Fake Service Animal Run-In

                     A couple months back I was at a restaurant with a friend. We were entering the restaurant and saw a couple. The couple had three Pomeranian's with them. My friend noticed all three of the dogs had service dog vests on. The vest did not state what job they do. I have a medical alert dog patch on Duchess because I find that stating what their job is helpful. I have educated my friends about service animals and how to spot fake one's. There has been a growing number of places on the internet selling service dog vests and certifications so people can fake. My friend approached the couple about their dogs and what kind of service dogs they were? They would not tell her what their jobs was which I understand on some levels. Disclosing your disability can be hard. I on the other hand found it strange to have three service dogs. I know some will have two at most when training the successor of their current service dog but to need three their is no valid reason I could think of. I even had a discussion with other disabled handlers and we all thought they were just people trying to fake their dogs were a service animal. The dogs once they saw Duchess started barking and I knew right them that these dogs were not service animals. Another clue to me is that most of the time service animals tend not to be Pomeranian's they are hard to train and are usually do not handle the job of a service animal as well. I am not saying that they should not be, but they tend to be the exception.

                    I can understand how fun it could seem to take your dog with you, but when it affects people who rely on their service animals to give them their freedom that's what I have a problem with. These fakers have cause me more issues and stress because they are only tend to create bad feeling about service dog teams because of their bad behavior. Service dogs spend two years training to be one. So taking your semi well behaved animal makes it harder for me to grocery shopping, restaurant and other places. I know we all love our animals but leaving them home really makes things easier for the people who rely upon these wonderful animals to help. I know this was a clear incident of people passing their misbehaving dogs off as a service animal.