Are Fake Service Dogs Becoming a Problem?

You see them quite often and I'd like to believe that most I see are actual service dogs. But with an online trend, fake service dogs are seen more and more in public areas.

An actual service dog will have a service dog vest and sometimes an ID tag. Service dogs provide a variety of services to it's owner. They undergo very specialized training. besides the many tasks they learn, they also learn not to bark, not to jump on people and staying focused on their owner and not become distracted.

Because of this special training, service dogs are allowed in most public areas. The problem is, more and more people are passing their dogs off as actual service dogs. Owners are finding it pretty easy to get their dog certified as an emotional support animal.

Because these "emotional support" dogs do not have the training that actual support dogs have, they can present a danger in public places and have, on occasion attacked actual support dogs.

There is a need for emotional support dogs also,for example, vets suffering from PTSD and other mental illnesses.