Friend lied about having emotional support dog.

Why ludicrous because the partner is there?

Yes ludicrous to have a emotional support vest as there is no such thing, but why about the partner with them?

It's annoying and I see a dog in Tesco often that has a emotional support vest on... seems ludicrous especially when he's walking around with his partner aswell.

if an autistic kid has a specially trained dog with them as a therapy dog do they not have something to identify them?

No, there is no official identification which is why people like the OP's friend can get away with taking the piss unfortunately.

@Otins She was wrong to pretend her dog was something it wasn't, not that emotional support dogs are a recognised thing in this country, that's a US thing, but as the owner of an assistant dog who helps me in numerous ways you are unreasonable to say no dogs should be allowed in shops and cafes. I was hit by a car; some horrible person drove through a crossing, hit me and drove off and I have been left with life altering injuries, my assistant dog allows me to be part of the world again. I don't have her because I wanted a dog that could enter shops I have her because she helps me, a wheelchair user live my life independently. I waited years for a wonderful charity to give me an assistant dog. I hate people who say they shouldn't be in cafes or shops.

Absolutely. It angers me.
My local coffee shop has a number of 'emotional assistance ' dogs and ( I know the coffee shop owner) the owner is reluctant to ban them, even though she knows the law.
The owners buy 'Emotional Assistance' harnesses online and feel that their pet is open to all places.

She needs the trade but she's fed up of dealing with 'little accidents' as staff have to take time out of serving in order to deal with them.

And I'm a dog lover and our dogs do provide emotional assistance but not 24/7 everywhere.

On a similar theme, I have a friend with an assistance dog, he can fetch things for her. and she has brought him along to our hobby group for years which was fine, he is a friendly dog and we all give him lots of fuss which he loves. However the dog is now retired and she continued to bring him for a while but the group leader has now asked her not to bring him. She and some of the group are outraged but I don’t think they all realise that the dog is retired so no longer an assistance dog but … a dog! I presume that venues have rules about bringing dogs in, maybe it is an insurance issue.

I have similar experiences at a historic country house but we're so into our inclusivity stuff we don't really 'challenge' and it's a bloody nightmare. I strongly suspect about 50% of the dogs we get are just pets with entitled owners chancing it. It really annoys me, not least because personally I am very allergic to dogs and will suffer an asthmatic reaction if in the same room as most dogs, and as a consequence of never really interacting with dogs due to allergies I am nervous of them too. So if ever I'm stuck in a room with a visitor with a dog for long it's a problem. I will take it on the chin for people who have assistance dogs for, eg sight - they are extremely highly trained and serve an essential purpose for their owner - of course. But the rise of all these other kinds of support dogs are a bloody nightmare to regulate and I hate the feeling of suspicion I have whenever we have one because it's really not fair on the genuine ones to be so sceptical. Who am I to judge whether they really need it or not? But often the dog is not well behaved so I just feel it is not actually properly trained and anyone can buy a jacket online that says 'support dog' on it. The absolute piss takers are those that say they are 'in training'. Obviously they've got to get exposed to things to be trained, but our fragile historic house is not a training ground and we shouldn't be bearing the risk of a puppy pissing itself with excitement on a historic carpet. But the fear of being accused of being discriminatory is huge in my sector, I think partly because all the funding nowadays is about inclusion and access etc etc, so all our rhetoric is about finding ways to include everyone. These chancers play into it big time.

Think it was the manager of the bus station. He had a uniform on. Doggo wears a K9 harness which can make him look like a service dog (he is just a strong lad) and the chap said sorry can I see your ID for your dog , so I obviously apologized and said he isn’t an AD just my daft mutt and offered to walk round instead (he let us carry on as we were nice and polite). Dunno about the ID - if an autistic kid has a specially trained dog with them as a therapy dog do they not have something to identify them? Not something I know about tbh. I wouldn’t lie about it (tbh my lad would give himself away with his excessively waggy tail haha)

There is no official identification and the harnesses are readily available online.

Also, who asked you for 'his papers'?

There are no official papers and they are not required by law anyway.

