Fake Service Animals California
Many states have passed laws that make it illegal to fake having a service dog.
Fake service animals california. The penalties vary depending on where the infraction took place. The problem isnt people who legitimately need the assistance. Businesses have been dealing for years with the hassles of accommodating customers and employees with service animals.
No one begrudges a blind person the right to a guide dog. The service dog reputation is at stake and its because some pet owners think no pet policies shouldnt apply. Badly behaved fake service dogs are hugely damaging to public perceptions of service animals.
On January 30 2012 a six-year-old boy was killed at Fort Campbell in Oak Grove Tennessee by a German Shepherd medical service dog. Dogs whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support do not qualify as service animals under the ADA. Polsky on February 26 2014.
Makes falsely claiming an animal to be a service animal a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for six month or a fine up to 1000 or both. What are Californias laws on fake service animals. However in California pretending to be an owner of a service dog is a criminal misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to 1000 andor up to six months imprisonment.
The penalties for violating these laws vary. Service animals are working animals not pets. California has long addressed the issue.
The concerns about fake or problematic service animals voiced by Palacio and others have drawn attention from officials as well. Three months later on April 27 2012 Jeremiah Eskew-Shahan age 1 was killed by his grandmothers therapy dog in Henderson. The work or task a dog has been trained to provide must be directly related to the persons disability.