On an otherwise quiet Sunday night...

[registerrodeo]

Thanks Jay..now I have that horrid song in my head!!!!!!

There is a guy in my neighborhood who had cancer and other medical issues and got his yappy dog certified as a 'comfort' dog to keep from being evicted for having a dog in his apartment. He went to the media about it to garner sympathy to keep the dog and not be evicted. The dog may have been his comfort in his unfortunate medical situation, but he didn't get it certified until they went to evict him for having a dog that was against the lease. The media, of course, jumped all over the 'poor sick man, big bad landlord' angle, but as much of an animal lover as I am, the guy lied and snuck a dog into an apartment where his signed lease forbid it.

[carryonnow]

the absolute life altering horror of not being able to connect to the interwebs!!!! How could Her Supreme Bitchiness complain to corporate customer service the Crystal Hexagon Palace??? It seems obvious to me, that the substandard internet service prohibited you from accessing the rules of etiquette needed to deal with members of the Royal PITA family....you should immediately impale yourself on the interwebs router--no worries the access code and password will be displayed on your buttocks so customers can kiss it before logging on.

[Seshat]

Australian law on the topic distinguishes between Service and Therapy animals. A Service animal can go wherever its handler can, a Therapy animal cannot.

Note that some of this is from memory; but IIRC, a landlord cannot be required to permit a Therapy animal on his/her property. A Therapy animal is not required to be permitted into shops, hotels, and other privately-owned public spaces. And so on and so forth.


What distinguishes a Service animal from a Therapy animal? Both are required to have certain types of good behaviour; both are required to be capable of focussing on their tasks in public despite distraction...

A Service animal's special training provides actual assistance to a disabled person; whether it be detecting something such as an impending physiological problem, guiding them, alerting them to something they can't detect (eg 'hearing ear' dogs), or flipping switches and picking things up from the floor and so on.
Yes, a Service animal's task can be alerting his human to an impending panic attack, mixed state, or other physiological problem that affects the emotional state and the person's control of their Self. (Yes, I follow Theory of Mind. It works for me.)
And yes, the assistance provided after the alert can include helping their handler to a quiet place and helping their recovery.
But it must be a specifically trained set of tasks; not random 'it comforts me to have him around'.

A Therapy animal's special training is focussed on comfort and emotional support. Whether the animal is supporting their handler, or is trained to go to places like nursing homes and hospitals and special schools and calmly allow itself to be petted and loved-on by people he doesn't know, his special tasks are emotional.
A common Therapy animal trick is 'say hello', where he gently - very gently - puts his paws on the knee of a seated person, and his head on his paws, so the seated person can easily rub his head. This allows him to keep most of his weight on the floor, not on the patient.

Properly trained Therapy animals should be welcome in most places (except where allergens etc are a concern) simply because they're better behaved than many humans. But they are not Service Animals. There's a big difference.

[BlaqueKatt]

I can also easily imagine a bird of the parrot family being an assistance animal: many of those are quite intelligent, capable of manipulating tools, and capable of being taught to be polite. I've never heard of one, nor seen one, but they fulfil the criteria.

one woman in california won the legal right to her service rats in her small town.

[Sapphire Silk]

Well, business are, in fact, allowed to eject "service animals" that are being a disruptive PITA. It doesn't matter what their disability is or isn't. So yes, a business is well within their rights to eject a customer with an extremely yappy dog, one that's crapping on the floor, etc.

Yes, this is correct. Even a service animal can be ejected if it misbehaves. Properly trained service dogs don't crap on the floor, bark, or behave badly. They ignore distractions. Evil Empryss's service dog, Goldie, is happy go lucky and playful at home.

When on the job, she's all business.

My understanding is that some doctors will certify any animal you want. Just like some doctors hand out handicap cards like candy. There are no real standards for what a service dog needs to do. You can tell the people who don't really need or have service dogs because the animal does not behave in public. I know someone who got her little dog certified for really no reason. She says it makes her feel better to have the dog with her. But it really is that general. I don't for a minute believe anyone needs a pig as a service animal. Real service dogs are wonderfully trained animals that actually help their owners in a tangible way.

In the US there is no certification process that is required for a service dog. The owner must simply have a disability, and the dog performs a specific service. Goldie is a mobility dog; when EE can't get up (happens), Goldie helps get her up out of a chair or off the floor. She also helps EE navigate crowds. She also performs emotional services, but that is NOT covered under the ADA. EE trained Goldie herself.

As long as the dog performs a service that fits the law, and is well behaved, it cannot be ejected.

one woman in california won the legal right to her service rats in her small town.

In this case, the rats signal when she is going to have a seizure. That's a legit purpose. However, the Feds don't recognize rats as service animals. Only dogs, miniature horses, and monkeys (NOT chimps). The woman in question can only bring her rats into this particular town, no where else.

[DGoddessChardonnay]

Now, let's all say it together: Entitlement: Because YOU'RE worth it!"

Reminds me of those vintage L'Oreal hair color commercials that aired on tv back in the 80's. That line was their slogan in those days.

Some people took that way too seriously, I guess.

[Cia]

If you were to suffer a seizure it would probably suffer such a spasm of helpless anguish that it would explode.

LMAO!!