Training a service animal in sorority house?

[KSUViolet06]

Why would an organization place a service animal with a college student living in a sorority house? I always thought they were placed with families or indivduals who lived in places with yardspace for the puppy to run around/grow/etc.

I've never had to deal with this, but I can tell you that our Housing Corp was very strict with the "no animals" policy. Unless you needed the service animal yourself, it wasn't staying in our house and you'd need to find somewhere else for it to live.

[VandalSquirrel]

Originally Posted by BlueCarnation

Has anyone ever had to deal with a member wanting to keep a service animal in training in a sorority house? A sorority house is clearly not a place of public accommodation, and the member does not need the service animal for herself. I see no way that she possibly can claim that this is legal, but I'm wondering if anyone has encountered this before. Thanks!

Originally Posted by BlueCarnation

The 5 week old puppy showed up today, a week after she moved in. She didn't tell anyone in advance, including her highly allergic roommate.

I'd ask for the documentation from the training organization and a contact number. I have a feeling it doesn't exist, but I could be wrong.

http://www.assistancedogsinternational.org/ This should provide you with information, and maybe links to the alleged organization in your area.

Honestly it sounds like a pet with a fabricated justification. I'd also check with your house corporation and your Inter/national HQ as it may be an insurance issue. If she was in need of a registered and trained animal, with a documented disability, that's different, but I am thinking that is not the case.

[BlueCarnation]

Originally Posted by KSUViolet06

Why would an organization place a service animal with a college student living in a sorority house? I always thought they were placed with families or indivduals who lived in places with yardspace for the puppy to run around/grow/etc.

I've never had to deal with this, but I can tell you that our Housing Corp was very strict with the "no animals" policy. Unless you needed the service animal yourself, it wasn't staying in our house and you'd need to find somewhere else for it to live.

It's all kind of fishy, as I understand it's a 5 week old pit bull. I've worked quite a bit with disabled students and I've never heard of a pit bull as a service animal. While it's not impossible, I too wonder if the organization knows what kind of environment the dog is in. We did have someone who wanted to have a dog in training in the dorms, so I guess it is possible, but probably pretty rare.

We do have in our bylaws that service animals are allowed, but she doesn't need this animal herself. There are just so many potential problems with having a dog in a sorority house!

[KSUViolet06]

I get the feeling that this might be a "I want this dog, so I'l just say it's a service dog so maybe they'll make an exception for me and let me keep it" kind of thing.

[MaggieXi]

Originally Posted by KSUViolet06

I get the feeling that this might be a "I want this dog, so I'l just say it's a service dog so maybe they'll make an exception for me and let me keep it" kind of thing.

Hijack:

My mother in law does this. She has a yorkie she carries around with her with fraudulent papers stating that its a service dog just so she can take it anywhere she wants.

Oh and she does this with a disabled vehicle blackard too.

And she wonders why we have a strained relationship?!

End Hijack.

[KSUViolet06]

Originally Posted by MaggieXi

Hijack:

My mother in law does this. She has a yorkie she carries around with her with fraudulent papers stating that its a service dog just so she can take it anywhere she wants.

Oh and she does this with a disabled vehicle blackard too.

And she wonders why we have a strained relationship?!

End Hijack.

Wow. She sounds like a real winner.

I think you should share that story in this thread, lol:

http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/sh...d.php?t=106746

[PeppyGPhiB]

OK, I have raised three dogs for Canine Companions for Independence, the largest non-sight service dog organization. I can tell you for a fact that...

- Reputable service dog organizations do not release five-week-old puppies to puppy raisers. That is too young for them to be taken away from their mom and littermates. CCI turns over puppies at 8 weeks of age.

- All service dog organizations I know (CCI, Guide Dogs for the Blind, The Seeing Eye) have official vests their puppies in training must wear. Usually they're a different color than the graduate dogs. For example, CCI's puppy vests are yellow; graduates wear blue vests. There is also a patch on the vest that usually reads something like "assistance dog in training."

- A reputable service dog organization interviews each potential puppy raiser and performs a home visit of where the puppy will be raised. In CCI, if you have a yard it must be fenced, though you do not have to have a yard to get a dog. If you don't have a yard, you must commit to taking the dog on good walks and toileting it on leash always. After all, not every graduate dog will go to someone living in a house with a yard; some go to people who live in apartments or condos and therefore all dogs must get used to exercising on leash and toileting on leash.

