What would you do, if you were a small business owner and a customer walked into your shop and suddenly plunked an restrained Chihuahua on your checkout counter? And when you ask, “What’s with the dog?” they handed you a card that said under the Americans with Disabilities Act you could be fined up to $10,000, for refusing to serve disabled people who use emotional support animals. Incredulous? This can and has happened, right here in river city.

ADA requires that even privately owned businesses, that serve the public, refrain from discriminating against individuals with disabilities. Business concerns must allow people with disabilities to bring service animals onto their premises in all areas where customers are generally allowed. They cannot segregate people with service animals from other customers. They also cannot charge higher prices, cleaning fees, or require a security deposit. Businesses may charge for damages that service animals cause, as long as it is the usual business practice for any customer who causes damage.

Most of us think of the famous “Seeing Eye dogs” when we think of service animals, but today a wide variety of animals are being used for all sorts of assistive tasks. Animals are used to help people with hearing impairments, detect seizures, obtain help, pull wheelchairs, carry and pick up items, help with balance, and offer emotional support.

With the inclusion of emotional support as a legitimate assistive task, almost any animal can qualify. In addition to every sort of dog possible, monkeys, goats, miniature horses, ponies, pigs, and even ducks have been used. The duck in question was dressed in doll’s clothing and was routinely taken into places of business. Thankfully some animals such as reptiles, rodents and spiders are exempted from the usual service animal rules.

Service animals are not considered pets. Most of them are trained in their assistive task and some have official certification. ADA, however, has kept the door open on this and does not require any certification requirements because some animals are said to naturally be able to provide emotional support without formal training.

ADA does require that the person accompanying a service animal must have a diagnosable disability, and for people using a emotional support animal, there should be a written statement from a healthcare professional indicating that the animal is necessary to assist the person. Businesses cannot, however, refuse service, because the person is unable to provide documentation on site.

If the animal is extremely disruptive to the core aspect of the business, like a dog that barks during a movie, it can be excluded. Likewise an animal that presents a danger to employees or other patrons, such as one that bites, growls, or snaps at people may also be disallowed.

This requirement for access has been extended to allow service animals on airplanes and in housing settings that previously did not allow the presence of animals.

Writer Susan Semmel has described how a woman brought a 300 pound pot-belly pig with her on a plane trip from New Jersey to Washington State. The woman claimed it was a service animal and following ADA guidelines, the airline allow the pig to fly free, despite complaints from other passengers. Her article was aptly entitled, When Pigs Fly: They go First Class.

ADA guidelines are not very helpful in situations when other people may be allergic to these animals. They suggest separating the animal from the allergic passenger as far as possible, which seems preposterous on a small aircraft. Such cases may quickly evolve into dueling disabilities. These guidelines also suggest that two or more service animals may also be quite legitimate.

Miami Humor columnist Dave Barry has satirized the use of miniature horses as emotional support animals on air flights, after receiving a letter from a mystified flight attendant. Barry wondered if security would require the animals to remove their horseshoes before boarding the plane.

New York Times, writer Beth Landman has described how New York City restaurants have become inundated with customers claiming that their dogs are emotional support service animals. She quotes one woman who claims, “I can fine people or have them put in jail if they don’t let me in a restaurant with my dogs.”

Unfortunately some people who want to take their dogs with them everywhere, are not disabled and don’t have a genuine need. Not all professionals are particularly judicious in regard to providing letters of verification of need.

Paris Hilton’s Tinkerbelle and Reece Withspoon’s Brusier, in the Legally Blonde films, may have advanced this trend of taking a Chihuahua or other small ”accessory dog” into public accommodations. Cynthia Dodge the owner of Tutor Service Dogs in Massachusetts is quoted in Landsman’s article as saying that she has met people who try to get their dog certified as a service animal on a whim. She says “This is a total insult to the disabled community. They are ruining it for people who need it.,” she says. Also any one can easily get special cards and even dog vests on line that declare that their animals are service animals.

Obviously people with disabilities should never be discriminated against and animals certainly play a positive role in providing emotional support. After the September 11 attack, over 100 therapy dogs were dispatched to a center in New York City to help calm and comfort victims and their families.

I believe, however, the ADA guidelines have taken a positive purpose and run it into the ground. When people abuse this law or use it as a weapon to intimidate others everyone loses. The preposterous “anything goes” approach would allow a person to take along a virtual menagerie on air flights, without any recourse for other passengers.

I strongly support the use of trained and certified therapy animals, but I believe there needs to be appropriate regulation of these emotional support animals, so that people with disabilities can have their rights protected, but not at the expense of the rights of others.

Terry L. Stawar, Ed.D. lives in Georgetown and is the CEO of LifeSpring in Jeffersonville. He can be reached at tstawar@lifespr.com or 812-206-1234