Emotional Support Animals - Service Animals

[Mike]

First off, I know what a service animal is, or I think I do? I was hesitant to post this at all but I'm just wondering if everyone is noticing the dogs all over more and more? We have a local friend that has a trained dog for his particular pacemaker that goes everywhere with him, aside from restaurants.

While at the Flora Bama club a week ago, I saw a lady raise a lot of crap about providing documentation for her little ankle biter. I watched that dog for at least 30 minutes in the gift shop roam about free willy style nowhere near her owner, not on a leash. They gathered their stuff and she was calling attention to herself & dog with "this will be so fun, it's your first time here" (it was her and her spouse). The door lady stopped her and said no animals allowed, explained it's a big place, kids, bands, crowded, we don't allow it and needed to see ID. The lady just went off with "I have whatever card you need to see", etc and it got ugly, wanted the manager but she was already speaking to her, lol. The lady got belligerent when told to leash the animal, she would be allowed entry but only on a leash. It was nuts.

I was shopping in Home Depot a few times this week and there are dogs everywhere, one I know for sure is for PTSD as there was a story about him a while back but all the rest are just in buggies or on leashes but I saw 4 in one trip.

Spent the day in Houston shopping for home supplies yesterday and ate at Niko Niko (great food, lol) and they have a big sign that we love your pets too but they are not allowed here. The biggest deal was our stop at Buccee's on the way home in Baytown. A lady entered carrying a Chihuahua and a male cashier tried to question her, she ignored and then the female cashier said "mam, you can't bring the animal inside" and she went nuts with you can't tell me that!, you wanna see papers?, and just kept on walking. I checked out and the lady was parked right next to us, she might have been in the store 3-4 minutes and a male was driving the vehicle.

The last part is the kicker. We have a close friend that confided in us that she was written up by the hospital where she works for questioning a patient with an ESA. She is a Radiation Technician and was working MRI and a female patient gets all the way back to her area, ready for her MRI with her dog. She was dumbfounded, she's never been in the situation before and simply asked what was the purpose of the animal and that she'd never seen an animal allowed in the hospital, much less radiology.

I just don't get it, I know these laws/guidelines are being abused, are people fishing for a lawsuit?

[kingranch]

I have had several service dogs sit with me while I perform an mri on pt

I don't mind but i do agree many of these emotional dogs are a croc where does it end?

[150class]

It’s insane.

That being said know plenty of people that get them to avoid pet fees for renting and apartments since they aren’t regulated much I can understand doing it to save money.

It sucks for people who truely need them and could be affected by future changes due to this being abused.


Also the attachment some people have with animals is insane. They’ll put them above every human life besides their own. I love my dog but sheesh...

[BTLowry]

Pretty sure "notional support" is not a valid service condition

I do know through a couple of meetings at the hospital I work in that there are only 2 questions that can be asked

Luckily the admitting staff takes care of all of that

[texashunter]

I think there is a big difference on getting a dog certified to be a true service dog as opposed to an "emotional support dog" which IMO is a croc. I know someone who did the emotional support thing, all they did was go online, fill out the paperwork, send in their money and got the paperwork and vest in the mail. No training or checking on the dogs true qualifications at all. Its is a joke.

[Walker]

Just like handicap parking. Its a mystery to my why some people have to park 50 feet from an entrance but can push a cart around a 500,000 sq ft store.

[JayB]

Oh go ahead and make that kind of comment on the book of faces....whackos come out from under the pet dish to tell you how bad of a person you are.....what about the poor soul that has an insane fear of dogs and they come across your little powder puff while they are out enjoying thier shopping spree...what do you do when that person goes nuts when he lays eyes on your doggie?

It is insane...but one step closer to being able to marry your best pet. It's coming soon to a California town near you [emoji16]

oh look...what is that?

[TxKronik]

The ADA act and Texas law only recognize service animals (animals that perform a task for physical handicap)
deafness or another hearing impairment
a visual impairment
a speech impairment
a mental disability
a physical disability
an intellectual or developmental disability
post-traumatic stress disorder, or any health impairment for which the person needs special ambulatory services or devices.

