Service Animals

There is a well known saying: “Nothing is certain but death and taxes.” Let’s face it, no one likes to think about their own mortality. But those of us who have family and pets should consider having a will drawn up and/or a trust established to ensure that our family and pets are taken care of.

It is important that pet owners think about where they want their pets to end up after the owners pass away. Equally important, service animals can survive their disabled owners. But there are other reasons why it is important to consult with an attorney to prepare certain papers to ascertain that your pet is taken care of. Consider these three scenarios:
Click here to continue reading this article

Caption: Chihuahua sticks out her tongue, making the human sound "Phhlt"

One emerging social issue that the media is taking notice of is “‘bad’ service animals” or “fake service animals.”

As reported in “Service with a Snarl” (San Francisco Times) and “Oregon Wants ‘Dog Friendly’ To Be Less So” (New York Times), some alleged service dogs are behaving badly, very badly — mouthing, barking, nipping, or biting other people, knocking shelf items over, urinating and defecating in the shops. It is a sad fact that there are some people who are unlawfully pawning their companion pets as service animals.

Although I’ve not personally observed any of the alleged service dogs mentioned in the above referenced articles, I suspect that most, if not all, of these dogs were trained by nonprofessionals who had very little experience and knowledge training service dogs. I also suspect that some of the people referenced in the above articles are taking advantage of the system.

Well trained service animals should not behave badly, but since some alleged service animals do, what can be done? In “Service Animals and the Law,” I explained that when a service animal behaves badly, the shopkeeper has the right to remove the animal or ask the handler to remove the animal from the premises. This is information provided in the Department of Justice’s Commonly Asked Questions About Service Dogs In Places of Business.

Click here to continue reading this article

Earlier, I provided an overview of the law regarding service animals. In that post, I parenthetically mentioned a fascinating and engaging New York Times article, “Creature Comforts,” which focuses on exotic creatures as service animals, including a monkey, miniature horse, and a parrot. That article was written by a well known journalist, Rebecca Skloot, who, by the way, has a wonderful blog called Culture Dish. Rebecca’s blog is definitely worth checking out because she has written follow-ups to the original New York Times article here, there, and over yonder, along with photos and videos of people with their exotic service animals.

A few months after Rebecca Skloot’s article was published, Joe Eskenazi wrote an article in the San Francisco Weekly creatively titled “Service With a Snarl.” In that article, we meet some of San Francisco’s service animals: Tita, a vicious chihuahua and an alleged service dog who has bitten people; Skippy the iguana who seems quite friendly enough; and Fiona the Mastiff who seems to have gotten in worse trouble than Tita. As we read through the article, we are graced by the presence of a few rats, snakes, and tortoises, that are allegedly service animals that assist people with various psychiatric disorders.

Rebecca’s article is largely about how these exotic creatures help people with physical disabilities and mental illnesses, as well as the legal and ethical issues associated with owning these exotic creatures as service animals. Joe’s article is concerned with how many of these creatures, exotic and domestic, don’t appear to be service animals at all (or at least, they are not very well behaved service animals); and even if they are not truly service animals, there’s little that the government can do about it.

Two articles. But one law — the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Click here to continue reading this article.