Author Topic: Service animals vs. ESAs  (Read 86 times)

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Offline agate

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Service animals vs. ESAs
« on: February 16, 2015, 04:10:51 pm »
Quite a number of people with MS have service animals--usually dogs, trained to be helpful to a person dealing with physical impairments.

And then there are ESAs--emotional support animals, which are becoming increasingly popular.

An article in the New Yorker (October 10, 2014) by Patricia Marx, "Pets Allowed," describes the author's sampling of the ESA situation as she discovered how easy it is to get an ESA--and how little the authorities can do to stop someone from boarding a plane, visiting a museum, or doing just about anything with an ESA in tow.

One part of the article is of particular interest:

Quote
People with genuine impairments who depend on actual service animals are infuriated by the sort of imposture I perpetrated with my phony E.S.A.s. Nancy Lagasse suffers from multiple sclerosis and owns a service dog that can do everything from turning lights on and off to emptying her clothes dryer. “I’m shocked by the number of people who go online and buy their pets vests meant for working dogs,” she told me. “These dogs snarl and go after my dog. They set me up for failure, because people then assume my dog is going to act up.”

The entire article, which I found very funny but also alarming, is available here.
MS Speaks--online for 17 years

SPMS, diagnosed 1980. Avonex 2001-2004. Copaxone 2007-2010. Glatopa (glatiramer acetate 40mg 3 times/week) since 12/16/20.