re: Do service dogs have to be registered?

There's no such thing as information on dogs - just get the vest on eBay and enjoy

Since I brought my Staffordshire over from New Orleans to Denver (where they're illegal) I seriously considered putting her through Service training. The ban would make my life a breeze. People still have them. While I never mind breaking laws I felt we're absurd, I couldn't put my dog through the hell that could happen.

So I've said screw it, and I'm moving to Boulder instead. If I don't end up moving back south at point, I'll consider getting her trained, and calling her an emotional support animal, or a service animal for something that I wouldn't feel guilty lying about or risk getting some bad karma. But I love this supposedly vicious dog too much to risk her being killed by the city.

Edit: I'm pretty sure Denver makes having a pit type breed a pain, possibly there's even a testy of sorts. I read some articles recently that were a couple years old, and those things change pretty quickly.

Edit 2:

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After a 2011 federal court decision that found flat-out bans of the entire breed violated the Americans with Disabilities Act, the city of Denver and nearby Aurora have amended their laws concerning pit bulls. Denver essentially instructs its enforcement officers to treat dogs identified as service animals as if they were not pit bulls. Aurora still maintains special restrictions on the breed, but not to an extent that prevents their owners from making appropriate use of the animals, U.S. District Court Judge Marcia Krieger held in a July 25 opinion (PDF) granting the cities’ motion to dismiss for lack of standing on the three plaintiffs’ part.

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So it might be possible. I just have to keep her from jumping 5-6 feet in the air and kissing people.

Girl I used to see has a badge for her dog and she can take him any place. All she did was register it with Orleans Parish.

ADA laws are crazy in this country.

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you have no idea what you're talking about..

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So prove me wrong.

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All she did was register it with Orleans Parish.

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How and where does one register a service animal in Louisiana or in a Parish? I'm not asking because I want to exploit the law, but I wonder if there actually is a database of all service animals for Orleans Parish or the State of Louisiana. Registering is on a voluntary basis for the owner, as per the ADA.

I grew up with service animals. My father had a number of seeing-eye dogs. He did not have an official registration for any of his dogs or carry around any special certification for when he travelled from state to state. No one asked for credentials when he would fly on a plane or stayed at a hotel with one of his dogs. None of his dogs wore a bib. By the way, some of the bibs that people put on their service dogs will have the company's logo on it. One reason for this is the dog becomes a moving billboard for everyone else that interacts with the service dog. Marketing, man.

Also, think about the logistics involved for a government (county/parish, state, federal) to accurately certify a service animal. Would each company have to submit an application to the appropriate governmental office? How would states handle the process of certification for companies that exist outside of their geographical borders? Keep in mind that a federally-recognized service dog training program does not exist; companies maintain their own standards on how they train their service dogs and who they sell their dogs to.

Keep in mind that the ADA does not protect therapy animals or emotional support animals like service dogs are protected. A business can legally deny service to a person with an emotional support animal because the animal is not trained to perform a specific task. Big difference between the two.

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How and where does one register a service animal in Louisiana or in a Parish?

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Not my dog, so I don't know. She can bring her dog anywhere. Movie theater, restaurants, bars.. etc.

Here is the thing with airlines and service dogs, there is so much misinformation out there because most people do not have a clue what they are talking about, especially the media when it reports on it.

The ADA does not apply to air travel. The Air Carrier Access Act of 1986 is the law that applies to air travel for those with disabilities, it was enacted 4 years before the ADA was. The ADA applies to service dogs and only service dogs, the ACAA covers service dogs and emotional support animals (ESA). If people are getting around the law to take pets then it is one of two things, the airline is letting them or doctors are lying for them. No registry will help either fix either of those situations.

Here is a key point from the 2008 Dept of Transportation release on guidance for the ACAA.

4. Require documentation for emotional support and psychiatric service animals: With respect to an animal used for emotional support (which need not have specific training for that function but must be trained to behave appropriately in a public setting), airline personnel may require current documentation (i.e., not more than one year old) on letterhead from a licensed mental health professional stating (1) that the passenger has a mental health-related disability listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM IV); (2) that having the animal accompany the passenger is necessary to the passenger's mental health or treatment; (3) that the individual providing the assessment of the passenger is a licensed mental health professional and the passenger is under his or her professional care; and (4) the date and type of the mental health professional's license and the state or other jurisdiction in which it was issued. Airline personnel may require this documentation as a condition of permitting the animal to accompany the passenger in the cabin. The purpose of this provision is to prevent abuse by passengers that do not have a medical need for an emotional support animal and to ensure that passengers who have a legitimate need for emotional support animals are permitted to travel with their service animals on the aircraft. Airlines are not permitted to require the documentation to specify the type of mental health disability, e.g., panic attacks.

There is a separate category of service animals generally known as "psychiatric service animals." These animals may be trained by their owners, sometimes with the assistance of a professional trainer, to perform tasks such as fetching medications, reminding the user to take medications, helping people with balance problems caused by medications or an underlying condition, bringing a phone to the user in an emergency or activating a specially equipped emergency phone, or acting as a buffer against other people crowding too close). As with emotional support animals, it is possible for this category of animals to be a source of abuse by persons attempting to circumvent carrier rules concerning transportation of pets. Consequently, it is appropriate for airlines to apply the same advance notice and documentation requirements to psychiatric service animals as they do to emotional support animals.

‘Emotional support’ pig removed from airplane after defecating LINK

When a pig — even an alleged “emotional-support” pig — poops on a plane, it’s straight to the no-fly list.

Such was the verdict at Connecticut’s Bradley International Airport, where pooping and screeching pig was removed from a US Airways flight despite the fact a passenger claimed it was there for her emotional health.