This is is the article. http://lindleylawoffice.com/blog/201...pport-animals/
This is is the article. http://lindleylawoffice.com/blog/201...pport-animals/
Last edited by Alligator; 07-16-2017 at 13:23. Reason: Previous thread link was broken.
There should be a way to prove through having a service dog certification IN HAND that one's ANIMAL IS LEGALLY A CERTIFIED SERVICE DOG WITHOUT IT HAVING TO GO SO FAR TO ISSUING A COMPLAINT OR ENGAGING IN LEGAL PROCEEDINGS TO FIND OUT. Just saying "this is a service or emotional support anmal is NOT enough!
It seems kind of ironic to me that service dogs/animals and/or emotional support animals/dogs don't have to show proof of certification when people who bring in therapy dogs to schools, libraries and nursing homes have to show more paperwork than you see when buying a house.
Blackheart
I find it fundamentally insulting that someone with an "emotional support animal" is put on equal footing to someone with a seeing-eye dog.
Well Uncle Joe, not everyone is like Earl Shaffer, who just wanted to walk the war out of himself. I remember when you were told to "Play through the pain." Now if a pro athlete gets a hang nail, he is out for 3-4 or longer games. Of course now my knees bother me especially when it is going to rain. Back in the late 70's early 80's instead of a laser, eye surgeons used a scalpel to correct your vision. Like Bo Dylan said "Times they are a changin"
Blackheart
I tend to agree a certificate for bona fide service animals, much like a drivers license, would help separate those who need a service animal from those who do not.
Several papers recently ran the Washington article about "emotional support" pets. Researchers looking at this form of therapy are finding scant evidence of effectiveness. There are apparently many anecdotal tales of success with some individuals however, those results cannot be separated from other forms of therapy these individuals were engaged in, making any assertions belief as opposed to empirical.
I don't discount the positive effects of people pets or contact with them in times of mental discomfort. However the body of scientific evidence is thin and growing thinner with respect to providing legal protection for the vast menagerie of "emotional support" animals and reptiles people want to bring along with them.
There is also a huge amount of difference between "emotional support" animals and true "service" (seeing eye dogs, wheelchair aid dogs) or "therapy" dogs for such things as PTSD.
"Sleepy alligator in the noonday sun
Sleepin by the river just like he usually done
Call for his whisky
He can call for his tea
Call all he wanta but he can't call me..."
Robert Hunter & Ron McKernan
Whiteblaze.net User Agreement.
If you read the article, they are not given the same footing as the ADA does not protect ESAs.
There is also a distinction between emotional support animals (ESAs) and service dogs and there are different legal requirements and protections. First, ESAs do not have to be dogs, but they do belong to a person with a disability. In this instance, the person’s doctor makes a determination that the animal is necessary for a person’s mental health and writes a prescription stating the pet is necessary. There is no training required of the animal. As such, business owners do not have to make accommodations by allowing the animal into the business.
https://tinyurl.com/MyFDresults
A vigorous five-mile walk will do more good for an unhappy but otherwise healthy adult than all the medicine and psychology in the world. ~Paul Dudley White
Totally agree my pup is a ESA for SW Airlines standards....doesn't require much..only a Docs letter stating that you are a patient who receives treatment for any sort of emotional disorder....depression etc....I would never attempt to pass him as a service animal nor does it effect anyone who has a REAL SERVICE animal....airlines count him as a carry on since travels in carrier under the seat....
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I think the issue with the screening the animals going to schools, hospitals etc. is more out of concern for the safety of the people that the animals are brought to visit. The institutions really have to be sure that the animals are screened for good behavior and that the handlers really do know how to control the animal. (They're all good dogs until they aren't...) I understand your point though.
The whole service animal thing has gotten out of hand. I read recently where a person brought a supposed ESA pig and another a duck on a flight. I'm sorry but if you really do need an ESA, don't get mad at people for questioning this need. Instead complain to those (who I suspect are in the majority) who take advantage of the system - not the passenger who doesn't want to spend a 6 hour flight next to a pig..
The dog itself should have on collar some commonly recognized identification that it is a certified service dog, from a recognized and certified agency able to issue such identification tags. This would also be for the benefit to those who need such a service animal as they know that the dog was properly trained, while not exposing the disability. It would also create a chain of responsibility as if a agent certified problem dogs their licence can be revoked.
I don't know that I would agree, and the reason is that I see a handicapped parking tag or sticker as a similar example. In my state (KY), to obtain a handicapped parking sticker, in most cases a doctor has to sign a form saying that a person has a disability that merits receiving a tag. However, various news media have done stories time and again showing that the tags are used and abused -- ridiculously easy to obtain, almost impossible to enforce, no penalties against a doc signing off on a form, etc. In my city (Lexington), they are often used as a simple convenience by people who just don't want to walk the extra 20 feet to the door. Sad but true.
You are correct in your statement about being screened for behavioral issues. I am pro animal to a point, but having papers that state how the animal was trained and how it assist the person/handler is not out of the question. You get a tag when your dog gets rabies shots. You have to register your dog every year and you get another tag. Why not issue another tag that identifies the animal as a service animal?
Blackheart