A few weeks ago a friend of mine was visiting us in The Villages, and she brought her German Shepard wearing a "service dog" vest. I know she is in the process of getting him certified as a therapy dog, but as far as I knew, he really wasn't a service dog.
We went to Toojays at Spanish Springs and the Hostess asked for some sort of ID for the dog and when my friend couldn't produce it (saying they didn't need to show anything), the Hostess got the Manager. The Manager very nicely ... insisted that they needed to see some sort of documentation in order to allow the dog into the restaurant.
My friend was very upset, and of course we weren't able to stay there for dinner, but I was glad Toojays asked for ID and then required it in order to bring the dog into the restaurant. I think more stores and restaurants need to do this in since so many people are buying service coats online and fraudulently using them.
For many years I have been involved with a guide dog organization, and I know how difficult these personal dogs trying to pass as service dogs is making it for legitimate working dogs. Hopefully we'll see some sort of legislation to protect the real working dogs in this country.
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