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I believe service animal training is already accredited. The issue here is that businesses are in the habit of trusting the "Service Animal" labeling and not ch

by Kalium 7y ago

I believe service animal training is already accredited. The issue here is that businesses are in the habit of trusting the "Service Animal" labeling and not checking if it's genuine or someone's ESA.

silencio 7y ago
there are some reputable training schools (like guide dogs for the blind and canine companions for independence), but there is no real accreditation. there's maybe organizations like assistance dogs international, that hold member schools to standards, but not much beyond that. the ada explicitly doesn't allow any kind of request for documentation or certification either. basically you just have to take people at face value when you ask them if the animal is required because of a disability. and lots of people with ESAs are okay being very casual about that. (and the reason i can figure out why people with ESAs are okay with bending the truth compared to a trained service animal, is because they tend to be the ones that are VERY upset in two situations that are legal: the one where i negotiate different accommodations because i'm very allergic to dog dander, and the one where they get upset that a misbehaving ESA is being asked to leave the premises. having been around dozens of trained service animals - i've never seen one misbehave the way ESAs can, and everyone is happy with my suggestions due to my allergy since i go above and beyond, rather than making things more difficult.)
drewmol 7y ago
I looked into this last year and found no federally recognized accreditation of service animals. The ADA prohibits discrimination against them, which in turn creates a potential legal liability for businesses who deny them, whatever them is...
lotsofpulp 7y ago
Businesses are not allowed to ask for proof if an animal is a service animal. https://www.ada.gov/regs2010/service_animal_qa.html https://www.ada.gov/regs2010/service_animal_qa.html If someone does have some type of certification, I assume it’s they’re fraudulently claiming it’s a service animal.
- sjs382 7y ago
  There are questions that can be asked if you suspect that someone is abusing the system. THey'll only work if the person is unprepared, though: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22124349 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22124349
reaperducer 7y ago
The issue here is that businesses are in the habit of trusting the "Service Animal" labeling and not checking if it's genuine or someone's ESA. Because they're afraid of lawsuits, or worse — being tarred and feathered on social media. Yet another part of society that social media has made worse.
- lotsofpulp 7y ago
  See the other 5 replies with links to ADA website showing its federal law to not be able to require proof of service animal.
astura 7y ago
There's no accreditation for service animals. The Americans with Disabilities Act does not require that a service dog be professionally trained or certified, you can even train a dog yourself and (legally) call it a service animal. It's a wild west and some people end up paying thousands of dollars for dogs that aren't even socialized or house trained. https://nypost.com/2019/05/03/lawless-world-of-service-dogs-leaves-families-vulnerable-to-fraud/ https://nypost.com/2019/05/03/lawless-world-of-service-dogs-... Even the federal government gets ripped off http://archive.is/k2JQk http://archive.is/k2JQk >The legislation appeared to be a victory for service-dog advocates, but the study almost immediately encountered problems. The V.A. initially partnered with vendors whose poorly trained animals introduced unexpected complications. ... “We relied upon the organizations themselves, all of which professed to be very experienced and to be able to produce high-quality dogs, and unfortunately that did not turn out to be true,” Fallon told lawmakers in a 2016 congressional hearing. “We were not familiar enough with the service-dog community when we embarked on the pilot study. There’s no question that we’ve made mistakes
milsorgen 7y ago
Your not allowed to ask for documentation: https://www.ada.gov/regs2010/service_animal_qa.html https://www.ada.gov/regs2010/service_animal_qa.html
morpheuskafka 7y ago
There are three things you can ask under ADA (which does not allow ESA, and appears to be what you are talking about, FHA and ACAA have different rules): 0. Is this a dog or miniature horse? (only those animals are considered as potential service animals under ADA) 1. Is this a service dog within the definition of the ADA, i.e. has it been trained to perform a specific tasks to mitigate a disability? (cannot ask what the disability is) 2. What specific tasks is it trained to perform? (ex. seizure response, seeing eye, etc.) However, there is no way for you to "check" if this is true. Service animals need not be trained by any approved company or carry any identification, and you cannot ask about this. The only way out is if someone admits to it not meeting the legal definition or gets caught in a lie while answering these questions. If, after all that, the animal cannot be reasonably accommodated as it is not being housebroken, being vicious or harmful, damaging property, or making an unreasonable and excessive amount of noise, it can still get shown the door. Likewise, if allowing an animal is inappropriate under any circumstance for safety or regulatory reasons (ex. cleanroom, food service, nuclear exposure, hearing damage potential, etc), you need not allow it. The establishment owner is never responsible for feeding or looking after the dog or procuring one for the person with disabilities. You can expect that service animals be kept on lease unless brief exceptions are critical to job function.