Untrue. Only a dog in UK

You should see some of the owner trained assistance dogs FB groups. They’ve decided emotional support dogs are now Psychiatric Assistance dogs as legally nowhere can turn an assistance dog away or ask for proof of training etc. It’s absolutely disgusting the advice that they give each other on some of these groups and there’s often people selling ID’s for these dogs.

If anyone does dare turn someone away (the ones with emotional support dogs under the guise of Psychiatric Assistance dogs) they all email the premises screaming the Equality Act 2010.

There really does need to be some sort of National register for Assistance Dogs and records of training/vaccinations etc.

As for your friend OP, personally I wouldn’t be going anywhere with her if she’s bringing the dog and I’d be telling her what I truly thought of her, some people have absolutely no morals.

I am amazed they let her in without the dog carrying identification (on its harness or lead at least). I once walked my labrador through a covered bus shelter in an unfamiliar place without realising it was assistance dogs only (the one in my town allows dogs on leads) and someone asked me for his papers.

This is true.

But most people working front of house in a restaurant/cafe are young, and on minimum wage. Like my DD who has just finished her first year at uni. She is not going to be assertive enough to say that actually no, your "emotional support" animal is not coming in as that class of animal is not recognised in the UK and that only assistance dogs are allowed.

Or take the risk that the CF animal owner whips out their phone and posts a rant on their local facebook page, moaning that they have been DISCRIMINATED AGAINST by some spotty teenager in Pizza Hut who wouldn't let their furbaby emotional support bestest boy in, which attracts hundreds of comments about "OMG hun, that's awful i'd be fumming" and dozens of people emailing the CEO, their MP and probably the sodding Pope.

So the member of staff rolls their eyes and lets the CF in with their "emotional support" animal because to to otherwise is just not worth the hassle.

Which of course the CF knew all along and was counting on.

Are you still friends with this liar?

You can tick a box on the Airbnb site if your dog is an assistance dog. Most places won’t say no, can you imagine the fall out.

It would be illegal to say no.

I suppose the owner of the home could ask for proof?

There is no proof.

Your friend was wrong to pretend her dog was an assistance dog, she should’ve chosen to stay elsewhere. There are plenty of dog friendly homes and places.

She didn't, she claimed it was an emotional support dog.

You can tick a box on the Airbnb site if your dog is an assistance dog. Most places won’t say no, can you imagine the fall out. I suppose the owner of the home could ask for proof?

Your friend was wrong to pretend her dog was an assistance dog, she should’ve chosen to stay elsewhere. There are plenty of dog friendly homes and places.

Not on - she is making life more difficult for people with genuine assistance dogs by perpetuating the narrative that 'emotional support' is just an excuse to take your dog places it wouldn't normally be allowed. It may be that venues are obliged to admit them, but if everyone does this it will create a negative attitude; not to mention an excess of untrained dogs in inappropriate surroundings.

You can buy the jackets on Etsy. I know someone who has bought “seizure alert” vests for her two badly behaved poodles. She doesn’t even have seizures. She takes them in Tesco!

Wouldn't they be better off with an assistance dog?

I think they would. They have close family and support so I’m sure they’d be aware of the possibility of applying . Maybe they don’t meet the criteria, I don’t know.

Wouldn't they be better off with an assistance dog?

The only person I know who calls their dog an emotional support dog, has actual pretty severe disabilities and I’m actually suprised they don’t have an official assistance dog.

To blatantly lie just to get your pet in to somewhere they’re not allowed, is pretty shitty and I’d not find it remotely clever or funny. YANBU

Not true in the UK. Equality Act only covers mitigation of your disability by a dog, no other animals.

Anyone who pretends to have a disability wouldn't be a friend of mine.

Emotional support dog my arse.

If you are so severely affected in some way that you are totally unable to set foot inside any building without the support of your dog, then your dog is an assistance dog.

If, on the other hand, your fondness for your furbaby is on a par with ferocious maternal instinct, then you need to give yourself a damn good talking-to and find out what is so lacking in your pathetic life that you have to rely on another species to provide it.

You cannot refuse any animal (be it a dog. Cat or parrot etc) entry, if they state it's an assistance animal, by law.
You cannot even stipulate an area that they can go, ie sit on the side of the restaurant with wooden floor instead of the carpeted side. Also, you cannot say because of allergies. There is no proof needed, or even indeed, available, as there is not a register.