Service Dog Issue or Store Issue?

The person with the dog answered the two legally allowed questions correctly, and that should have ended the issue. She cannot be legally asked to leave the premises or remove the dog unless the dog was misbehaving or not under her control.

Service dogs for PTSD do perform tasks and work as required by the ADA, such as create a "buffer zone" around their handler and notify them when someone gets too close or approaches from behind. From what you describe, this appears to be a legitimate PTSD trained service dog.

The store did ask the two legally allowed questions, and then went beyond the law by asking for "proof". Legitimate service dogs do not need to be vested, have special tags or collars, are not required to be "certified" (whatever that means) and their handlers cannot be asked for any kind of "paperwork", "certificate", or "license" for the dog. All that is required is that the handler answer the two legally allowed questions.

The store apparently did violate her civil rights protected by the ADA by asking for "proof" for her service dog, and then by denying her equal access to the goods and services for having her removed from the premises because of the presence of her service dog.

For more information, you may visit the sites listed here, which are all from the US Department of Justice, which is charged with enforcing the ADA.

http://www.ada.gov/svcanimb.htm

http://www.ada.gov/regs2010/smallbusiness/smallbus...

http://www.ada.gov/qasrvc.htm

http://www.ada.gov/regs2010/ADAregs2010.htm

http://www.ada.gov/service_animals_2010.htm

Edit to add: There are places on the internet which will sell to anyone who has the money little "kits" that have a vest, a "certificate", "ID cards" and patches that say "Service Dog" on them. Since there is no legal requirement for any of this, it is a huge waste of money. The only reason such sites exist is to allow non-disabled individuals to drag their mongrel pet dogs along with them by lying about how their mutt is an "official" service dog.....here, look at the vest and certificate.

Only a person who meets the legal definition of "disabled" is allowed to have and use a service dog. It is NOT the training which is the sole designator of "service dog". To have a legitimate service dog, the handler MUST meet the legal definition of disabled AND the dog MUST be trained in work or tasks that directly mitigate the life-limiting effects of the qualifying disability. So, even though you may have trained your pet to do certain service type things such as hold objects, you could not legally have your dog as a service dog unless you meet the legal definition of "disabled". Having a back that isn't the best and bending over being a challenge at times most likely does not qualify you as "disabled".

My aunt has a service dog and from being with her, I know that there is NO identification needed - no vest, no collar, no tags, no paperwork, no registration, no certification - NOTHING. So anyone who says the store was right because her dog wasn't "easily identifiable" or she wasn't able to provide proof her dog was a service dog is completely wrong.

A store can ask two questions:

Is this a service dog needed for a disability?

What tasks does the dog perform.

If someone doesn't answer the two questions correct, they can be asked further questions (not personal) or kicked out. "Comfort" isn't a task that a service dog performs, its something that a Emotional Support Animal does. When she gave this answer, this is what made the store employee think it was a pet or at least not a service dog. Lots of people are sneaking their pet into stores - some with fake vests, collars, tags, registrations, certifications - everything they can buy to fool a store. Because of that the stores are getting mad and starting to crack down on these fakers.

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Her petting the dog et al is not a service dog task, but if the dog is trained to position itself in a certain way to be a buffer (as opposed to the dog just being there on the leash and her calling that a buffer), that is possibly a task. It does sound more like the dog is an Emotional Support Dog instead of a trained service dog, though, as someone with a service dog wouldn't answer the task question talking about petting the dog (if it were an alert, they would say the dog alerts).

The business was in the right to ask what tasks the dog does. If the dog doesn't do any tasks (if the buffering wasn't a trained task required by the disability), they were right to kick the dog out (they would still have to allow the woman back in without the dog). They were wrong to ask for proof, however, since that is not allowed under the law. A vest/harness/ID/etc. is not required under the law, either, so that people can make impromptu stops when they don't have those items on them, just like everyone else can. I normally have my service dog in her mobility harness with a pack stating she is a service dog, but every now and again I've had to make quick stops on the way back from the vet, groomer, pet store, etc. without her usual gear (the car harness and its handle help me, just not as much as her mobility harness). In fact, I did so today by deciding to pick up dessert at the special type of bakery near the vet's office (twenty minutes away, so not a place I could go back to after going home to dress my dog in her gear) after our appointment.