I know of one young lady in our puppy raising club who took a puppy about a year old to college with her. She had been training him since he was 8 weeks old, and she had raised a puppy in high school who went on to graduate. She also did 4-H and was extremely responsible. She did not live in a sorority house, but the dog was permitted to live in the dorm with her.

- No organization I know of uses pit bulls as service dogs in training. They are simply too aggressive. A service dog must be confident but very at ease with following direction from its handler, and must never growl, bark or show any signs of distraction or aggression toward other dogs or people. Particularly children. I know of no organization that would ever train a pit bull. Most use labs, golden retrievers, standard poodles, german shephards, belgian tervurens, labradoodles/golendoodles. Hearing dog organizations may use these dogs but also use corgis, as corgis are herding dogs with very confident/stubborn personalities. All of the big service dog organizations have their own breeding programs, and I'm telling you they do not breed pit bulls. There are a few small organizations that I think use pound dogs or donations, but if they accept a pit bull into the program I promise you it is not a reputable or large organization.

- If the dog was a service dog being used for a disability - and btw she would not need paperwork in order to prove to you it was a "real" service dog - it would be illegal for you to keep the dog out of the house. Against Americans with Disabilities Act. But there is no such law protecting service animals in training; you do not HAVE to allow a service dog in training into any facility. It's for that reason I HATE chicks like this one who ruin the training opportunities for LEGITIMATE service dogs in training who do need to learn to go places like the supermarket, a movie theatre, church, and anywhere else where people go. We rely on the kindness and understanding of the owners/managers of properties to allow us to bring our dog in, and we are on our best manners when we go into such places. People who claim their tiny dog with a homemade vest as a service dog just so he can fly on airplanes with them, or a woman who thinks it's ok for her to bring her dog into the grocery store just because it can fit in her purse, also piss me off.

- If this was a real service dog in training, she likely wouldn't have any official "documentation" other than a contract. People used to ask me to show my documentation when I was out and about with my CCI puppies, and I had to tell them I didn't have any. Um, the perfectly behaved dog and the very official vest were my documentation. I don't carry contracts around with me.

I encourage you to question this young lady, because I think she's full of BS. And if it does turn out she's full of it, give her a smack on the behind for me and tell her those of us who REALLY go through the tremendous effort to raise service dogs don't appreciate efforts like hers.

[aggieAXO]

[QUOTE=

- No organization I know of uses pit bulls as service dogs in training. They are simply too aggressive. A service dog must be confident but very at ease with following direction from its handler, and must never growl, bark or show any signs of distraction or aggression toward other dogs or people. Particularly children. I know of no organization that would ever train a pit bull. Most use labs, golden retrievers, standard poodles, german shephards, belgian tervurens, labradoodles/golendoodles. Hearing dog organizations may use these dogs but also use corgis, as corgis are herding dogs with very confident/stubborn personalities. All of the big service dog organizations have their own breeding programs, and I'm telling you they do not breed pit bulls. There are a few small organizations that I think use pound dogs or donations, but if they accept a pit bull into the program I promise you it is not a reputable or large organization.

QUOTE]

One of the vets I work with is training a service dog right now and she is a pit bull. She was rescued from the local shelter and is very gentle and gets along with her 3 kids, 1 cat and 2 other dogs. Personally I would not trust a corgi around anyone except its owner. They are a breed that is known to bite (at least among vets and I think we have a pretty good concept of what breeds will or will not bite). When a corgi comes in I automatically have the muzzle waiting.

[CutiePie2000]

Originally Posted by PeppyGPhiB

People who claim their tiny dog with a homemade vest as a service dog just so he can fly on airplanes with them, or a woman who thinks it's ok for her to bring her dog into the grocery store just because it can fit in her purse, also piss me off.
.......
I encourage you to question this young lady, because I think she's full of BS. And if it does turn out she's full of it, give her a smack on the behind for me and tell her those of us who REALLY go through the tremendous effort to raise service dogs don't appreciate efforts like hers.

