious' problem, the honor system does work pretty well. The demeanor of the dog often lets you know the truth.
The bus system here has a monthly list, with photos, of individual banned form the system. It includes people and dogs. "Service" animals lose service all the time, and may be put off the bus for good cause by the drivers. The behavior, (usually aggression) is cause for denial of service. And for the record, service dogs are pretty easily identified by their serious, often boring behavior, even if the nature of their service is not obvious.
"It's fun to have fun, but you have to know how." ---Dr. Seuss
I am glad that you found help and a companion for your wife in a service animal. You are right, demeanor of the dog speaks the truth more than a certificate any day. I have trained every one of my dogs since I was in high school. They knew to behave around strangers and to react only when a person showed aggression towards me, the wife or my children. I have also trained a few that went to the local library and laid next to a child, while the child read to them. This program was developed to help those kids that were shy about reading in public.
If a dog is aggressive for no reason, tries to get food from you or is totally out of control, don't blame the animal. Blame the owner for failing to take the time with the dog to train them. A dog will only act the way the owner allows it.
I agree that service animals are in a special class all their own. There will always be people who try to pass off their animal as a SA just to get him into places were they would be banned otherwise. If you watch a dog that has been trained, it will always be looking at its owner. They only want to please their owner. A dog can tell when something is wrong with its owner, some times quicker that another human can.
Emotional Support Animals are becoming more popular these days as a vets return from combat. Sometimes a vet just wants to talk without having any comments from another human being. Their ESA will just sit and listen to them all day if that's what it takes. They won't judge them and won't tell anyone if their owner cries. They are just there.
Blackheart
I don't think she is a thru hiker unless she just started her SOBO. As stated on her website the dog is a certified therapy and emotional support animal. She is a licensed mental health clinician. Connecting the dots, my guess is she uses the dog for her profession. Doubt she needed the dog for emotional support climbing Kathadin. As an historical note, at least one exception has been made for allowing a dog in BSP. Back in 1964 Chuck Ebersole was able to convince park superintendent Helon Taylor to allow his beagle Snuffy in the park and to climb Katahdin.
More walking, less talking.
Baxter is NOT a state park as many have said here before. I just read the statement at the Baxter web page. No connection to the Maine State Park system.
In the grand scheme of things I have no idea what that means in the service dog world.
Wayne
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Makes no difference under the letter of the federal law. Excerpted from here:
They can disallow access to service dogs when they disallow access to the public.Originally Posted by ADA Requirements
Echoing Rick B's information regarding service animals, he is right. There is no legitimate certification; however, because there is so much suspicion, I do carry my prescriptions from 3 different MDs. Still, no one has a right to ask for my medical records, which the scripts are. Push further, and I (as well as others) will take legal action against the jerk (or jerkette). No quarter.
You never know just what you can do until you realize you absolutely have to do it.
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My service dog, Fleur, died with little warning August 12, 2015. To replace her through an SD training facility was/is beyond my financial capability. I had trained Fleur myself for that reason as well as the almost impossible task of training a dog (could be a mini horse) to help prevent or assuage a psychiatric problem (panic disorder) for another person. Fleur did great, attending lectures, concerts, plays, dinners at restaurants, visiting homes, buying groceries, sitting at my feet on airlines,listening at church, etc. HOWEVER, had she not behaved properly, I would have been expected quietly to persuade her to behave. If that did not work, then I would be required to remove her from that scene. THEN, if she had settled down, we could both return. That is the law, and it is a good one. In your mind, think of a young child in that situation. To further attempt to put a light on this subject, only California and Colorado have a law granting Service Dog in Training privilege under the theory that the dog needs to have real experiences to back up their training. Most dogs learn that way more quickly. I am now eagerly awaiting my new dog's birthday in 4 months when she will have gained the maturity of being that magic age of 2 years old. In choosing her at 9 weeks old, I was grateful for the wisdom of her breeder who herself must have a psychiatric animal. When you encounter us somewhere, please do us the favor of not seeking her eye contact or in any other way distracting her. Even though I have no wheelchair (yet) nor a white cane, she is working. Just talk to me. We can even converse about her and the program and whether or how you can get a service dog for your grandchild. Just don't direct your speech towards her. Thanks.
You never know just what you can do until you realize you absolutely have to do it.
--Salaun
Sounds like gimmicky BS to impose one's desires on others.
There NEEDS to be a certification or ability to qualify these animals as it's getting ridiculous.
Oh, I'm not breaking any rules. I know the AT is a non motorized walking path but this motorized bicycle is here for emotional support Ranger. Do I have any papers to qualify my bike? No But I don't have to prove or verify anything about my bike. Don't discriminate.
Ahh, the discrimination defense.
I am not familiar with the training of service dog, but Sawnie it appears that you have a system down pat. I have seen a few service animals that assist with getting things and opening certain doors etc. Of course there is always the seeing eye dogs that most people are familiar with. Good luck to you.
Blackheart
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My husband has a PTSD service dog. We are debating whether or not she will come with us on our thru hike. She will be kenneled for BSP.
There is a lot of misinformation about service dogs and emotional support dogs out there. You are all correct that ESA's do not have federal protection except for housing issues. A trained SD (or in- training dog in a few states, including Texas) can be removed if they are disruptive, and can't be calmed, for aggressive behavior, or if the dog is not housebroken.
I have many opinions about certification that I will keep to myself. I will say, our dog has never been questioned or asked to leave. Generally, you can tell a real SD by behavior.
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I have only just looked at this thread and don't know all the circumstances. For federal law, you have to have a disability, I think the relevant section is in the ADA. If you don't have a disability or you do and you don't have a trained service dog please don't screw up the rights of other disabled individuals by fraudulently bringing in a non-service dog. Show some class and don't break the law.
Now, the state of Maine has its own set of laws which appear to "possibly" be less restrictive than the federal law. From another website, I am reading that under federal law, a trainee dog is not classified as a service dog until it finishes its training. Therefore, a trainee dog does not have any service dog privileges. However, Maine does seem to allow a trainee dog with an especially trained service dog trainer to have the same rights as a person with a disability who has a service dog. Also, the Maine system for qualifying the disability is perhaps easier to be classified as disabled. I am not sure there.
Again I don't know what interaction or words were said between the hiker and BSP nor whether the hiker is an especially trained service dog trainer. Just pointing out a situation where the state law appears more lenient in this case.
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