Texas Struggles To Find Out Who Really IS A Good Boy?

// Service animals are more than just pets. They are specially trained and help people with issues ranging from alerting and protecting those prone to seizures and calming down someone with PTSD to making sure their handlers take their medicine on time. In short, they are on the clock.  At least, they’re supposed to be.  If it looks like a service animal and barks like a service animal, it is kind of hard to verify if they actually are. From Valley Central:

Texas is tightening its leash on people trying to pass their pets off as service animals.

A new law raised the penalty to $1,000 and 30 hours of community service for a disability-related charity. A Harlingen attorney said there were problems with the new law that would make it difficult to enforce.

Ricardo Barrera, owner of the Barrera Law Firm, said, “What law enforcement may run into, and prosecutors who are trying to deal with this, is potential Fourth Amendment infringements. As well as ADA infringements.

googletag.cmd.push( function() { // Display ad. googletag.display( "div-id-for-top-300x250" ); });

It really isn’t as easy as just looking to see if the alleged support animal is wearing the proper outfit. There are good faith and bad faith issues at play here. While the ADA specifically does not classify emotional support animals as service animals, some federal laws make interventions that muddy the waters. On the other hand, there are people who are just saying screw you to no-dog rules and fraudulently bringing their pets into places they know they shouldn’t be. There’s even a market for fake vests and licenses:

Sponsored Survey Results: A Perspective On The Private Markets Ontra surveyed over 400 private markets professionals about what to expect this year and their legal process pain points. From Kerry G. Benn, Ontra  

i got a youtube ad for a site that sells fake service animal certificates :/ pic.twitter.com/VCkUK0oOhK

— Ferengi Crimes @ Elim Garak🦎🏳️‍🌈 (@ScuzBrains) September 1, 2023

And the problem of sorting people with genuine support animals from people who just want to take their dog Fluffy into a Cracker Barrel makes it harder for the people who need support animals to move freely:

googletag.cmd.push( function() { // Display ad. googletag.display( "div-id-for-middle-300x250" ); }); googletag.cmd.push( function() { // Display ad. googletag.display( "div-id-for-storycontent-440x100" ); }); googletag.cmd.push( function() { // Display ad. googletag.display( "div-id-for-in-story-youtube-1x1" ); });

I fucking hate it when ppl bring their “emotional support animal”/fake service animal into places that are not legit trained for this reason, your not only hurting those who need service animals to function normally, but your also endangering ppl.
Fucking stop. https://t.co/NLM699Fpzq

— Hazard (@DatGreenMonstah) February 3, 2019

In the meantime, the options left to officers attempting to enforce the law are sparse:

Sponsored Sponsored Survey Results: A Perspective On The Private Markets Ontra surveyed over 400 private markets professionals about what to expect this year and their legal process pain points. From Kerry G. Benn, Ontra   Sponsored Documenting Secured Transactions: A New Guide For Practitioners A newly updated PLI treatise provides both the legal framework and practical guidance on documenting secured transactions, including important details about 2022 amendments to the UCC. From Practising Law Institute   Sponsored NetDocuments’ Rebecca Sattin On Customer-First Approach And Future-Proofing Your Firm How a customer-focused transition from Worldox to NetDocuments sets the stage for a future of successful tech advancement. From Ethan Beberness   Sponsored Webinar: How Private Equity Is Gaining A Competitive Edge With AI Join Ontra and guests from Insight Partners and Harvard Business School as they discuss how firms can capitalize on AI while mitigating risk From Ontra  

Barrera suggested law enforcement should focus on understanding the ADA and medical privacy laws. He said law enforcement could legally only ask someone two questions when it came to their service animal. “They can only ask you whether or not your service animal is a service animal, and what work or your task the service animal is trained to perform,” Barrera said.

Barring some special tell or search that risks violating the Fourth Amendment, it looks to be a scout’s honor system. And if you’re at the point where you’re dressing up your Pomeranian in a service vest to commit to the bit, you probably aren’t above lying to avoid a $1,000 ticket and community service.

Do you think seeing eye dogs look at dogs with the fake service animal vests and go "hmmm…stolen valor"

— Hemry, Local Bartender (@BartenderHemry) December 8, 2022

googletag.cmd.push( function() { // Display ad. googletag.display( "div-id-for-bottom-300x250" ); });

I don’t know if they do, but they should.

Fake Service Animal Law Hard To Enforce, Lawyer Says [Valley Central]

Sponsored Sponsored Experience AI-Powered Contract Negotiation With Ontra Tired of negotiating and managing routine contracts? Ontra makes the most of human expertise and proprietary AI assistance to automate contracts like never before. From Ethan Beberness   Sponsored Webinar: How Private Equity Is Gaining A Competitive Edge With AI Join Ontra and guests from Insight Partners and Harvard Business School as they discuss how firms can capitalize on AI while mitigating risk From Ontra  

Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s.  He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who cannot swim, a published author on critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at [email protected] and by tweet at @WritesForRent.

Topics

ADA, Americans with Disabilities Act, Government, Service Animals, Texas