The Dish by Darcy

(UPDATED! Now SitStay.com has Ready to Wear Service Dog and Therapy Dog Vests to make your life even easier. We’ve sewn the patches on for you. Please get yours today.)

Scam article starts here:

Don’t get duped. There’s a scam for everything, isn’t there? And there are some scams directed at service dogs and their people. Why is it that there’s always somebody wanting to take advantage of people who already have enough problems?

Beware the web sites that will sell you “certification” papers or will “register” your service dog, then sell you a package with a wallet ID, vest and patches for upwards of $249 for the package plus shipping. Run the other way! Do not give them your money.

There is one guy running a scam like this with what looks like a legitimate service dog site. I believe he still lives in Hawaii. He’s a scammer. Why do I say that? He’s selling “papers” that will say a dog is a service dog, he never sees the dog or it’s training qualifications. How do I know him? He came to me years ago and asked me to be his partner. He said that people with disabilities will pay big bucks, they aren’t smart enough to know a scam when they see one, “We’ll make a ton of money together.” I said no, no, and no. I tried to shame him out of it. It didn’t work, he’s still at it today.

The only real service dog certification is one you can get when you put your dog through a truly certified service dog training school. If your dog completes their training, they can give you a certificate that says that your dog completed their training. There are some real schools who can certify your dog if you want to get your dog certified. The training that you and your dog will receive at a legitimate and very good school can be a benefit to you.

As of today, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, it’s not necessary to have your dog certified or registered to act as your service dog.

Be cautious of some “trainers” and “schools” who will “train” your dog and give you a “certification” saying that your dog is now a service dog. Beware of those who will sell you the “certificate” after you’ve answered a few questions online. Those papers are not real. Anybody with a printer can make one up. These guys are not certified to be certifying anybody. It’s not real.

How do you know when a trainer and school are real? Your guess is as good as mine. Ask lots of question, get references from other schools and trainers. Or if you still want to spend that $250, ask if you can have a copy of their certification to train service dogs to show to your attorney so he can check on it before you start classes.

The U.S. Department of Justice’s Americans with Disabilities Act says and I quote:

“The ADA defines a service animal as any guide dog, signal dog, or other animal individually trained to provide assistance to an individual with a disability. If they meet this definition, animals are considered service animals under the ADA regardless of whether they have been licensed or certified by a state or local government.”

A vest and patches are very nice to identify your service dog to the public and you’ll probably get a whole lot less hassle if your dog is wearing them. If you choose to identify your service dog, therapy dog, working dog, or search and rescue dog to the public, get the best quality vests and patches that you can.

Get the best quality vests and patches at a fair price from SitStay.com , they’ll last you for years. No fake papers for sale in our Store, only the good stuff that will help you live a better life with your dog.

UPDATED! Now SitStay.com has Ready to Wear Service Dog and Therapy Dog Vests to make your life even easier. We’ve sewn the patches on for you. Please get yours today.

(The ADA info above can change at any time as legal things tend to do. Make sure to search for any new info at www.ada.gov search for ’service dog’. Stay informed of your state and US laws that apply to service dogs.)