Fake Service Animals California
However in California pretending to be an owner of a service dog is a criminal misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to 1000 andor up to six months imprisonment.
Fake service animals california. No one begrudges a blind person the right to a guide dog. The crime is punishable by up to six months in jail andor a fine of up to 1000. The penalties for violating these laws vary.
This was not a proposal for a fake service dog law but an exploration of the need for one. The penalties vary depending on where the infraction took place. About a third of the states have enacted anti-fake service animal.
It is a misdemeanor offense to pretend your pet is a service animal in California. Many service dog handlers have stories of being turned away from businesses where a fake service dog has made a nuisance of itself previously causing the business owners to adopt a resolute no-animals policy even though this is against the law. On January 30 2012 a six-year-old boy was killed at Fort Campbell in Oak Grove Tennessee by a German Shepherd medical service dog.
Having a fake service animal is a misdemeanor according to legislation that became effective Jan. Fake service animals california. The problem isnt people who legitimately need the assistance.
In California anyone caught using a fake service animal could be fined up to 1000 and imprisoned for six months. Monday February 24 2014. Three months later on April 27 2012 Jeremiah Eskew-Shahan age 1 was killed by his grandmothers therapy dog in Henderson.
Badly behaved fake service dogs are hugely damaging to public perceptions of service animals. Fake service dogs have disfigured at least six people and killed five since 2012. Makes falsely claiming an animal to be a service animal a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for six month or a fine up to 1000 or both.