Hawaii appears to have a dog problem.
Hawaii appears to have a dog problem.
Service dogs, which are trained to help disabled people with various tasks, such as guide dogs helping the blind to navigate their way around town, have continued to grow in popularity in recent years. But as the use of service dogs has grown, so too have instances of people misrepresenting their pets as service dogs, says Maureen Maurer, executive director of the Maui-based Assistance Dogs Hawaii, a nonprofit dedicated to providing children and adults with disabilities with professionally trained assistance dogs.
“It’s … really unfortunate,” she said. “Because there are so many people now that are misrepresenting pets as service dogs, it’s making it difficult and even dangerous for the legitimate teams (human and dog) that are out in public.
“As one example, there’s a woman out here named Melanie with a service dog named Freedom. She’s a veteran and she’s disabled. And she hadn’t left her home on her own in 10 years before she got Freedom. She regained her independence, went back out in public and even went back to work. Then they were at a restaurant … and Freedom was attacked by a fake service dog in the restaurant. And in that one moment, Melanie lost her independence. Melanie was to traumatized by the event that she’s been afraid to go out in public ever since. It’s been several years.”
Real service dogs must go through rigorous training to perform their services for their disabled partners, are housebroken, and are trained to handle themselves well in public, avoiding distractions and getting into fights with other animals. But when people decide to bring their untrained pets into public spaces and pass them off as service animals, their animals’ behavior serves to reflect poorly on all animals, she said.
Meanwhile, the proliferation of untrained, poorly-groomed, and/or badly behaved animals in area establishments is just plain gross, says Mary Montpas. While shopping at an area grocery store recently, the 70-year-old Hawaiian Paradise Park resident had to bite her tongue when she came across an un-appetizing scene in the ice cream aisle.
“I … had the privilege of looking at a male (chihuahua’s) testicles as he was balancing on his owner’s shoulders,” she wrote last month in a letter to the Tribune-Herald.
Another time, she was standing in line to pay for her food at the store when a sick black Labrador retriever “threw up and had diarrhea by the register, and the lady at the register had to clean it up,” she said Wednesday.
Montpas describes herself as a dog lover: a proud owner of a silky terrier named Ipo that she dotes on regularly. But when it comes to people bringing their pets into public areas, especially establishments serving or selling food, that’s where she draws the line.
“I love animals, but not in the grocery stores,” she said.
Montpas added that she is fully in support of service animals helping the disabled, including inside grocery stores, “but people need to leave their pets at home.”
Teri Spinola-Campbell, Hawaii County’s Equal Opportunity officer, says that most people have trouble knowing when an animal is allowed somewhere or not. Often, a person’s disability may not be obvious, and business employees may be afraid to ask for fear of running afoul of the law or embarrassing someone.
“It’s very confusing, because there’s different rules or laws that permit different types of animals in different establishments,” she said.
In 2010, the Americans with Disabilities Act was revised to address the issue of service animals, she said. The requirements define a service animal specifically as a dog trained to perform a task for a person with a disability. A separate provision allows for miniature horses to be used in very specific circumstances.
The ADA also clarifies that so-called “emotional support animals,” which provide therapeutic benefits for people who suffer from mental disabilities or conditions, are not to be considered in the same way as service animals.
“ADA Title II and Title III (which cover state and local government services, and public accomodations and commercial facilities) state that emotional support animals are not considered service animals, because they’re not trained to perform a task,” she said.
Businesses like restaurants and grocery stores are not required to admit emotional support animals, she said.
When it is not obvious what service an animal provides, businesses and government organizations may ask a person only two questions when trying to ascertain whether his or her animal should be allowed in the building:
1. Is the dog a service animal required because of a disability?
2. What work or task has the dog been trained to perform?
Meanwhile, housing providers in Hawaii fall under a different set of rules regarding “assistance animals.”
The Fair Housing Act provides for assistance animals, she said, which “work, assist or perform tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability.”
They can be animals that provide emotional support, however they are not considered pets.
“An assistance animal does not have to be a dog. Cats, birds, rabbits and other animals have been recognized as assistance animals,” reads a fact sheet by the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission.
Hawaii does not require owners of service dogs, assistance animals or emotional support/therapy animals to be licensed or certified in any way.
“That’s where, unfortunately, (the law) isn’t very stringent. There’s no verification required,” Spinola-Campbell said.
Email Colin M. Stewart at cstewart@hawaiitribune-herald.com.