“Isn’t That Like A $60K Fine?”: Customer At Restaurant Is Asked To Leave As He Has Service Dog

I retired from a place that did medical transportation (to and from medical appointments) and people tried this all the time. We had one woman who had 2 65+ pound mutts that she called service dogs. When I asked what service they perform I was told that they are necessary. I then said she had to supply travel crates for each animal, and pay a $145 cleaning fee because we also transported people with trachs and allergies. She called her insurance company (who handled the Medicaid in her area) who told her that we weren't doing anything against the rules. Oddly, I never heard another word about those dogs. The folks we transported who NEEDED the service animals never seemed to be able to get them.

There's an easy way to find out, and it's encapsulated in the two questions you're legally allowed to ask. "Is this service animal required for a medical disability" and "what tasks are they trained to perform". Yeah, a rat probably isn't a service animal, so while it may pass the first question if it's a therapy animal, if it's not actually trained to do anything, it doesn't count. And it's not hard to ask and find out. Service animals get exceptions because they're basically living medical equipment. Because service dogs are so expensive, there are people who train their own, outta necessity. While I get that it'd be super easy if there was one central certification system, because our healthcare system sucks, it would mean that a lot of people would be without necessary medical equipment due to cost, and that's objectively the worst answer.

Service dogs do not need to be certified and trained by a professional. Most people who need service dogs cannot afford someone else to train them so they are forced to train them themselves. Health insurance does not cover the cost of a professionally trained service dog.

Not all trained service dogs have papers. You can also have a dog trained by a private trainer and not a program. Legally you don't have to provide papers, and if the dog misbehaves in ways outlined by the ADA (not under control, has a potty accident, barks excessively or displays a danger such as growling or lunging at people) they are allowed to kick them out. If the dog is under control and potty trained it is allowed and legally protected, so long as it actually performs tasks for the disabled individual.

Maybe you need to "battle " less and "understand more"...a large rat? Really how rude...

The dog must also stay on the floor....not the table, not the chair....and a person can usually tell if it's a real SD....they are focused and ignore everyone but their master....the dog I saw sniffing the meat case in a grocery store or the one riding in the cart are NOT SDs and should never be in a store....

Ignorance of the law is no excuse, and if you don't know the basic laws around service animals AND you argue with someone who has (or claims to have) a service animal out of that argument, what the hell do you think you're doing managing a business? This s**t is your responsibility. It is what you are paid for. And it raises the question about what other laws you might neglect because "you didn't know". Food safety? Employee safety? Fire regulations? Paul Castle has had these encounters and talks about them and the effect they have on him on his YouTube channel. I highly recommend watching, and then spending less time questioning "but is it REALLY a service dog?" and more time questioning whether the person breaking the damn law followed the damn law (spoiler alert, no.)

Exactly!! The reason that this guy is even getting questioned is because of all the people who think fluffy needs to go everywhere with 'mamma'.....it has gotten WAY out of control and most people are REALLY sick of it....untrained dogs have attacked real SDs in stores which usually ruins the SD....dogs don't belong in stores, dogs don't belong anywhere that food is sold or prepared....they don't belong in playgrounds, they don't belong at large festivals, they don't belong ANYWHERE where they can harass wildlife, they don't belong in planes.....and they should ALWAYS be on a leash when anywhere in public....

Except he couldn't be bothered to do the bare minimum of ask what he was legally supposed to ask before tryna kick him out over a "fake" service dog. Glad you're cool with discrimination, cuz that's what this is plain and simple. Service dogs aren't pets, they are medical equipment. This would be like someone demanding your granny eat on the hot patio unless she left her wheelchair in her car. It's gross.

Yes....and dog owners seems to think the rules don't apply to them and take dogs even if there are signs prohibiting dogs...it's become total insanity!! Leave your mutt home!! Lots of people are allergic, are deathly afraid or just plain hate dogs!! It's just attention seeking imo....if you can't leave the house without your dog, get a therapist!!

Are they driving themselves places? If that's the case its a matter to be taken up with drivers license grouos, not the service dog. And as many people pointed out, if a service dog is being disruptive (such as barking outside of alerting the owner of a problem) they are allowed to be forced to leave. You don't need to see someone's medical history.

have you ever heard of... a mobile phone? a lot of people have these handy little things in their pocket that can record incidents. sometimes they post these videos, sometimes they get lost in the hoard of other videos and sometimes they go viral

They would have to accommodate both disabilities. A phobia and an allergy can also be disabilities if they limit functions enough. But think for a moment- if someone cannot go anywhere without their lifesaving medical equipment, should they be denied going places where others might be afraid of it or allergic to it? That would make their world incredibly small. Someone who may have been stuck at home or in a hospital before would now be able to work and go out to eat. Especially on flights, they are expected to space allergic people away from service dogs and clean between flights. Most handlers try to give others space when they notice someone is trying to avoid them, because we are very aware of people who are allergic or have a phobia. It is against the law to kick either the service dog and handler out, or kick the person who is allergic out. They must both be accommodated.

Out of curiosity. Why does your medical disability take priority over others?

would you want someone like me kicked out if you had a fear of wheelchairs? no? then don't discriminate. a service dog is trained to be *working* while out and about. they will not sniff you, they will not try to play with you, they will not bark for no reason. it's literally for the best for all parties involved if you don't even acknowledge or look at the service dog while it's working. you are not on the right side of this argument.

Don't forget there is a patio you can sit in to get away from the scarry well trained probably more behaved dog than you.

Then I guess the fine belongs to you.

I was born and raised in California. We do not have a mandatory service dog tag. https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/driver-education-and-safety/educational-materials/fast-facts/service-animals-ffdmv-5/