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Georgia moves towards penalizing people with “fake service dogs”

Georgia moves towards penalizing people with “fake service dogs”

May 8, 2018
Medical Assistance Animals, News, Pets, Stop Disability Fraud

From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

State Sen. Renee Unterman is concerned about what she calls “fake service animals.”

The Buford Republican told a Senate committee Thursday that a woman who contacted her said she took her trained service dog to the doctor. There, they met up with someone with another dog wearing a vest identifying it as a service dog.

But, Unterman said, that dog had not been properly trained and attacked the woman’s dog, causing thousands of dollars in veterinary bills.

Unterman said the state needs to look into establishing clear qualifications to separate the trained animals from “fake service animals” — meaning ones that have not been trained to give physical or emotional support. Service dogs are trained to assist people who may have an illness or disability. Therapy and emotional support dogs often help people with anxiety.

“These are highly trained dogs that cost a lot of money, and when you start mixing them with dogs who get a fake vest over the internet, you’re endangering the person,” Unterman said.

An internet search found several service animal vests and cards available for sale with no way of proving the animal is trained.

“There’s a lot of people who use service dogs for diabetes and for seizure control,” Unterman said. “If you take that dog away, just temporarily, the dog’s at the vet hospital for three days, well they’ve got to make provisions for what that dog did for them.”

Federal law prohibits airlines from requiring documentation to prove a service or emotional support animal has been trained. In June, a man who said his dog was an emotional support animal mauled a fellow passenger on a Delta Air Lines flight to San Diego.

Delta recently announced new rules for flying with service or emotional support animals. Beginning March 1, animal owners must submit online 48 hours in advance of their flight a “confirmation of animal training” form signed by the passenger indicating the animal can behave, along with proof of health or vaccinations.

Mary R. Burch, with the American Kennel Club, said people who lie about having service animals do a huge disservice to those who really need them.

“Dog owners who falsely claim a dog is a service dog so they can take it in a store, on a plane or in a restaurant don’t often understand that people with real disabilities struggled for decades to have public access for the legitimate service dogs they need to help them be more independent,” she said.

Unterman wants a Senate study committee to look into the potential need for a uniform, statewide certification process, whether Georgia should criminalize the use of what she called “fake” service animals, and if trainers need more guidelines for the therapy pets.

Nineteen states have passed laws to prevent people from passing off their pets as service animals with training or certification.

The Senate committee approved Unterman’s proposal, Senate Resolution 467, sending it to the full body for consideration.

(Georgia) Senate Study Committee on Service Animals for Physically or Mentally Impaired Persons

18 LC 21 5896S (SCS)
S. R. 467
– 1 –
Senate Resolution 467
By: Senator Unterman of the 45th
ADOPTED SENATE
A RESOLUTION
1 Creating the Senate Study Committee on Service Animals for Physically or Mentally
2 Impaired Persons; and for other purposes.
3 WHEREAS, service animals can assist physically or mentally impaired persons with
4 performing tasks and accomplishing major life activities, including ambulating, seeing,
5 hearing, learning, working, and interacting with others; and
6 WHEREAS, physically or mentally impaired persons are authorized by federal law to have
7 their service animal accompany them in places where the general public is invited; and
8 WHEREAS, some individuals take their pets with them to public accommodations and
9 facilities claiming such pet is a service animal when, in actuality, such pet is a “fake service
10 animal”; and
11 WHEREAS, there is no state or federal certification process to ensure that an animal
12 accompanying a person is actually a service animal; and
13 WHEREAS, owners and operators of restaurants, hotels, and other places of public
14 accommodation are put in the difficult position of trying to make such determination on the
15 spot; and
16 WHEREAS, it would be beneficial to examine these issues, including whether there is a need
17 for a uniform certification process or the issuance of information cards, whether there is a
18 need to criminalize the use of a “fake service animal,” or whether the rights of trainers of
19 service animals should be clarified, and to determine if legislative action is needed on any
20 of these issues.

18 LC 21 5896S (SCS)
S. R. 467
– 2 –
21 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE:
22 (1) Creation of Senate study committee. There is created the Senate Study Committee
23 on Service Animals for Physically or Mentally Impaired Persons.
24 (2) Members and officers. The committee shall be composed of five members of the
25 Senate to be appointed by the President of the Senate. The President shall designate a
26 member of the committee as chairperson of the committee.
27 (3) Powers and duties. The committee shall undertake a study of the conditions, needs,
28 issues, and problems mentioned above or related thereto and recommend any action or
29 legislation which the committee deems necessary or appropriate.
30 (4) Meetings. The chairperson shall call all meetings of the committee. The committee
31 may conduct such meetings at such places and at such times as it may deem necessary or
32 convenient to enable it to exercise fully and effectively its powers, perform its duties, and
33 accomplish the objectives and purposes of this resolution.
34 (5) Allowances and funding. The legislative members of the committee shall receive
35 the allowances provided for in Code Section 28-1-8 of the Official Code of Georgia
36 Annotated. The allowances authorized by this resolution shall not be received by any
37 member of the committee for more than five days unless additional days are authorized.
38 Funds necessary to carry out the provisions of this resolution shall come from funds
39 appropriated to the Senate.
40 (6) Report.
41 (A) In the event the committee adopts any specific findings or recommendations that
42 include suggestions for proposed legislation, the chairperson shall file a report of the
43 same prior to the date of abolishment specified in this resolution, subject to
44 subparagraph (C) of this paragraph.
45 (B) In the event the committee adopts a report that does not include suggestions for
46 proposed legislation, the chairperson shall file the report, subject to subparagraph (C)
47 of this paragraph.
48 (C) No report shall be filed unless the same has been approved prior to the date of
49 abolishment specified in this resolution by majority vote of a quorum of the committee.
50 A report so approved shall be signed by the chairperson of the committee and filed with
51 the Secretary of the Senate.
52 (D) In the absence of an approved report, the chairperson may file with the Secretary
53 of the Senate a copy of the minutes of the meetings of the committee in lieu thereof.
54 (7) Abolishment. The committee shall stand abolished on December 1, 2018.

S.R. 467
-2-

Tags: Georgia Renee Unterman Senate Study Committee
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