Another service animal scam
An Ocean City, Maryland man was told that he couldn't take his pet iguana on the Boardwalk because of a town ordinance banning "undomesticated" pets in public places. Instead of accepting the ruling, he "registered" his pet iguana as a "service animal". Protection of true service animals is critical but the very broad nature of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has let people get away with claiming that their pet is a service animal simply because they want to take their pet places where they are banned. The ADA just "celebrated" its 20th anniversary at the end of last month.
In this case, the owner will not disclose what his disability is or what the iguana does. That's his right according to the Act, and it lets people get away with anything they want. All he's saying is "You know it's like a cat. You put a cat on your lap and you pet it. It makes you feel good. There's a whole range of disabilities that allows you to do this." That's a pet, not a specially trained animal that is being used for a specific and necessary service activity, such as a guide dog.
The company that he's registered the iguana with is a bit of a joke. The first paragraph on their website states:
It's no secret that many businesses simply aren't pet-friendly, even though most of the population is. A large number of our clients register their dogs as Certified Service Animals or Emotional Support Animals (ESAs) not just to accompany them into stores, restaurants, motels, or on airline flights (for no extra cost), but to successfully qualify for housing where pets aren't allowed. Our Service Dog Certification documents formalize and simplify these processes and make qualifying for special housing hassle-free. If you and your service dog become certified with NSAR, both of you are immediately protected under federal law (ADA).
They're not separating service animals from pets. This is a very important distinction - service animals and pets need to be treated differently. Also, the implication that you have register to have a service animal protected is false advertising, presumably aimed at selling more registrations. You don't need to be registered by this group, or any other, to be a service animal.
To "register" your dog with this group, you have to
- Click a box saying you have a disability. (Their list of disabilities requiring service animals is vague and includes things like asthma and diabetes, to conditions for which I have seen no indication that service animals are useful).
- Click a box saying your dog can fulfill most of their required criteria (it actually says dog, not animal. Therefore, I guess this iguana is registered as a dog).
- Then - and this is the most important step - you send them money.
Fortunately, there's light on the horizon. The following clarification of the ADA has been released, and will take effect in early 2011.
Service animal means any dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability. Other species of animals, whether wild or domestic, trained or untrained, are not service animals for the purposes of this definition. The work or tasks performed by a service animal must be directly related to the handler´s disability. Examples of work or tasks include, but are not limited to, assisting individuals who are blind or have low vision with navigation and other tasks, alerting individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing to the presence of people or sounds, providing non-violent protection or rescue work, pulling a wheelchair, assisting an individual during a seizure, alerting individuals to the presence of allergens, retrieving items such as medicine or the telephone, providing physical support and assistance with balance and stability to individuals with mobility disabilities, and helping persons with psychiatric and neurological disabilities by preventing or interrupting impulsive or destructive behaviors. The crime deterrent effects of an animal´s presence and the provision of emotional support, well-being, comfort, or companionship do not constitute work or tasks for the purposes of this definition.
http://www.wormsandgermsblog.com/admin/trackback/215079
Hmm...
I know several vets who have emotional support dogs that help with their PTSD. Without the dog's presence they become anxious and are not able to function in society. I also know of children with autism who have dogs that provide a calming effect, allowing them to attend school without being disruptive. According to this definition these are no longer service animals.
I have also worked with a cat that was used in therapy sessions to help soldiers open up, in some instances, allowing the soldiers to discuss their suicidal thoughts and saving their lives. I guess she's not doing appropriate work to be considered a service animal under the new definition.
I agree there are people abuse the ADA as it is currently written, but to limit what is considered a service animal is going to put those who truly need some of the "unconventional" service animals at risk.
I'm not so sure about that. The wording is still vague in some areas, and I think it's possible to justify dogs in PTSD and autism under the comment regarding "perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability". The work must be directly related to the disability which would apply in these cases. My interpretation of emotional support, well-being and comfort as being excluded would be for situations where the pet is there to provide benefits in those areas, not where the pet is being used to try to bring the person back up to a standard baseline (i.e. as a treatment to let them function as normally as possible as opposed to a perk to let them feel better than normal).
It still specifies dogs only.
True, but are there species that are better than dogs for some situations? I'm not sure that's the case.
The situation you describe about with the cat isn't use of a service animal. That's animal assisted therapy, where the animal is used during a specific, short-term, therapist-directed activity. Once the session is over, the animal is not used. That's completely differently from a service animal that is required to accompany the person at all times to allow them to function. This change in ADA interpretation has no impact on the use of animals for therapy. It involves animals that are to be given free access to any place that a person goes, at all times. Cats would rarely be useful since there are few situations where a cat is doing something that the person needs to function and where it accompanies it at all times. Cats simply don't tend to put up with the type of constant, directed activities that service animals do in public.
First, there are dogs trained to detect when a diabetic has low or high blood sugar and they seem pretty legit. Apparently they can be quite useful in alerting a person to changes in blood sugar levels before a blood test would pick them up, and can be literal life savers for diabetics (Type 1 generally) who stills struggle with maintaining blood sugar levels.
Also, I have heard of miniature horses being successfully used as seeing-eye horses. The idea is that a horse lives much longer than a dog, which eliminates the need for a person to re-train with a new dog every 5-8 years. My understanding is that the horses can be house-trained, and I'd think that a house-trained horse wouldn't be any more of a zoonotic disease risk than a house-trained dog.
I think this would certainly cover dogs properly trained to assist persons with PTSD or autism: "helping persons with psychiatric and neurological disabilities by preventing or interrupting impulsive or destructive behaviors"
I have a service animal (cat). He is only required in my home - INDOORS ONLY and Not used in public places.
Unfortunately, a species excluded in the new ADA rules.
Fortunately, a legitimate "service animal" or "support animal" needed inside your rented home only and not outdoors in public; I believe is covered under the "HUD FAIR HOUSING ACT".
He has been trained to perform tasks, for example; He performs his task regular as clockwork; trained to tap me on my face, with his paw and head butt me - when it is time to take my medications. He has been trained to do this at specific time. He cleverly tries, and waits patiently for a few minutes and if I don't give him the "cancel signal", he relentlesly keeps trying every 5-10 minutes until I get up. And When I start to disassociate; he instinctively performs this same task (pat my face or hand) and stays extremely close to me, which snaps me out of it and prevents further decompensation episodes.
Usefully, I also trained him to walk on a harness/leash, ride in the car seat on a cushion & leash. He also sits on command, although he won't stay more than 10 seconds (a work in progress). He is a smart Cat. (Russian blue or Korat and white mix).