New Texas law will punish dog owners who fake service animal capabilities with $1K fine | Texas News | San Antonio

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Service dogs are trained to perform tasks that assist people with disabilities.

Dog moms and dads who pretend their fur baby is a service dog can now get slapped with a hefty fine of up to $1,000 if they get caught.

HB 4164 — a new law that made bogus representation of dogs as service animals a misdemeanor and raised the potential fine amount to $1,000 — went into effect Sept. 1. Further, violators could also get up to 30 hours of community service. 

The bill was authored by Representative Phillip Cortez, D-San Antonio, and vehemently supported by Service Dogs, Inc., a Texas nonprofit that has trained Service Dogs for 35 years, the Texas Humane Legislation Network (THLN) reports.

“When people try to pass their pet dogs off as Service Dogs to take them into a store or restaurant, those untrained dogs often end up attacking Guide Dogs or Service Dogs injuring them, and the disabled person using them,” Service Dogs, Inc. Founder and CEO Sheri Soltes said in a THLN statement.

The bill comes after decades of folks have tried blurring the lines between service animals and emotional support animals. The latter do not have special training to perform tasks that assist people with disabilities, which is the main job of Americans with Disabilities Act-approved service animals.

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