[dalecrenshaw]

My husband and I were in a restaurant tonight where a woman came in with her "Chihauhau" 5 lb "emotional support dog". This is not a "Service Dog" that helps disabled people. I am a lover of animals, but I do think that people bringing in their emotional support dogs has been abused...and now the authorities are thinking of taking away this privilege from those "few" people that might really need service dog for the handicap or an emotional support dog. This is really being abused by people that can't bear to leave their pets home and bring them into restaurants or grocery stores, where it is unsanitary or people are allergic to pets. I once sat is a restaurant where an emotional support dog was allowed in, seemed to be well behaved, slept under the table when his owners ate, then awoke, and did his business on the desert tray. I believe that those disabled people who have licensed service dogs, who have been trained and certified as well trained, deserve to bring in their service dogs to help them with their needs, but the word has gotten around that the general public can get an "emotional support" pet certification through the internet without any proof that they need it just because they want to take their pet to restaurants, take them on airplanes without paying the normal $250 fee, or take them to grocery stores, because they can't bear to leave them at home. This is being abused and will ruin it for the people that truly need support.