Comments

1
Why is that astonishing? Miniature horses are great service animals and have been used for this purpose for many years.

http://www.guidehorse.org

Just because you haven't heard of it, doesn't make it astonishing. Why put down the food and safety folks?

They're the same people making sure people DON'T DIE from disease and unsanitary conditions.

What the hell??
2
A friend of mine has a certified "service dog."

I put it in quotes because the test the dog had to pass was pathetic, and they let the dog take it multiple times, because it couldn't sit still.

Her dog is barely trained. Won't stay, will only sit for about a minute. If it sees another dog it will bolt after it. Runs after cars. Runs after people. Eats everything it sees... you get the point.

Yet it passed the "official service dog" test so now she can take her dog into restaurants and on the bus and so forth.

After her dog got certified, it completely shattered my belief that those animals are any more trained than my neighbor's idiot dog that jumps off their balcony to chase squirrels.
3
@2: The service dogs I've met are a heckuva whole lot more trained than that.

4
Doesn't sound Delta certified. I'm guessing CGC
5
Hopefully this means people won't be able to take their goddamn dogs into bars any more
6
Remember, just as many kittens get trampled by golden retrievers as by miniature horses -- it's not the breed, it's the owner!
7
You can take any dog on the Metro buses, y'know. They don't have to be service dogs in any way.
8
Horses are measured in hands.
9
What @8 said.

When can I bring in my service dragon?

Sure, it's a known fire hazard, but I need it to watch my back.
10
@8 - Horses and ponies are measured in hands (one hand = 4" for those not in the know) but miniature horses are usually measured in inches for some reason... Maybe because it sounds stupid to say "my horse is 6.2 hands". Also, Hillary Karasz is wrong about them being measured at the shoulder. The should extends from just they are measured at the highest point of the withers which is the ridge between the shoulder blades at the base of the neck.
11
Gah, crappy editing on my post @10. Sorry - that last sentence should just be "They are measured at the highest point of the withers which is the ridge between the shoulder blades at the base of the neck."
12
I've yet to go to a club that won't let my dog in. Because my dog brought more people through the door than anybody bitching about it. Fame does that. Doesn't help with airlines though, sadly.
13
If you do an image search for "Service Horse" you get a lot of pictures what look like they are from The Day Today or Brasseye.
14
And the next thing you know, someone will want to marry their service animal. Right, Rush?

I mean, what's the diff between a horse and a turtle?

If we ask Scalia, the answer is hell, no. If we ask Kagan, the question is "How is this animal different from that animal?" And if we ask Kennedy, the response is "All this shit is just too new to decide!"
15
Are the horses potty-trained? That could be really messy...
16
@14, nice synthesis. I've been grinding my teeth since yesterday over some of the justices' mental contortions. Roberts completely squandered any respect he garnered from his position supporting the affordable care act.

Re: service horses, here's a recent story about one helping a 4-year-old kid with progressive neurological disease:

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/76562…
17
I think it's absurd that the governments are now deciding what can and what cannot be a service animal without considering the actual needs of the people involved, and the specific ways their animals assist them. Obviously, no one is going to be able to go to a restaurant with a service elephant or a service bison. But someone with a properly trained (or in some cases instinctively capable) bird or cat or pig or whatever may well have a reason for needing that particular animal. Guide dogs for the blind are fairly standardized in their specialized training, but other sorts of service animals are far from interchangeable.
18
And I was so looking forward to eating that service monkey...
19
Four legs good, two legs bad: no service cockatiels, monkeys or humans.
20
I want an anti-anxiety service puma...
21
One of the reasons it became more specific is someone tried a service snake.

"The DOJ was overwhelmed with thousands of comments about service animals last year when it announced plans to modify the definition to exclude wild animals, including reptiles, rabbits, farm animals, amphibians, ferrets and rodents. The guidelines also would have eliminated as service animals those whose sole function is to provide emotional support, comfort, therapy, companionship, therapeutic benefits, or to promote emotional well-being."

http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2…
22
@10: do you know how wide my hand is? 4"! guess how long my foot is!

the source of 1 stone = 14 lbs., though...
23
Bronies win again!
24
@1:

Thanks for the belly laugh. But I have to admit that I've only seen service dogs that are well trained and focused. They always impress the hell out of me. And I love how they give you that "don't touch me, I'm working" look.
25
@2 said “Yet it passed the "official service dog" test so now she can take her dog into restaurants and on the bus and so forth.” I am just curious, what test did these people think it passed; there is no such thing as an official service dog test! Never has been, and since no one at any business can ask for proof, it’s a moot point anyway. I am constantly amazed by the,hm…
“Lack of knowledge of the two legs…lol” The Only law that matters if Federal Law, so No proof except my word is required, I have had to explain that to a few cops in my day….loll, so now I just carry a copy of the SPD internal notice about service animals, have them read and offer them the choice, explain to their prescient commander and or the USDOJ or apologize and be on their way, it’s not really ignorance, its simply they have no training in this area, and thus do not know. As to people saying to me they have had their dog pass some kind of test, I always ask, “Really, were did this happen” I have seen some aggressive Dogs called service dogs, for the most part on closer examination, they are at best ESA’s which do not have the same protection under the ADA as service dogs. I personally have not encountered a Service Horse; perhaps I shall at some point.

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