Jon Allen, a Moscow native who attended the University of Nevada Las Vegas, does not have a disability, nor does he struggle with mental illness.
He has no use for a service animal of any kind, and neither does his wife. When the couple decided they wanted to have a dog in their apartment, Allen and his wife went to talk to their rental agency to learn about breed restrictions and fees.
That’s when apartment complex employees encouraged he and his wife to fill out an online form that would certify the dog as a service animal, specifically an emotional support animal, so they could avoid regulations on dog breeds and house the animal without paying any fees.
“There wasn’t much of a conversation,” Allen said. “We were both on the same page that we were obviously not going to do that.”
Allen said the employees seemed surprised when the couple said no. The fees were expensive and several people in the complex had already filled out forms as a way to circumscribe the process.
Yishan Chen | Blot Magaizne
German Shepherd Uma waits for her trainer’s orders outside Tri-State Outfitters in Moscow.
“Most of those dogs weren’t even remotely trained,” Allen said. “It has a negative impact on how people view (support) animals because they are grouped together with them.”
There is no certification required for emotional support animals or any national rules regarding the process, which dog trainer Jennifer Greer said is a large part of the problem. There are internet sites that will send letters signing off on people needing an emotional support animal.
Greer said emotional support service dogs don’t have to wear any visual signs or identification that they are service animals, which makes it that much easier to fake.
“There are a lot of fake service dogs in Moscow,” Greer said. “More than I have ever seen.”
If anyone knows how much work it takes to fully train a service animal, it’s Greer. She has eight years of experience training dogs, a master’s degree in physiology and a bachelor’s degree is in animal behavior. Greer said she trains service dogs for people with a variety of needs, ranging from autism to post-traumatic stress disorder.
In the past, there were generally only seeing-eye dogs, but now Greer said it is harder to tell visually what a service dog does for a person. For example, dogs are trained to be diabetic-alert dogs as well as seizure-alert dogs. In general, a fully-trained service animal costs between $3,000 and $5,000 — the kind of training that Allen said was not present in his neighborhood’s dogs.
Greer said another part of the problem is that businesses don’t know what they can or cannot do or how to approach service animals.
Allen said he was surprised that the complex would encourage people to fill out forms to skirt fees rather than trying to gain more money from the individuals.
“I also remember thinking how insensitive it is,” Allen said. “People need those animals.”
University of Idaho sophomore Katie Lester has a support animal, a Maine Coon cat named Dante. She currently resides in university housing with Dante, who provides comfort and emotional support.
Lester has had Dante for almost a year and she said she has seen a huge improvement in her emotional health since he came in to her life.
“He’s like my little buddy,” Lester said.
Dante has little to no training and is there to help her emotionally, rather than to perform a specific task.
“He is a pet that is prescribed to me, is the way I like to describe it,” Lester said.
Lester said that going through the process to get permission to have Dante in her room made her feel more supported by housing and Disability Support Services. She said it helped her learn about her rights as a person and advocate for herself.
“It is important to go into it with the mindset that people aren’t faking it,” Lester said.
Allen said he believes it can be easy to view emotional support animals as not a big deal. He said this generates a negative viewpoint on something that is a real necessity for some people. Allen said in order to combat the negative public perception, emotional support animals need to be treated as a big deal. There has to be accountability, he said, and maybe the process of getting a support animal shouldn’t be so easy and unregulated.
“There is a stigma with mental health in general, so it is already looked down upon,” Allen said. “If someone doesn’t respect (mental health issues), they won’t respect the animal.”
Lester said she hasn’t received much negative attention or remarks, but rather dismissal. When she originally was prescribed Dante, she said her friends thought she was kidding, which caused some self-doubt. However, Lester said self-doubt is important because it shows that a person needs the animal if they don’t just accept it and move on.
Greer said right now the system is just an honor system, but eventually she believes it will become more structured. Fake support animals are taking away from those who do need them, Greer said. She said once people realize there is a loophole, it will become even more of problem.
“A service dog is medical equipment,” Greer said. “You wouldn’t abuse other forms of medical equipment. You wouldn’t abuse a wheelchair.”
Lester said she believes the root of the problem is selfishness and lack of awareness of mental illness. She said she hasn’t seen much progress made in raising that awareness because people inherently want to stick to what they know. Education is all that can be done, but Lester said people have to be open to it too.
“If you don’t know anyone who has a need for a service animal … still try to be understanding,” Allen said. “Think ‘If this is something I was going through, what would it feel like?’ Think about others than yourself and just try to be understanding.”
Lester said it is important to be open and unafraid to ask questions.
“Have the courage to ask and don’t be hesitant, because that puts a lot on the person with the animal,” Lester said. “But be respectful, be tolerant.”