I agree with you all the way!!

And BTW: this thread needs to be renamed from "Training a service animal in sorority house? " to "Selfish, lying people, smuggling an animal into a sorority house, and then lying about it to everyone and misrespresenting it as a service animal just so that they can keep it in the house".

[33girl]

Originally Posted by MaggieXi

Hijack:

My mother in law does this. She has a yorkie she carries around with her with fraudulent papers stating that its a service dog just so she can take it anywhere she wants.

Oh and she does this with a disabled vehicle blackard too.

And she wonders why we have a strained relationship?!

End Hijack.

OK, this sounds like a Seinfeld episode. A Yorkie as a service dog? It weighs a pound. What service does it provide? I would love to see the looks she gets.

[PeppyGPhiB]

Originally Posted by 33girl

OK, this sounds like a Seinfeld episode. A Yorkie as a service dog? It weighs a pound. What service does it provide? I would love to see the looks she gets.

A lot of people are claiming these days that their dog, pig, whatever-animal-they-choose, calms their anxieties. They basically claim that it comforts them. Well boooo-hoooo, that's the primary purpose of PETS. I once saw a woman get on one of my flights with a potbellied pig who she claimed kept her from having panic attacks on planes. This bothers me because there's a big difference between situations like these, which could be addressed with medication or counseling, and ones like epilepsy (some dogs are being trained for this now), autism, paraplegia, and vision or hearing loss. I think it's horrible some people are so selfish as to fake an illness or try to place themselves into the same category as people who have the conditions I just listed in the second group. You won't find a reputable service dog organization training dogs to simply "comfort" people; they are in the business of providing highly and specially trained dogs for people who otherwise have truly not-so-great quality of life. Not dogs for lonely people...that's what pets are for.

[AOII_LB93]

Originally Posted by MaggieXi

Hijack:

My mother in law does this. She has a yorkie she carries around with her with fraudulent papers stating that its a service dog just so she can take it anywhere she wants.

Oh and she does this with a disabled vehicle blackard too.

And she wonders why we have a strained relationship?!

End Hijack.

You need to post in the in-law venting thread my friend.

Umm first of all, no reputable person should give away a five week old puppy. Puppies shouldn't leave the litter until they are at least 8 weeks at the bare minimum. Secondly, pit bulls are rarely if ever used as service animals. She seems like a big old liar to me. I'm in with everything PeppyGphi said.

[VandalSquirrel]

Originally Posted by BlueCarnation

It's all kind of fishy, as I understand it's a 5 week old pit bull. I've worked quite a bit with disabled students and I've never heard of a pit bull as a service animal. While it's not impossible, I too wonder if the organization knows what kind of environment the dog is in. We did have someone who wanted to have a dog in training in the dorms, so I guess it is possible, but probably pretty rare.

We do have in our bylaws that service animals are allowed, but she doesn't need this animal herself. There are just so many potential problems with having a dog in a sorority house!

I'm again not saying it isn't possible, but that is not the usual breed for a service animal.

This site agrees that a breed known as "fighting" is not the best choice.

http://www.iaadp.org/breed.html

ETA: Can you imagine the RM or insurance nightmare if the dog bites someone (either e member or a visitor) or destroys personal or chapter property? It gave me chills just thinking about it.

[Nanners52674]

Originally Posted by BlueCarnation

It's all kind of fishy, as I understand it's a 5 week old pit bull. I've worked quite a bit with disabled students and I've never heard of a pit bull as a service animal. While it's not impossible, I too wonder if the organization knows what kind of environment the dog is in. We did have someone who wanted to have a dog in training in the dorms, so I guess it is possible, but probably pretty rare.

We do have in our bylaws that service animals are allowed, but she doesn't need this animal herself. There are just so many potential problems with having a dog in a sorority house!

Not at all, never mind the fact that I can't for the life of me figure out what type of aide a pit bull would be trained for.

Reputable, real service agencies do NOT place training puppies in environments they have not researched and approved. Dogs such as guide dogs for the blind are incredibly expensive, specifically bread dogs. They don't just give them to people willy nilly to raise.

Seriously ask for her documentation, especially being a pit bull, that alone as a regular house pet can cause general insurance issues because of their temperament.