Arizona is the latest state to pass a law that makes it illegal for pet owners to “fraudulently misrepresent an animal as a service animal”. Violating the law will incur a $250 fine. The law defines service animals as being trained to do more than just sit or lie down; the animal has to perform tasks such as “detect low blood sugar or an oncoming seizure”.
Before the passing of the bill there was debate of whether the legislation would unfairly target people with disabilities. However, Senator John Kavanagh who proposed the bill said that it was not meant to prevent people from having service animals, just to put a stop to people who by service animal vests online and pass them off as service animals to get into restaurants, airplanes and shops.
Kavanagh also adds that that having animals that are not service animals enter these public places is a “health issue”. Animas that are just pets can cause public disturbances and fight with actual service dogs. The federal law will allow people to ask two questions to identify the service dog; if the animal is required for a disability and what have they been trained to do?
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