Pamela Carpenter doesn’t complain about the hassles of getting around San Diego in a wheelchair.
Outgoing and resourceful, the Qualcomm IT specialist has a car with hand controls and a service dog named Dylan who can pick up fallen objects, carry groceries, fetch a telephone and perform a variety of other tasks which the Chocolate Labrador Retriever spent years training to do.
Dylan is certified, accredited and legal to bring into public businesses and also in Pam’s office where he sits largely invisible until asked to perform a task.
About the only hassle that Pamela does complain about is when she sees other people illegally passing off their pets as Service Animals: illegally strapping a Service Dog vest on them to have them enter restaurants, stores and the cabin of airplane flights where regular pets aren’t allowed .
“If somebody is passing off a fake service dog, it’s very offensive actually,” Pam tells NBC7. “Here’s a dog that I have worked with countless hours in training and I’m so proud. I’ve done it the right way.”
How do scammers do it?
They simply go online where it’s simple to find internet stores selling Service Dog Vests and ID tags.
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Some internet vendors will ask customers to fill out a questionnaire in an effort to screen cheaters but it can be easily skirted by a customer who is not truthful.
At a farmer’s market, one dog owner even said, “I usually don’t listen to any rules and regulations until I get headed off for it you know, too many sheep in our society.”
For their part, merchants are confused as to what is legal and what is not.
For example Service Dogs have access privileges (protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act) that “comfort dogs” or “therapy dogs” do not.
But with strict privacy laws on the books, a business owner can only ask two questions if they encounter a person with a dog that may not seem legit: (1) Is the animal a service dog? and (2) What is the animal trained to do?
Cheaters know there is no proof required and that the law is tough to enforce.
And I checked: The County of San Diego has not issued one citation though a conviction carries a $1,000 fine and potential jail time.
While some seem to relish cheating the system, many violators appear to be pet owners who love their animal and simply don’t want to be separated from their pet.
On NBC7’s Facebook page, this has been a spirited topic with some people angry, others defensive and a few wondering, “What’s the harm?, nobody is getting hurt.”
People with disabilities will tell you they are.
Service dogs which undergo thousands of hours of training learn while in public never to shake, sniff, growl, bite or go to the bathroom.
When those things do happen with bogus service dogs in public places, disabled advocates tell us it makes businesses all the more reluctant to welcome the legitimate dogs.
Pamela Carpenter says she won’t complain but adds she and others with disabilities put up with enough discrimination and hassles already.