by Kalium 7y ago

silencio 7y ago

there are some reputable training schools (like guide dogs for the blind and canine companions for independence), but there is no real accreditation. there's maybe organizations like assistance dogs international, that hold member schools to standards, but not much beyond that. the ada explicitly doesn't allow any kind of request for documentation or certification either. basically you just have to take people at face value when you ask them if the animal is required because of a disability. and lots of people with ESAs are okay being very casual about that. (and the reason i can figure out why people with ESAs are okay with bending the truth compared to a trained service animal, is because they tend to be the ones that are VERY upset in two situations that are legal: the one where i negotiate different accommodations because i'm very allergic to dog dander, and the one where they get upset that a misbehaving ESA is being asked to leave the premises. having been around dozens of trained service animals - i've never seen one misbehave the way ESAs can, and everyone is happy with my suggestions due to my allergy since i go above and beyond, rather than making things more difficult.)

drewmol 7y ago

I looked into this last year and found no federally recognized accreditation of service animals. The ADA prohibits discrimination against them, which in turn creates a potential legal liability for businesses who deny them, whatever them is...

lotsofpulp 7y ago

Businesses are not allowed to ask for proof if an animal is a service animal. https://www.ada.gov/regs2010/service_animal_qa.html https://www.ada.gov/regs2010/service_animal_qa.html If someone does have some type of certification, I assume it’s they’re fraudulently claiming it’s a service animal.

sjs382 7y ago
There are questions that can be asked if you suspect that someone is abusing the system. THey'll only work if the person is unprepared, though: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22124349 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22124349

reaperducer 7y ago

The issue here is that businesses are in the habit of trusting the "Service Animal" labeling and not checking if it's genuine or someone's ESA. Because they're afraid of lawsuits, or worse — being tarred and feathered on social media. Yet another part of society that social media has made worse.

lotsofpulp 7y ago
See the other 5 replies with links to ADA website showing its federal law to not be able to require proof of service animal.

astura 7y ago

There's no accreditation for service animals. The Americans with Disabilities Act does not require that a service dog be professionally trained or certified, you can even train a dog yourself and (legally) call it a service animal. It's a wild west and some people end up paying thousands of dollars for dogs that aren't even socialized or house trained. https://nypost.com/2019/05/03/lawless-world-of-service-dogs-leaves-families-vulnerable-to-fraud/ https://nypost.com/2019/05/03/lawless-world-of-service-dogs-... Even the federal government gets ripped off http://archive.is/k2JQk http://archive.is/k2JQk >The legislation appeared to be a victory for service-dog advocates, but the study almost immediately encountered problems. The V.A. initially partnered with vendors whose poorly trained animals introduced unexpected complications. ... “We relied upon the organizations themselves, all of which professed to be very experienced and to be able to produce high-quality dogs, and unfortunately that did not turn out to be true,” Fallon told lawmakers in a 2016 congressional hearing. “We were not familiar enough with the service-dog community when we embarked on the pilot study. There’s no question that we’ve made mistakes

milsorgen 7y ago

Your not allowed to ask for documentation: https://www.ada.gov/regs2010/service_animal_qa.html https://www.ada.gov/regs2010/service_animal_qa.html

morpheuskafka 7y ago

There are three things you can ask under ADA (which does not allow ESA, and appears to be what you are talking about, FHA and ACAA have different rules): 0. Is this a dog or miniature horse? (only those animals are considered as potential service animals under ADA) 1. Is this a service dog within the definition of the ADA, i.e. has it been trained to perform a specific tasks to mitigate a disability? (cannot ask what the disability is) 2. What specific tasks is it trained to perform? (ex. seizure response, seeing eye, etc.) However, there is no way for you to "check" if this is true. Service animals need not be trained by any approved company or carry any identification, and you cannot ask about this. The only way out is if someone admits to it not meeting the legal definition or gets caught in a lie while answering these questions. If, after all that, the animal cannot be reasonably accommodated as it is not being housebroken, being vicious or harmful, damaging property, or making an unreasonable and excessive amount of noise, it can still get shown the door. Likewise, if allowing an animal is inappropriate under any circumstance for safety or regulatory reasons (ex. cleanroom, food service, nuclear exposure, hearing damage potential, etc), you need not allow it. The establishment owner is never responsible for feeding or looking after the dog or procuring one for the person with disabilities. You can expect that service animals be kept on lease unless brief exceptions are critical to job function.