[pct-l] service animal

[ecpg at peoplepc.com]

As the owner and user of a service dog I depend a lot on my dog. And there 
are a lot of rules on how and what dogs are to be used. THey come under the 
heading of Department of Justice and are federal law. Unfortunately, because 
they try to make the dogs access as easy as possible on people who need 
them, they have a lot of leeway for those who want to get their dog out in 
public without a real need for it. This makes it hard on legitimate service 
dog owners.

If you are a person who is in a position to screen dog use you are allowed 
to ask what the dog does and if the person is disabled. THe proper answer to 
this in my case is "yes, and he's a mobility dog, ".

Service dogs should not be growling and acting out in any way. If you want 
to know the standards they are held to google Public Access Test. This is a 
very difficult test and should be the standard to which dogs are held. 
Again, unfortunately, there is no one policing this on a national level as 
the feds don't want to make it difficult for anyone who might have problems 
with financial or geographical limitations to accessing the test or a 
trainer.

You can call the police and have them sort it out. Most of them know what 
the rules are.
Unfortunately, if you are wrong and make a big deal out of limiting access 
to a dog who is legitimately doing his job you can be fined up to $10,000. 
Those who are using their dogs inappropriately are well aware of this and 
use it to their own advantage.

Just my 2 cents worth.

Carolyn Eddy
"Sweet Goat Mama"