AUSTIN (KXAN) – Austin may be a dog-friendly city, but man’s best friend isn’t everywhere. But some people are taking advantage of the system by claiming their pet is a service dog.
Now, a new law aims to crack down on misrepresentations of these service animals.
House Bill 4164, which went into effect in September, increases the penalties for misrepresenting a dog as a service animal. The fine for the offense was increased from $300 to $1,000, and 30 hours of community service were added.
“We get more false identifications than true ones,” said Donny Castro-Conde, owner of Dog Training Elite in Austin.
Castro-Conde trains service dogs, and he knows how important a service dog’s role is to the people they serve. He said when people treat service dogs like regular pets, it can have a detrimental effect on their work.
“If you’re distracting the public, it makes the trainer’s job that much harder because their dog can’t maintain attention because of their disability,” Castro-Conde said.
Castro-Conde is pleased that the new law will go into effect this September.
“This false identification is absolutely illegal,” Castro-Conde said.
According to the Americans with Disabilities Association (ADA), a service animal is defined as a dog that is individually trained to work or perform tasks for a person with a disability. The tasks the dog performs must be directly related to the person’s disability.
“I know this has become an issue for people who really need these animals to help them get around,” said Texas Rep. Vikki Goodwin, who helped pass the new law. “They provide a very valuable service, but it can be interrupted by other untrained pets.”
Castro Conde trained many of the dogs now used as service dogs, and while a professional trainer can be a great way to ensure the dog receives the best training possible, people with disabilities have the right to train their own dogs without the need to use a specialized dog. Professional service dog training under the ADA.
The ADA does not require service animals to wear vests, identification tags, or special harnesses. It also does not require documentation or proof that the animal is certified, trained, or licensed as a service animal.
“We have to trust that people who say they have a trained service dog are being honest,” Castro-Conde said. “You can’t ask them for proof, you can’t ask them to show you their mission, you can’t ask them what disability that person has.”
