Fake “service dogs” are a nightmare. I work in a tourist venue (actually, it’s a church) where we have to deal with them.
They’re usually brought in by neurotic older ladies who have gotten some kind of internet certificate or bought a “service dog vest” off the internet. The dogs stink, they attack other dogs, they bark, and they piddle on the floor. One of the ladies lifted her “service dog” up so it could drink out of the baptismal font.
A real service dog is carefully trained and does none of the things I described above. But we’re all told not to challenge them now because then they will invoke ADA. This is even though there’s no legitimate reason, and if they sued us, they’d lose (since they’re not handicapped and the dog is NOT a service dog). But the threat alone is enough to mean that we can’t do anything.
It sounds to me that these are Companion/Support Dogs,not Service dogs-——an entirely different category and NOT covered by the ADA.
You might want to check the rules for your state for Companion/Support dogs.
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