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Resolution 2020-04: Regarding the Misrepresentation of Emotional Support Dogs and Pets as Service Dogs

WHEREAS, in California, a person who fraudulently represents their dog as a service dog can be charged with a misdemeanor and fined up to $1,000 under Penal Code 365.7, but there is limited enforcement of this provision; and

WHEREAS, business owners, transit agencies and other public entities required to provide access to guide, signal and service dogs, are not fully informed or fear legal action if they try to enforce provisions making it fraudulent to misrepresent a dog as a guide, signal or service dog; and

WHEREAS, the popularity of fake service dogs has become so prevalent that anyone can easily find on Facebook a web site instructing a person how to make their pet an emotional support animal in three easy steps; and

WHEREAS, companies have set up websites for people to purchase equipment and print certificates that misrepresent their dog as a service dog even though such dogs have had no training in this regard; and

WHEREAS, numerous news articles have reported on flight attendants and passengers on airplanes being attacked and injured by emotional support animals; and 

WHEREAS, the fraudulent misrepresentation of emotional support dogs as service dogs is thus not only a safety concern for the owner but for actual service dog users and the public as well; and

WHEREAS, United States Airline companies and the International Air Transport Association state that they have seen a 56% increase of emotional support animals from 2016 to 2017, including the misrepresentation of such animals as actual service animals; and

WHEREAS, in 2020, the Department of Transportation published a Notice of Public Rulemaking proposing stringent requirements on people traveling with service and emotional support animals, including check-in an hour earlier than passengers not traveling with service or emotional support animals; and completion of a series of forms which require more than is currently required by the DOJ under ADA regulations; and

WHEREAS, emotional support dogs and service dogs do not merit the same levels of access to public spaces under the ADA, and are defined differently under the ADA; and

WHEREAS, service dogs earn their ability to be in public spaces through a rigorous training process in order to meet the needs of someone with medically prescribed disabilities; and

WHEREAS, the fraudulent misrepresentation of emotional support dogs as service dogs creates not only confusion for the owner of the animal, but also the general public which has to comply with ADA laws: Now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind of California in Convention assembled this 25th  day of October, 2020, that this organization support efforts of Canine Companions for Independence and Guide Dogs for the Blind, Inc. to secure legislation making it unlawful for those who knowingly and fraudulently represent, sell, or offer for sale, or attempt to represent, sell, or offer for sale, an emotional support animal as being entitled to the rights and privileges accorded by law to a guide, signal, or service dog; and

BE IN FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization join the efforts of Canine Companions for Independence and Guide Dogs for the Blind, Inc. to formally work with the California legislature and the governor to enact this legislation as soon as possible; and

BE IF FURTHER RESOLVED that such legislation include provisions that require sellers of emotional support animals to provide a disclosure, which the buyer must sign, outlining that an emotional support animal is not entitled to the rights and privileges accorded by law to a guide, signal, or service dog; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the legislation require a health care practitioner to comply specifically with the following criteria in order to provide documentation relating to an individual’s need for an emotional support dog that is not a guide, signal or service dog: hold a valid license, have an established client-provider relationship withthe individual for at least 30 days prior to providing the documentation, and complete an in person clinical evaluation of the individual regarding the need for an emotional support dog; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization work with Canine Companions for Independence and Guide Dogs for the Blind, Inc. to create and implement an intensive effort to educate the public in general, and business owners in specific, concerning their rights under the law as well as to the legitimate and valid issues surrounding the misrepresentation of emotional SUPPORT dogs and other animals and pets as actual service animals.

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