Well, not exactly. One business in Colorado turned away a customer because he had what he claimed to be a service dog with him—and didn’t have the paperwork to prove it.
“She [the dog] helps me with my conditions,” the customer, a veteran who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, told the local television station, NBC Channel 11. “It’s just an important relationship.” So what was the problem?
The problem was that the business served food—and customers were complaining to management about the dog’s presence—so the owner took action. Unfortunately, state law in Colorado wasn’t exactly on her side. The law states that service dogs are allowed in restaurants (but, even though their manners are likely better than those of many people I’ve seen eating out, they’re still not allowed to actually sit at the table).
The problem was the lack of paperwork.
The owner contended that there was no indication that the dog was a service dog. But here the rules were not on her side either. Colorado regulations only require the owner to ask and rely on the customer’s response. “There’s no documentation required; it does not need to be present with the service animal,” a state official said in the television report. It is, however, a crime in Colorado if someone misrepresents an animal as a service animal.
Business owners in the state do have some recourse. If any animal, regardless of its status, acts aggressively or attacks someone, the animal and its owner can be asked to leave. This was not the case here. Bottom line: The customer was within his rights.
Let’s clear up some confusion. First off, there’s a big difference between service dogs and emotional support animals—which may also be referred to as therapy or comfort animals—when it
comes to the law.
Service dogs are trained to help with specific tasks directly related to a disability—whether it’s a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability. Say you’re visually impaired. Your guide dog would have to be trained as your ultimate travel tool, helping you cross the street and get you where you want to go—safely. Or maybe you’re a vet who suffers from PTSD and your service dog would be trained to make sure all the lights are on and sniff out a room to make sure you’re safe from danger.
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, also known as the ADA, a service animal has the right to accompany their owner into any establishment, even if there is a “no pet policy.” Service animals are not pets. Yet, although you may have a disability, a doctor’s note does not make a service animal—your pup has to be trained to help you with all the things you can’t do because of your disability.
On the flipside, emotional support, therapy or comfort animals don’t require training: Their presence is a psychological benefit to their owners and is not covered under federal law. Fluffy the Cat—or any other animal providing emotional support—can’t be considered a service animal.
You’ve also probably heard the stories about fake service animals with documentation you can easily buy on the internet, or animals wreaking havoc in a shop. Fact: Federal law does not require certification or registration to prove the dog is a service animal. In fact, the
U.S. Department of Justice is familiar with the fake documents sold online: “There are individuals and organizations that sell service animal certification or registration documents online. These documents do not convey any rights under the ADA and the Department of Justice does not recognize them as proof that the dog is a service animal.”
If you’re a business owner, you might think you have the right to ask for paperwork.
False.
Business owners can ask only two questions: whether the owner is disabled, and what tasks the dog has been trained to perform. However, if the disability is pretty obvious, you can’t ask. For example, if a dog is guiding someone who is blind (or has impaired vision), you can’t ask the two questions. You also can’t ask Fido to prove his skills or grill the owner about the nature of their disability. And you definitely can’t issue them a surcharge for walking into your store.
