Taking Your Dog Everywhere

[Dameon]

The most frustrating part of having a dog is all the places you can't go with your dog. Inside stores, on buses, even on certain streets in some cities. For normal people, it's not a big deal, they can leave their dog at home. For those of us on the road, that's not an option. Luckily, there's a thing called the Americans with Disabilities Act

Before you read this, you should read this short FAQ regarding service animals from the ADA:
Commonly Asked Questions About Service Animals in Places of Business

1) What's Your Disability?
Service dogs are usually thought of as guide dogs for the blind, but there's a whole host of things that qualify a dog as a service dog. Here's a list of some of the types of service dogs:

Guide Dog: For the blind or people with very poor vision.

Hearing Dog: For the deaf or hard of hearing.

Mobility Assistance Dog: Pulls a person's wheelchair, carries things in a backpack, picks up things a person drops, opens/closes doors, helps the handler get dressed or undressed.

Walker Dog: Helps the handler walk by balancing or acting as a counter balance. Does many of the tasks that the Mobility Assist Dog does.

Seizure Alert/Response Dog: This dog is trained to respond to a person's seizures and either stay with the person, or go get help. Some dogs are trained to hit a button on a console to automatically dial 911. When the dog hears the voice over the speaker, the dog starts barking. The disabled person would have arranged that the system is dog activated.

Psychiatric Service Dog: A person with a mental disability may need a dog to be able to go out in public (agraphobic), or may be autistic and need the dog to keep them focused. These dogs are trained NEVER to leave their handler's side. For more information on tasks that a dog can do, go to the IAADP PSD Info page.

SsigDog: A dog trained to assist a person with autism. The dog alerts the partner to distracting repetitive movements common among those with autism, allowing the person to stop the movement (e.g., hand flapping).

2) Train Your Dog
Your dog needs to walk with you (not pull, not lead), not bark, ignore other dogs, and generally behave extremely well. The worse your dog behaves, the more likely you are to have problems.

3) Know Your Rights
The most important thing to know is in the FAQ you should have read earlier. Specifically, this section:

Q: How can I tell if an animal is really a service animal and not just a pet?

A: Some, but not all, service animals wear special collars and harnesses. Some, but not all, are licensed or certified and have identification papers. If you are not certain that an animal is a service animal, you may ask the person who has the animal if it is a service animal required because of a disability. However, an individual who is going to a restaurant or theater is not likely to be carrying documentation of his or her medical condition or disability. Therefore, such documentation generally may not be required as a condition for providing service to an individual accompanied by a service animal. Although a number of states have programs to certify service animals, you may not insist on proof of state certification before permitting the service animal to accompany the person with a disability.

Legally, if you say it's a service dog, you can bring your dog anywhere you could go without your dog. It's federal law.

The problem is, other people don't necessarily know the law. I've had police tell me that an ID card is required, and refuse to believe me on this point, even when I've produced the FAQ. Which brings me to the next bit...

4) Have Documents
The easiest thing to get is the FAQ from the beginning. Print it out and have a copy with you, and that'll give you something to show people who demand papers or ID when you say your dog is a service dog. Make sure they know that this is federal law, and that businesses have had fines of over $30,000 for denying access to people with service dogs.


The next easiest thing to do is to create an ID card yourself. There's lots of places that sell service dog IDs online for $10-$30, or if you have access to a computer and graphics program, you can make your own. Just do an image search on Google for "Service Dog ID" for lots of examples.

4) Make It Look Like a Service Dog
This means no bandanna, a real collar, and a good looking leash. If possible, you should have a harness, too. Having tags helps too; you can make your own ID tag at Wal-Mart ID tag making machine for $5, and hopefully you've had your dog vaccinated for rabies and gotten a tag for that too.

Finally, to make your dog look REALLY official, as well as to help with having your dog travel in general, buy a dog pack, and a couple of service dog patches, and put the patches on the pack. Or you can buy an actual service dog vest, but I prefer having a pack so my dog can carry her own stuff. You have to order this stuff online (except dog packs, you can find those at lots of hiking/outdoor stores for $50-$150), but you can just get a reloadable credit card from Wal-Mart for a few bucks and use that.

5) Nifty Links
Here's some links to useful stuff for creating your very own service dog:
A guide to creating service dog identification: PonderEthereal - How to Make Service Dog Identification and Information Cards
Somewhere to buy patches, vests, backpacks, and more for your dog: Service Dog Patches - Rockers - ID Cards - Therapy Dog Patches
That place has a pack you can buy for $20, although I doubt it'd last long. Patches run $6.75 each

 

[shwillyhaaa]

oh my god i love you
thank you so much for posting this :]

 

[614 crust]

Another really great post. Thanks Dameon.

