Contrary to what you think austistc children can and do use service dogs.It is expensively illegal for a dog to wear the service dog garb if they are not a service animal and anyone who would fake that would be crazy to try.
The article doesn’t say the dog was wearing service dog garb. I doubt it was wearing it which is what set off the event.
The dog would need to be wearing the garb AND leashed.
Think again. You can apparently order the service dog vests and people can and do use them to fly their non service dogs inside the cabin of airplanes and other places:
http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2011-04-08/news/fl-hk-fake-service-dogs-20110405_1_service-dogs-service-animals-guide-dog
I’ve actually seen very ill mannered dogs at the airport being passed off as service dogs. It’s really high time that they got a handle on this whole mess. If the law requires places to accept these dogs (and I’m sorry, pigs? forget it) then it’s fair to require basic obedience and that the dog be certified in some way. It’s also fair to require the owner to carry something to prove the dog is certified if the dog is going to be in a place that normally is restricted to pets. It has gotten past ridiculous.
“It is expensively illegal for a dog to wear the service dog garb if they are not a service animal and anyone who would fake that would be crazy to try.”
That “service dog garb” is sold over the internet to anyone who pays their money. It is not required, nor does it prove anything.
The reality is that there is far greater risk for a service provider in challenging the service dog status than there is for someone caught faking it.