If the woman sues the store, she may very well lose unless she can prove her dog actually is trained to do something that helps her disability (she would also have to prove she is disabled). A lot of people with emotional issues and psychiatric diagnoses try to call their pets "service dogs" because they make themselves feel better around their pets, but in order to be a service dog, the dog must be _trained_ to do something directly related to the disability; the person petting the dog is not something trained of the dog and the dog being on the leash next to the person is not the dog trained for something directly related to the disability (whereas the true task of the dog being trained to position itself in a certain way and place to protect the person from being bumped into/someone getting too close [needed for people with pain disorders, anxiety disorders, etc.] does count as a trained task/work).

Oh, I feel your pain. I'm training a 9 month old lab puppy to be an Autism Assistance Dog. Perhaps you need a bigger cape with a bigger patch? Just kidding, in part, but the patch I'm sure looks tiny on your big 100 pound baby. People miss Jenna's sometimes and she's only 40 lbs. I actually like the attention Jenna gets cause I'm working right now on teaching her not to solicit more attention when it stops. I really don't have very many ideas for you, except the patch that's as big as a billboard that says Do Not Pet, Or Mommy will Bite you. I have a friend who may be able to help you with that. perhaps a Yahoo group I'm on Owner Trained Service Dogs for Beginners may have some pointers (it's not all beginners). Anyway, good luck.

Employees are not allowed to ask those questions. They are not allowed to ask a dog owner to prove the dog does a service. That was incredibly rude and inappropriate. The employee should be written up.

The store is in violation. The dog was well mannered and was focused on her.

I can understand if it was some powder poof that was not obeying commands and disrupting other shoppers, but a well mannered and obedient dog is fine.

there's more to service animals than just for the blind. There are dogs who help physically disabled people as well as mentally disabled. if this woman's anxiety was so bad that she needed a buffer in the form of a dog, then that's its service, to remind her to calm down. Dogs can sense our anxiety and can be trained to spot it and perform a task when the handler becomes stressed or anxious.

And I do hope the woman informs the store's superiors of this violation to her rights. A service dog owner is not required to have any form of identification unless they chose to. (I would honestly have a vest or a collar if I had a service animal. Less hassle with idiots who don't understand people's rights.)

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I have no idea if it varies by state, but around here all they can do is ask if the dog is a service animal. They cannot ask what it does, they certainly cannot ask for proof or for the dog to "show off".

I would absolutely report the store.

Yes, there is a difference between a service dog and an emotional support dog, and yes her dog should be vested and identified. However, the law stands so that every disabled citizen is not harassed and forced to prove that they need the dog and that the dog is what they say it is -- like they need that extra stress. As long as the dog isn't causing a disruption, leave it.

There is a difference between Service Dogs and Emotional Support Animals. Only certified service dogs are allowed in stores - not ESA's.

If she really had a Service Dog, then it's her responsibility to make sure her dog is vested and has the appropriate certifications.

ADD:

ESAs are meant for use in the home setting. Under the new federal rules, dogs that provide emotional comfort are not considered service animals. An emotional support animal is not going to be a service animal under the ADA unless it does meet the [task] training requirement. Generally speaking, if we're talking about therapy, comfort, emotional support animals -- and I think those typically are used interchangeably. Those are not going to be service animals under the ADA.

http://www.servicedogcentral.org/content/node/76

When there is a legitimate reason to ask that a service animal be removed, staff must offer the person with the disability the opportunity to obtain goods or services without the animal’s presence.

http://www.ada.gov/service_animals_2010.htm

I don't know what kind of store it is but most stores have a code to follow. I don't know if this place serve food or not that can be cross contamination or worry about their other customer could have allergies or afraid of dogs. If something happens they could get in serious trouble like a law suit from another customer (the world is crazy) but they probably did it to protect themselves and their business. They probably had no problem a couple of years ago but now that so many people trying to find a way to sue many business to make a quick buck stores can't help but be precautions and put in regulation and codes in place to protect their business. Because if something happens the store will be responsible for if anything to happen.

It has happened to me before and I DID report the store. I was kicked out by an ignorant manager because I am not blind or in a wheelchair and he thought that only those types of people have service animals. Meanwhile my dog had all his tags and vest on and was walking by me in a perfect heel and obeying all commands while I shopped.

Her dog should have at least had on his Service Dog collar to show that he is a Service Dog. It is very easy for someone to kick you out of an establishment if they can not readily identify your dog as a Service dog and you can not provide other proof of their service. That is why Domino's stuff is always in my purse. A little collar or tag goes a long way. Even an SD licence tag would have sufficed to show the manager that she wasn't lying to him. In this case she doesn't have a leg to stand on even if she was right.. Her dog wasn't wearing proper ID and she could not provide proof. For all the manager knew she was just trying to break the rules and bring her pet in the store. He had every right to kick her out under those circumstances.