 

[Diagaro]

Yes I am happy I remembered to search for this, BART and other PTD's will bow down so I don't have to walk everywhere!

 

[Nym]

hahah i love this post....
i made a service card and pack using
a similar post on another site
and that shit has helped so much!

but this is awesomely rich in info!

 

[AJ Hertzfield]

Couple of things that need to be pointed out. First, depending on the state you do this in, your dog can be confiscated and you can do felony prison time. While the ADA is used as being the "least restrictive", the states can have wording that makes it a crime to fake having a disability. It can also mean that you loose the opportunity/rights to medicaid, medicare, and social security benefits,

Second, even if you get away with it a couple of times, your dog will generally give you away. It takes up to 2 years to train a real SD; 99% of pet dogs can't pass the training and the public access testing. Then there are the dogs that look sorta ok, but when the "handler" gets questioned by a gatekeeper, they completely give themselves away by their actions.

Things have gotten had enough that they changed the rules to dogs only (mini horses only in specific cases) and had to actually clarify that the animals must be potty trained (which was a given, but let's but the blame squarely on the shoulders of those who it belongs.... fakers like those who started this thread and have admitted to breaking the law. If you end up going to court, it is up to you to show that you meet the ADA definition of disabled. Claiming agoraphobia or most mill mental illnesses aren't going to cut it; less than 15% of those with them are disabled enough to qualify. While Owner/Training is still available (at least until the powers that be get tired of fakers taking advantage and decide to do something about it), the pool of real O/Ts is small (and they tend to have appropriate paperwork to back them up); certain types of SDs are program trained and it is very easy for LEOs and judges to run a program's name and client list.

So the moral is.... cheat the system at your own peril, but don't be surprised when your busted by a legitimate team.

 

[Nagrom]

i got on the greyhound from barstow to kansas city and i had my dog with me but no kind of proof she was a service animal. i didnt have any problems untill i got to denver and they said i had to show them paper work on her. after checking with their higher ups they let me on the bus after i told them i dont have to show them anything. my friend also had her dog on a greyhound for quick travel from sf to florida and the only place that gave her problems was denver also. are dogs are sisters and are very well trained. my dog even started freaking out when a guy was passing out from a medical con and let everyone know even though she has had no formal traing. its all about how you carry yourself when asked questions and knowing your stuff.

 

[Dameon]

I have never ever heard of anybody getting their dog confiscated or going to jail over having a fake service dog. As long as you're not dumb enough to attempt to take a really badly behaved dog to court and show fake papers to a judge, that's not going to happen. It's not like a bus driver is going to call the cops because he doesn't believe your papers are real when it's illegal to require proof of a dog's status as a service dog in the first place.

Most traveling dogs are well-trained to start with; I see way more yuppies trying to pass off a badly behaved dog that they just threw a service dog vest on than travelers. If you're going to wave blame around, wave it in the faces of yuppies who put a service dog vest on a yappy chihuahua that hasn't been trained at all so that they can carry it everywhere in their purse, not travelers who are forced to lie by a broken system because they HAVE to be able to get their dog on a bus.

Man I hate people who sit on moral high horses.

 

[Nagrom]

i see people at walmart with pocket dogs in their bags and jacket all the time and i never see walmart bother them but give me all kinds of shit for my dog who is super well behaived and nice. the main thing is to know what your talking about and not just try to half ass bull shit your way threw it

 

[Gudj]

If you haven't noticed Dameon, I heavily edited your first post. If you want to talk about it you can email me, but I am pretty bummed that you would post that info the way that you did.

 

[venusinpisces]

It's not like a bus driver is going to call the cops because he doesn't believe your papers are real when it's illegal to require proof of a dog's status as a service dog in the first place.

Oh yes they will. I've snuck dogs on BART on multiple occasions and the cops were always getting called. Nobody asked me anything about service dogs when this happened. It was just cops in my face and that was that. Same thing happened when bringing my dog on the subway in Philly. A lot of people have instinctual reaction to dogs and no vest or special ID is going to change that. So, it's not an issue of anybody getting on a moral high horse. It's more about trying to prevent travelers from getting a felony charge and $10,000 fine because you gave them bad advice.

 

[Dameon]

Hahahaha. Fuck. There's threads that discuss everything else illegal under the sun in depth, and people are bitching about the information I gave out here? Mods editing my fucking posts when the posts don't break a single rule?

Fuck Squat the Planet, fuck the mostly oogles that populate it, and fuck the over-sensitive mods who want to act like censors. Who needs the FCC to censor us when we have people who love to abuse power and censor us?

