New ADA Service Animal Rules Take Effect Today.

feature 4, Service Animals - By Staff Writer on Wednesday, March 16, 2011 - 12:37

If by chance you have registered your pet dog online and purchased a vest so you can bring your pal anywhere, you might be out of luck as of today.  The DOJ has changed American Disabilities Act to be more specific because of the sharp rise in fake service animals.  The new rules now defined a service animal as a dog or in some cases a mini horse, that has been trained to perform specific tasks for a disabled person.

The new rules are an effort to “stop erosion of the public’s trust, which has resulted in reduced access for many individuals with disabilities who use trained service animals that adhere to high behavioral standards,” a Justice Department spokeswoman told the Wall Street Journal last month.

 As dog lovers we have to admit that it would be nice to tote around our pups everywhere but we just can't justify passing them off as service dogs when they are simply pets.  It appears that thousands of people have no problem doing just that and this has become a major issue.  The new rules don't apply to transportation or housing so you can still strap on that fake vest and tell the airline that your dog is needed for anxiety or whatever illness your doctor has given you a note for.  We don't have a problem with people that really need dogs for anxiety but we know too many that have lied to get a free ride for their pup.