Service dogs are defined as “dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities” (ADA Title II). There is an ever growing issue of the fact that people are falsely representing their untrained pets as service dogs in order to be able to bring them into public areas that do not allow pets such as restaurants, stores, movie theatres, amusement parks, some housing situations, and more. Service dogs are not required to have identification or certification of training and this is seen as beneficial to the handler because it takes a burden off and allows for more privacy (ADA Title II). But, this same law allows people to very easily fake service dogs which causes harm to legitimate service dog teams as well as the general public (Elliot & Hogle, 5). By looking at the lack of public education on the matter, service dog teams being turned away by businesses, and untrained dogs interfering with the work of service dogs, we can see that the laws as stated in the Americans with Disabilities Act are becoming ineffective. These laws were designed to make the lives of service dog handlers easier as well as providing safety and privacy for their medical and personal lives. This is becoming an issue instead of helping handlers due to the fact that people are falsely representing their pets as service animals. This is important because service dog handlers put thousands of dollars and countless hours into the training and upkeep of their service dog which is necessary to their health and safety and this is being compromised by the issues at hand (. With a national standard for service dog teams as well as some form of uniform identification, the issue of fraudulent service dog teams would be lessened by making it less accessible to fraudulent service dog “identification” (Elliott & Hogle). 

Often times, people love their pets as a part of the family and would do anything for them. Many pet owners dream of being able to bring their pet everywhere they go and often express jealousy towards service dog handlers. This makes it very tempting to some pet owners that they can easily find fraudulent service dog vests and a false, legally unnecessary certification in order to bring their pets everywhere with them, be able to fly for free, or not be charged a housing fee in apartments. For only around $60, one can order a vest, identification, and certification for their pets without proof of a disability or training for the dog (Johnson). The general public often sees this as harmless especially if their pet has good manners and they do not envision an issue arising. It is often unknown how many public places are dog friendly which these people could legally take their pets such as Gander Mountain, Michaels, Bath and Body Works, hardware stores, Macy’s, many restaurants with outdoor seating, and so many more (Rubenstein). These places allow pets and there are many different types of places in this no way exhaustive list. If people genuinely feel the urge to bring their pets into public, they are able to go to pet friendly stores without disrupting the work of service dogs by impersonating them.

 Many people are uneducated to the tasks that a service animal can provide for someone with a disability such as seizure alert, allergy alert, post-traumatic stress disorder, autism, anxiety, and more (Rubin & Merrick, 2014). The public tend to believe that service dogs are only for those who are blind, deaf, physically impaired, or other visible disabilities. Those who are unaware of the same level of importance of service dogs to those with invisible disabilities such as debilitating psychiatric disabilities often treat them with less respect and do not take the matter as seriously. By not having the same level of respect, people find it acceptable to buy these fraudulent service dog certifications and vests in order to have the same rights as legitimate service dog teams ("The difference between Psychiatric SD's and Other SERVICE DOGS”). In actuality, not only are the people who do this putting legitimate service dog teams at risk, they are inherently posing as someone with a disability which not only is illegal, but is insanely disrespectful to those who struggle with day to day life due to a debilitating disability. Although some people may feel a since of discomfort when speaking of disabilities or having a conversation about a disability to someone who has that disability, it is more beneficial that not educating people on the topic. Due to the lack of public education on the topic, it is becoming increasingly more popular for people to falsely represent their pets as service animals due to the easily accessible nature of the false identification and the seemingly beneficial nature of having a pet out in public ("RANT Fake SDs"). 

The websites that are involved in selling fraudulent service dog registration and vests highly contribute to the growing issue of legitimate service dog teams having public access issues. Although there is no legal requirement for service dogs to wear vests of have a form of identification, these websites cause the uneducated public to sometimes genuinely believe that because they paid for certification, their pet is a service dog. Weather the issue comes when people genuinely do not know they are breaking the law or when people know that the Americans with Disabilities Act is unfortunately easy to manipulate, these websites allow for false identification to be sold which in turn increases the amount of fraudulent service dogs being brought into public (Johnson).

Fraudulent service dogs are brought into stores, restaurants, events, and more by the owner presenting a false identification or certification which more often than not, allow the fraudulent service dog team into the establishment by the workers. Due to this causing expectations of an identification or certification, when legitimate service dog teams are asked to provide documentation and do not have any, though it is legally not required, they are more likely to be turned away or given an issue when trying to enter the establishment (Johnson). Legally, when a service dog team is entering a public establishment, they are only to be asked two questions, “Is the dog a service animal required because of a disability”, and “what work or task has the dog been trained to perform?”. They cannot be required to present a form of identification, medical records, or be asked to demonstrate the task that the service dog is trained to perform. The handler is not to be treated differently, separated, or removed unless the dog begins to cause a disturbance in the function of the establishment. Regarding other patrons, the fear of dogs or allergies are not a reason to remove a legitimate service dog (ADA title II). Due to the general public not usually knowing these laws and the easily accessible fake service dog identification, legitimate service dog teams are often denied access or given access issues by public establishments because the workers are either uneducated on the topic or fear fraudulent service dogs creating issues so they may try to avoid the situation all together (CBS News).  