AND

Psychiatric service dogs are, however, covered by both Texas law and the ADA. These are dogs that are trained to provide services such as responding to an owner's panic attack by initiating contact to comfort the owner or alerting an owner who is exercising poor judgment due to bipolar disorder that he or she is driving dangerously

Neither law covers pets or what some call “emotional support animals”: animals that provide a sense of safety, companionship, and comfort to those with psychiatric or emotional disabilities or conditions.

That's the part most people have a problem with they think because their dog got "certified" online as an ESD it can go anywhere.

kronik by Diamond

[deerwatcher51]

We have a couple of folks who bring their dogs to church.

[Bort]

Some of the people y’all have mentioned sound like complete off the wall phycos....if they’re that crazy, maybe they do need a dog physiological support?


I love dogs and see the need for true service dogs. However, I have hard time believing that the ankle bitters that some people carry in their purse are really needed as service animals.

[txhunter90]

My cousin has one and is embarrassing. I dont live in the same town, but she will bring it to restaurants when we eat. Also now all you have to do is register the dog online. My buddy did this for duck hunting. So when they go to hotels out of town they have to let the dog in. Which is a crappy way as well.

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[zr2chevy22]

Theres a difference between a service dog and an emotional support animal. ADA only protects service DOGS. You are allowed by law to ask 2 questions. Is it a service dog and what specific task is it trained to do. Only those 2. Emotional support animals are NOT granted the same rights as a service dog. ADA also defines ONLY DOGS can be service dogs.

Now heres the tricky part. The ADA covers THERAPY dogs. However the 2 primary questions can still be asked. On the 2nd question about what task is the dog trained to do that's required so you know if the dogs trying to alert or just being disobedient. ADA laws state the the DOG must be tethered to the owner by a leash, lead or harness unless said harness prevents the dog from performing its trained task.

This is just an overview of the ADA laws pertaining to SERVICE DOGS... emotional support animals are not covered under ADA laws.

[IkemanTX]

Technically speaking, there are only 2 industries in the nation that are required to acquiesce to “emotional support” animals... and that’s housing and aviation. Restaurants, shops, stores, concert halls etc ONLY have to accommodate ACTUAL registered service animals.

Service animals are trained to provide some form of function for the patient.
i.e. vision assistance, epileptic notification, glucose monitoring, ptsd therapy

“Emotional support” animals are any dog, cat, pig, bird, or primate that someone paid $25 online to get a prescription for. This is not what the “emotional support” status was meant for, just what it has turned into.

I am a flight attendant on a major airline and have to deal with this every day. I BS you not, I have had emotional support chickens, pigs, and even monkeys that I have had to deal with. Most of these animals provide zero medically necessary assistance to the passenger. The ones that do have emotional support animals for calming/nervous/mental reasons are typically very straightforward with us. The majority of them, though, are ladies that can’t bear to separate themselves from their puppy because it’s their replacement child.

All the major airlines have petitioned congress to strengthen the requirements and guidelines for emotional support animals. Personally, I think a good solution is that to get an Rx for it.... only a psychologist or psychiatrist should be able to prescribe it, and only to someone actively under their care. No more online forms.


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[8mpg]

Blame the government and political correctness. I had a few run ins when I was a supervisor at my hospital. Our legal team said we can allow service dogs, but not emotional support. As soon as the dog is out of control once, we can boot the dog from the property. The owner must also keep them on a leash and in control at all times. ADA only allows you to ask questions. Is it a service dog and what is it trained to do. You cannot ask for certifications, training, persons health issue or emotional support issue. If the person says service dog and its technically not, you cannot do anything about it. Its a bunch of crap and I absolutely love dogs.

[IkemanTX]

Blame the government and political correctness. I had a few run ins when I was a supervisor at my hospital. Our legal team said we can allow service dogs, but not emotional support. As soon as the dog is out of control once, we can boot the dog from the property. ADA only allows you to ask questions. Is it a service dog and what is it trained to do. You cannot ask for certifications, training, persons health issue or emotional support issue. If the person says service dog and its technically not, you cannot do anything about it. Its a bunch of crap and I absolutely love dogs.

Congress is looking at correcting this and making it illegal to impersonate a service animal. They are just slower than molasses in winter time.


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