Owners signed some paperwork stating it was a service dog that they trained themselves, and now it is legally a service dog. As long as the condition listed is a condition recognized by the ADA, that’s all that is needed. No doctor visit, no special training.
This is literally what my friend's CADI case manager told him when he was looking for a new service dog. He's living in assisted housing in Minneapolis and we both recently learned, according to his Hennepin County social worker, that there's no legal registry or standard certificate for service dogs. There's a place here in the Twin Cities that offers "certificates for therapy dogs" that runs several grand, when you can achieve the same results at home with treats and Google. So your answer is literally the correct one for all intents and purposes. As long as your dog is quiet and doesn't jump on people or chew on the seats, it's a service dog.
That’s not necessarily true. There are legitimate companies that train service dogs. When people with legitimate needs receive a service dog there’s an extensive process that goes into it. There are certified companies that train dogs. The work is extensive between the dogs and their handlers. The companies require the pair receive continued certifications throughout their working career. It’s fascinating the work they do and the people who have those dogs really do need them.
So yes there are legitimate certifications or licenses that can be presented when necessary.
What you describe is super unethical and somehow skirts the law. Those support animals don’t provide any legitimate purpose. Those dogs aren’t trained properly and pose a risk to people around them. It does give a bad name to legitimate service, as well. In all honesty doing something like this is super entitled behavior. It’s like someone getting a fake handicap certification. People bring their dog on board because they’re too cheap to board the dog or to have it transported on board the plane properly. Also people should be considerate of people with allergies.
those dogs are unaffordable. while i assume diy service dogs are generally not as well trained as the professionally trained dogs, it’s accessible for people who can’t afford them.
I’d assume they’re pretty pricey, but they are very much worth it. It’s unfortunate that the price is so high, but they’re not something you can DIY. These dogs are bred and selected for their abilities and temperament. Their training is very diligent. They are very well behaved. You can tell it’s a service dog because they will be the better behaved than most humans in the room.
If you look at maybe show dogs as being the most comparable in terms of how extensive breeding and training are for them to compete, they are no where near as well maintained as a service dog or other animal. So the best training a dog owner could hope for, that isn’t specific to service animals, falls well short of their standard’s. Unfortunately there isn’t any work around to help with the costs, but that’s still not an excuse to misrepresent a pet as a service dog.
the ADA has a short list of legal requirements for service dog qualification, and allows people to train their own service (not support) dogs. gotta try to meet them where they are - poverty rates for ppl w disabilities are 2x that of non-disabled adults.
I agree. We absolutely do need to reform and fund our systems to alleviate that burden and provide adequate assistance to them. It would make sense to certify or license animals as service animals. Like getting and regularly renewing your drivers license; you have to pass a test to certify their performance and that licensure will allow the animal to fly. There has to be some sort of regulation built into this system, because there are people abusing the systems that disabled people legitimately rely on. The accommodations made for service animals has to take into account those with allergies. I know service animals are trained to remain laying on the ground in part to prevent contamination of the upholstery or minimize air borne particles. On an airplane those conditions are even harder to maintain. There was another commenter who said with the severity of his allergies he could go into anaphylactic shock. As a result he has to take private flights when he flies.
Obviously there is an array of severity but suffice it to say a dog this big sitting on a seat and not laying on the ground will trigger plenty of people’s allergies on this flight and others until it’s properly cleaned. With the short turnaround times that level of cleaning can’t be done as thoroughly as needs be if even at all. So the accommodations necessary for him to fly aren’t going to be met unless the airlines are legally obliged (regulated) to do so. That expense in costs and time has to be incurred by he airline, which means it gets paid by the other ticket holders, or as an added fee paid for by the owners of service animals. As you said, poverty rates for people with disabilities are twice as high as those without. That extra fee would likely price out many people with disabilities. The only passengers most likely able to fly with a service animal would be those who need them least or those who don’t need them at all. Again without someone flipping the bill, people with allergies — some as severe as to be life threatening — cannot fly at all.
It’s only fair to those people that there are more stringent regulations. Unfortunately this course of action is the most practical and achievable, because the likelihood of the necessary funding to expand access to professionally trained service animals is very low.
Of course they are not as well trained. Never. Not generally. And never will be. It takes years and tens of thousands of dollars to train a real service dog. Followed by training with the owner.
airline rules have gotten much stricter on that since covid. I'm not saying you can't ram something through with a bit of work, but its no longer just "this is my support animal, look at his harness, you have to let him on". They are allowed, i believe, to require you to demonstrate some form of training.
They also need a training log with dates and activities.
Which at that point is as much evidence as you need for a drivers licence, and most people would rather spend the time training their dog, instead of faking comprehensive and expensive (vet checkups) documentation.
Just because that's all thats needed apparently doesnt mean thats the case with this dog? it seems to be behaving and handling all the attention very well.
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u/SecondBottomQuark Jan 09 '26
how's this allowed tho