Though the people who impersonate service dog teams may feel that their pet is well trained enough to not cause a disturbance or for it not to be a big deal that they are bringing their animal in public areas that do not allow pets, service dogs are specifically trained to react in certain ways to situations that pets are generally not (“RANT Fake SDs"). There is so much that goes into the training of a service dog that the general public usually do not know which adds to the detrimental effect of even the most well trained pets. Although they may be well behaved, there are situations that may arise that the owner had not thought of that could cause an issue. There have been any incidents where fraudulent service dogs have had accidents in stores, barked or were generally disruptive, and even bitten people (CBS News). Service dogs are specifically trained to ignore interactions with the public such as children yelling at them or people coming up to pet them. Often times, pet dogs are not trained in this way and get very excited when people approach or pet them. The amount of people in the area could also very easily cause a pet dog stress. Many dog owners do not know how to read a dog’s body language and thus continue putting the animal in situations that they in actuality do not want to be in (“RANT Fake SDs").

Service dogs are also trained to relieve themselves on command while also being able to hold the urge to do so for a long time if necessary. There have been instances where fraudulent service dogs relieve themselves in public areas and even inside stores. Also, there have been cases where fraudulent service animals bite people in public or attack legitimate service dogs. This is detrimental to service dog teams because the service dog may not feel comfortable with going in public for a long time due to the incident ("RANT Fake SDs"). This causes a lot of work and training to need to be applied to the dog’s training as well as the handler may not be able to take the dog places that the dog’s presence is needed due to the fear that the dog may acquire. Incidents such as these cause the public so see service dogs in a negative light. When they see a pet being identified as a service dog, they often do not realize it is a fraudulent service dog due to the fact that it can be very hard to distinguish between the two. When fraudulent service dogs behave negatively, this causes legitimate service dogs to be associated with the negative view of the fake service dog teams ("RANT Fake SDs"). 

There have been many instances where service dog handlers have been patronized because of the presence of their service dog. Often times, in restaurants, service dog teams are separated from other customers in the restaurant because some may feel that a service dog’s presence is unsanitary around a food serving establishment. However, there is a way that many service dog handlers put this issue into perspective for people who do not understand: one would not ask someone in a wheelchair to leave their wheel chair behind when going into public nor would they be treated in any lesser of a way than any other customer. Therefore, service dog handlers should not be asked to return without their service dog or be treated any differently ("RANT Fake SDs"). This issue is often more prevalent with people who have invisible disabilities because there is more of a chance that people could assume that the service dog team is not legitimate or not understand the genuine need for a service dog. This is more than a disrespect issue for the service dog handler. Service dogs are highly and specifically trained in order to assist a person with a disability to the point where getting a service dog from a training organization costs anywhere from $10,000 to $40,000. Service dogs are legally not considered pets, but are considered medical equipment and should be treated as such by the public (Rubin & Merrick, 2014).

People often do not realize the negative effects that their actions cause for service dog teams as well as their own pet when falsely representing their pet as a service dog. Although many people feel that it is emotionally beneficial to have an animal with them, which it can be, that issue would be remedied through the emotional support animal route. Emotional support animals are not considered service animals. Emotional support animals often get confused with psychiatric service dogs. Emotional support animals are untrained pets that solely provide comfort by their presence (“ESA vs Service Dog vs Therapy Dog”). These can be any animal while service animals are only dogs and in some cases miniature horses (ADA Title II). Emotional support animals are allowed to be in housing situations that do not usually allow pets but unlike service animals, do not get public access rights. Comparatively, psychiatric service dogs are trained to perform tasks that mitigate the person’s disability such as performing deep pressure therapy, getting the person out of bed, or alerting to the scent of an oncoming panic attack before it becomes out of hand. Often times, people feel that if they have an emotional support animal that it should be able to have public access rights also. While emotional support animals are valuable in their own right, they are not trained to the level that psychiatric service dogs are in regards to task specific training and public access training ("The difference between Psychiatric SD's and Other SERVICE DOGS”).

Service dogs being required to wear a form of uniform identification, though it causes slightly more work for the service dog handler, could be a means of remedying the issue of people presenting their pets as fraudulent service dogs (Elliot & Hogle). With a national standard that service dogs and handlers are required to follow, dogs that are not fit to be service dogs as well as handlers that are not disabled or are unable to properly provide care for the animal would not be able to pose an issue for service dog teams as well as the safety and sanitation of the general public. Some say that the necessary identification of the animal as a service dog would be an invasion of privacy but by bringing a service dog into public where other dogs are not allowed, one is allowing for the assumption of others to be made that the handler is disabled (Elliot & Hogle). With a process in place, similar to that of those who have to apply for handicap parking placards, was in place for service dog teams, there would be much less of an accessible way for people to falsely identify their pets as service dogs. Similarly, if there were a national standard of identification card or vest required, these materials could not be easily accessible online for only a small fee (Elliot & Hogle). Although the addition of these laws would make it slightly more inconvenient for genuine service dog teams, it would help alleviate the issue of fraudulent service dogs and the problems the situation poses for service dog teams as well as the general public. 
