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Okay, first, you just can't say no to Labradors. Yes, those are mine.

As for the story, how is it that there are tons of people with diabetes who don't have to rely on service dogs to alert them of an oncoming diabetic seizure. Isn't it SOP among diabetics to monitor their blood-sugar levels with a device?

Since these dogs aren't actually trained to do this, have any scientific studies been done?

Look, Ba-ba doesn't have any problems bringing her dog on the set of The View since the rule of no dogs on the set went out the window the moment they hired Rosie O'Donut.

There was this gay guy at work in The People's Republic of Boulder. He got a dog, and started bring it to work. Then he started beating the dog for peeing on the carpet whenever it got beat. So the company instituted a no dogs policy. So the guy had a doctor declare the dog a service dog that helped him deal with depression. Because "gay" doesn't mean happy, it means can't get a boyfriend. So they fired him anyway, and he sued the company for discrimination.

To attempt to pass off a pet as a trained service dog is a crime. By federal and state law, one must be legally disabled to have the right to use a service dog in public.Those who are not disabled, and bring their pets with them into public places as "service dogs" cause serious difficulties for those of us who depend on our SDs for mobility and many other things. It also is not kind for your pet- the working environment of the service dog is far too stressful for pets to cope with, the reason for pets having toileting accidents and aggression when taken to stores, planes, etc. All service dogs are carefully selected for calm temperment, good nerves and high trainabilty, and even so, many do not have what it takes to complete the training. So it is inhumane to force pets to accompany selfish owners everywhere, just because the human wishes to show off the pet, or is inordinately attatched to it. Pets are far better left at home, where they are safe and secure in familiar surroundings, than crammed into purses or packs, and subjected to terrifying situations and sounds.
To use a service dog may seem like a fantastic perk to some, but in many ways it is like a combination of having your best friend, and also a baby, with you 24/7, because you have to take care of the dog's toileting needs, make sure he is not too hot, or too cold, is properly groomed, tack clean and in working order, and so on. Then one pays the price of the independence given by the dog's assistance, in enduring the questions and often harassment by people who have had to tolerate pets passed off as working service dogs. Disabled people who use these animals need and depend on this help, so as to be more self sufficent...bringing your pet Poopsie and Puddles with you everywhere makes our life much more difficult.

Folks, please don't do it- its against the law, and hurts the disabled.

Yes, diabetics do monitor their blood sugar but there are times when it drops so quickly, you don't realize it's happening until you are very low, and by thenm you may be too out of it to do anything about it. Also, many long time diabetics no longer recognize the symptoms of hypoglycemia. I just saw a show on PBS about dogs and one story was about a kid with diabetes whose dog would wake up his parents and then wake up the boy when his blood sugar was dropping. The dog could sense it. Before he had the dog, the kid would often start hallucinating when he had hypoglycemia. I can usually feel it coming on but a couple of times my family has had to call the paramedics to "revive" me when it's happened as I was sleeping. My dog has no idea when I go low though. But she sure enjoys the glucose tablets I eat to bring up my blood sugar.

There are NUMEROUS legitimate medical reasons to use a service dog. They can be trained to alert to seizures, diabetic attacks, assist with mobility impairments, autism and similar disabilities, and yes, psychiatric disabilities as well. I'm not saying every person should have a service dog, but a trained animal who provides a service for a legitimate, documented medical disability makes a tremendous difference in the life of its handler. They do indeed save lives. This article is demeaning and discriminatory. All people who use a service dog for a disability other than a vision impairment are not faking. There are many reasons to use service animals, and they are invaluable lifelines to hundreds of thousands of disabled individuals.

Religious institutions and organizations (such as the mosques mentioned in the article above) are not included in the federal law and, therefore, do not have to admit a service dog under federal law. So, if somebody tried to do that, they wouldn't be able to sue.

Like others said, passing off a pet as a service dog and, therefore, a non-disabled person as a disabled person is illegal. It hurts people who really are disabled and really do need the assistance of their really trained service dogs.