Dogs are amazing creatures — they can be lovable companions, robust playmates and help those with mental and physical challenges lead more fulfilling lives.
But service dogs and “civilians” are not to be confused — especially by duplicitous owners.
The Herald’s Stephan Geller reported that Rep. Kimberly Ferguson filed a bill making it a civil infraction to knowingly misrepresent a dog as a service dog or service-dog-in-training “for the purpose of obtaining any rights or privileges afforded to a person with a disability requiring the assistance of a service dog.”
Rep. Sarah Peake, a supporter of Ferguson’s bill, told last week’s Judiciary Committee hearing that she ran a bed-and-breakfast for 23 years and encountered a number of guests who would claim their dog was a service animal after being informed that the inn was pet-free.
Defensive dog owners may ask: How bad can it be to have a pooch interacting with its owner in public, even if you have to fudge its credentials so it can go wherever you do?
In truth, that lack of consideration yields lively hounds in restaurants who bark and whine at the overload of amazing smells and new people, stressed poodles taking out their overstimulation on the office rug and bored terriers nipping someone’s pants leg for something fun to do.
And worse. Ellen Leigh of Arlington uses a mobilized wheelchair, and has a trained service dog named Ricky. She testified that she was out with Ricky last month when another dog wearing a working-dog vest tried to bite him. She said that was just one of many encounters she’s had with pets whose owners misrepresent them as service dogs, according to the State House News Service.
The American Kennel Club states that training for service dogs can last up to two years. The dogs must be focused on their handlers and desensitized to distractions. They should not be distracted by the public.
Pets without special training, Leigh said, can become stressed in hectic, public environments and become aggressive — a hazard for service dogs and the people who rely on their assistance.
Service dogs help with more than mobility. Sheila Goffe of the American Kennel Club said the role of the dogs has expanded to include aiding people with “invisible disabilities” like epilepsy and post-traumatic stress disorder.
“Service dogs are one of the few tools that can expand an owner’s opportunity by giving them independence and confidence,” Goffe said. “It broadens their world to experience a more normal life than otherwise possible. Sadly, increased success in the area of invisible disabilities, combined with a lack of penalties for abuse, has resulted in an epidemic of pets being misrepresented as service dogs by irresponsible dog owners seeking to benefit.”
“The bottom line is, this is a bill about fraud,” Ferguson said.
Violators would be subject to a fine of up to $500, 30 hours of community service at an organization serving people with disabilities, or both, for a first offense. The penalty would increase for subsequent offenses. In order to catch people who misrepresent their dogs, the bill states that police officers and animal control personnel will be trained by the Massachusetts Office on Disability, as well as a nationally accredited service dog organization, on how to spot deceitful pet owners.
An excellent move, long overdue. We love dogs, it’s just disheartening when some owners need lessons in obedience.
