Service Animals, Emotional Support Animals, and Guide Dogs

Sadly, some people are asking whether "service animal" laws are increasingly being abused by those that want to scam the system.

There have been news stories, articles, opinion pieces and other editorials where people rant and complain about people they believe to be abusing the machine. You hear some complain they had to sit near a dog at a restaurant they don't believe is really a "real" service dog, or others complain that their neighbors have a pet in a "no pet" building because they claimed the animal is an emotional support animal.

A number of the commentary comes with an indignant tone, plus some folks are downright angry.

So how exactly does this affect those that legitimately own and work with a service animal to raised their lives? In lots of ways.

For one, it can it more challenging to navigate bureaucracy of the planet when your claim of a disability and your service or emotional support animal's status is questioned. In case a landlord or business owner has heard negative stories claiming that some people are abusing the system, it can lead them to look suspiciously at all claimants.

Some landlord and companies have begun asking for proof of status, despite the fact that asking for written or other evidence isn't always legal, and even though many owners of legitimate service animals and emotional support animals haven't taken advantage of registering them, and therefore have no such documentation to create.

It is the suspicious attitude and illegal demands of some landlords and companies that produce registrations services like the Service Animal Registry of California so crucial to legitimate owners.

Although registration is optional, it can benefit shortcut the housing rental and business access issues when the owner can create a simple document that will often fulfill the owner or landlord. Also, when using public spaces, it is easier to hand over a document with a simple sentence stating, "That is a service animal" and letting another party read the information, rather than having a long-winded protracted conversation (or worse yet, argument) in public, with onlookers listening in and gathering around the discussion.

So, do some individuals scam the machine, or game regulations? Sadly, the answer is "probably yes." In life, there's always room for abuse and people can try to take advantage of many systems that people as a society set up to safeguard the rights of these who need such protection. For instance, many drivers falsely display disabled parking placards to benefit from free and convenient parking. Not forgetting the number of people that lie on their taxation statements, claim improper tax deductions, abuse retail store return policies, or do other bad acts.

But that percentage of abuse, which in your community of service animal laws is hopefully small, is arguably an extremely small price to pay when compared to the higher goal of promoting access and equality for all.

In the end, you cannot control any system to create it 100% abuse proof. So tolerating  Get more info  who scam service animal laws may be the price we gladly pay to ensure the disabled in the fantastic state of California have equal access under law.