Don't know why I'm bothering responding, when this'll just get edited or deleted because somebody doesn't like what I have to say.

Teach me to try and give out some useful information and help the kids that're actually on the road out there. But then, I guess StP is the wrong place for that these days.

 

[Gudj]

Hahahaha. Fuck. There's threads that discuss everything else illegal under the sun in depth, and people are bitching about the information I gave out here? Mods editing my fucking posts when the posts don't break a single rule?

Fuck Squat the Planet, fuck the mostly oogles that populate it, and fuck the over-sensitive mods who want to act like censors. Who needs the FCC to censor us when we have people who love to abuse power and censor us?

Don't know why I'm bothering responding, when this'll just get edited or deleted because somebody doesn't like what I have to say.

Teach me to try and give out some useful information and help the kids that're actually on the road out there. But then, I guess StP is the wrong place for that these days.

Get the fuck over it Dameon.
There are alot of threads on here about illegal things, and even how-to's on illegal things.
However, this is the first I've read that gives instructions on how to commit a felony while not being careful in the least bit how you present it.
I'm the oogle for editing your post? I'd say you are the oogle for posting a scam (that the people who need it already know, and even if they didn't there are threads on stp about service tags and it's real easy to look up on google), and then wording it in the most sketchy, incriminating way possible, drawing the attention of a random AJ Hertzfield (who I'm betting is not a crusty), to come on here to tell you how fucking stupid it was for you to post that information like you did.
It is so easy to say the facts about the ADA, letting anyone with half a fucking brain figure out if it can help them. It is fucking stupid to post that information and then say "IF YOU DIDN'T GET THE HINT, COMMIT FRAUD WITH THIS INFORMATION, WE ARE SO SMART FOR FIGURING THIS OUT AND THEY ARE TOO DUMB TO CATCH ON." THAT is fucking irresponsible, and if this were a secure or private forum that would be one thing (still incredibly stupid to add extra info just to make it absolutely clear that you are advising people to commit a crime instead of putting it another way), but this is a public forum that you know is fucking monitored to some degree by law enforcement. If you really don't get the difference between posting information that could be used to break the law, and posting a guide on how to break the law (therefore increasing the possibility of the scam getting blown up for everybody, and again, most everyone who needs to use it already know how and do), then don't fucking post advice on here anymore.

That was a possibly incoherent rant because I am pissed off still, but I hope you get the idea.

And yeah, good job comparing stp mods to the FCC. This is the first post I've ever had to censor because no-one else on this site has made the shithead move that you did.

 

[Dameon]

You know how I can tell I'm in the right? You're the only one that's flipped his shit over this. ANOTHER mod commented on the thread saying he likes it. Other people have responded saying it's helpful info, that they like it, and then one guy flips his shit because he thinks that a step-by-step guide to breaking the law is crossing the line. You think law enforcement is monitoring StP to find out about our amazing schemes to pass our dogs off as service dogs, and that this is blowing up the scam? Yes, because federal agencies (that's the only people who'd be watching) are real worried about that. That's what they're watching for. The CIA gives a shit about fake service dogs.

Your argument is that the people who deserve the information already have it because they're smart enough to find it themselves? Bullshit. We might as well never give out any information because anybody who deserves information can find it themselves.

Also, I never called you an oogle. You just called yourself an oogle. Only thing I called you is over-sensitive.

Anyway, that's the last you'll hear from me...I'm done with StP. I'm not posting ANYTHING here anymore, because that's the last straw of bullshit I need to deal with.

 

[jess]

I have a deaf dog that can not be left alone is there away that I can get some kind of papers saying he's deaf and has to be with me because he depends on me?

 

[Gudj]

I have a deaf dog that can not be left alone is there away that I can get some kind of papers saying he's deaf and has to be with me because he depends on me?

Not federally recognized, but you should ask a vet or someone to write that up all official. It might help, but it might not.

 

[jess]

Not federally recognized, but you should ask a vet or someone to write that up all official. It might help, but it might not.

Thank you I will try that

 

[L.C.]

Look up "doggydmv", they have photo i.d.'s for service dogs, patches and vests. Photo i.d.'s are 20-25 dollars last time i checked. They look real legit too.

 

[shwillyhaaa]

wow while reading this thread i watched in my minds eye as dameon cried and flounced out the door with a huge audible slam... i hope he has a big pillow for all the tears itll have to hold

 

[DisgustinDustin]

this is awesome.. i was thinking of taking my dog sometime. now i gots some ifo on how to ease up some hassel
thanks!