That is a great question, and one I wrongly assumed was fairly easy to answer.
The short answer is that a service dog is defined as a dog that has been trained to perform a specific task to help a person with their individual disability.
Let's look at the question from a different angle: what isn't a service dog? That question doesn't really have a short answer.
As times change, dogs are becoming more and more a part of our families. People love their dogs. As with anything else, the divide between dog people and non dog people has grown wider and wider. Breed specific legislation has become quite popular in many urban and even suburban areas. "Aggressive" breed dogs, such as bully breeds, Rottweilers, and, yes, German Shepherds, are prohibited in these areas. Rental property owners who identify themselves as "pet friendly" still have clauses in their leases that prohibit "aggressive breeds."
Sadly, it seems that a popular solution to this problem, a loop hole, is to simply declare you dog a service dog. Under this definition, you are protected by the might of the ADA.
You are also a fraud.
I recently witnessed this process on social media, and it made my blood boil. A GSD owner was looking for a rental and wanted a way "around" the aggressive breed clause. Dozens, literally dozens, of people told her to "register" her dog as a service dog, or at least an emotional support animal, and then the landlord couldn't prevent her dog from living with her. I was dumbfounded.
For one thing, emotional support animals are NOT protected and granted access by the ADA. The dog has to perform a task. There is a fine line there. If you start to have a panic attack and the dog takes action to help you, that is a task and you've got yourself a service dog. If you just feel better when you are with your dog, you do NOT.
Truthfully, no one understands the benefits of a service dog like we do here at K9s to Furkids. That's what we are all about. Here's the thing--put in the work! The federal government has standards that service dog handlers are held to, and we take this seriously. Buying a harness and sticking on a patch that says service dog does nothing. There is no governing body that monitors the training and registration of service dogs, so "registering" your dog as a service dog is a fallacy. Your service dog (like you, I might add) is defined by his actions.
These amazing animals are required to be under control at all times. We aren't supposed to allow them to sit up at bars or tables. In stores, they should be on the floor, not in the cart. A small dog should be carried if it isn't walking.
By fraudulently claiming that your dog is a service dog, you are destroying the hard work that so many have put in to ensuring that we can be granted total access. The ADA is not there as a loophole--it's a lifeline for people with disabilities. If you need a service dog, then do the research and the work. If you don't have the money, contact us. That's kind of what we do.
