Should I report what I saw

[HotelMinion]

We have a guest with a service animal. Per discrimination laws, we're not allowed to ask for any papers. All the guest has to say is it's a service dog and that's it. Sucks, but what'ya gonna do? It's Federal law. I guess federal doesn't care or recognize about liars...kind of like corporate.
Well, anyway, I've seen this "service" dog and it doesn't act like others that I've seen. Others were quiet, following their owners, looking at their owners constantly. This dog I've seen lunge and growl at my CW, look at me and lift its lip. So very suspicious.
They aren't allowed to growl and snap are they? I mean, ANY? At all? If so, I guess I'll report it to my managers what I saw, but I doubt they'll do anything at all, since the guest is a top tier frequent guest to our chain and the law forbids any investigations.

[eltf177]

I agree, even though it's pretty obvious nothing will be done report it. Then when the animal attacks another guest/coworker/animal you're covered. Of course, management will then be scrambling to get out of the way of the upcoming lawsuit - they will be the ones to be sued as they have deeper pockets than dog owner...

[Zellie Crescent]

There's a man and his daughter that come in with a service dog, they are all trained to behave as well as serve a particular medical need (like detecting if the person is going to have a seizure). That is not a service dog, see if there's any kind of service dog organization that you could report him to. It's not fair that you can't call him on his bullshit.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

I would.

You may not be able to throw the guests and the dog out, but at least you'll have something on file if this dog does attack somebody at another of your company's properties.

[EricKei]

Agreed. Absolutely report this. Heck, consider doing it in writing and keeping a dated copy for yourself.

[TheSHAD0W]

You're allowed to exclude an animal that's misbehaving from your property, service animal or not. If it lunged at your coworker that's IMO grounds.

[Seshat]

A service dog is not expected to behave better than a human would, under provocation. For instance, if his human were being physically attacked, noone would blame a service dog for self-defence or defence-of-his-human.

That said, the standard of behaviour for service dogs (when not under provocation) is higher than the standard of behaviour for humans.

"Others were quiet, following their owners, looking at their owners constantly." - that's an excellent description of the basics of good service animal behaviour. When on duty, they should be aware enough of their owners to catch even the smallest hand signal, verbal signal, even a change in stance.
When off duty, they should be among the best-behaved pets you've ever seen. No nuisance barking (informative barking is fine, especially barking to alert that something is wrong with their human). Perfect toilet-training. All that sort of thing.

[HotelMinion]

I guess I'll just write a note to my manager. They (the guest and his dog) are here for a week so I hope Fido doesn't take a chunk out of someone. I guess the hotel would be sued, not the dog owner, which I don't think is right. Shouldn't the DOG OWNER be sued? Sigh. Fido is a medium sized dog, so wouldn't do much to an adult, but he might do some damage to a child.
Oh well. If Fido does bite we can just say we're following the law and didn't know it wasn't a service dog. The dog was quiet except for the growls.

[WishfulSpirit]

There are circumstances where you can ask a service animal to leave. Such as posing an immediate threat to the lives, health, or welfare of others. Don't question that it's a service animal (this way be dragons) but say "your service animal is threatening other guests." You CAN ask what specific task the animal is trained to perform, as well.

[FenigDurak]

Fifth section down talks about what you're allowed to ask and it also states that if the dog is acting dangerously a business is allowed to ask that the animal be removed. http://www.ada.gov/service_animals_2010.htm

Here is a registry site where you can search by the owner's last name and the animal's name. http://www.nsarco.com/database.html

[Android Kaeli]

I guess I'll just write a note to my manager. They (the guest and his dog) are here for a week so I hope Fido doesn't take a chunk out of someone. I guess the hotel would be sued, not the dog owner, which I don't think is right. Shouldn't the DOG OWNER be sued? Sigh. Fido is a medium sized dog, so wouldn't do much to an adult, but he might do some damage to a child.
Oh well. If Fido does bite we can just say we're following the law and didn't know it wasn't a service dog. The dog was quiet except for the growls.

See, this is what I've always been fearful about not being able to ask more questions then we should: dog that is claimed to be a "service" animal will take a bite to someone and it'll cause all sort of legal stuff.

When I was still working at Random Craft Store, we had a couple that always brought their big dog into the store, walking around on a leash, and they were up front that it was not a service animal. The ASM at the time would always politely tell them to take the dog outside if he caught it inside, the couple had no problems with one of them taking Fluffy out and they caused no problems with the question -- at least until the SM of the Day told the ASM to stop or else. The couple had not complained once about it and, again, had no problems with stepping outside with their dog if asked, so it must've gotten to the SM another way (I'm thinking one of my more problem co-workers had a fit or two) and were

The ASM stopped right after that, never once said a word to them again, and even the couple were shocked to hear that the ASM got in trouble.

I told the SM of the Day not long before he got canned, that one day a customer with a serious dog phobia is going to come in, see Fluffy if they are in the store at the same time, and get so worked up about it that they either scare the dog into doing something horrible or hurt themselves because of it. In fact that's one of the reasons why two co-workers quit, one had a mild phobia to dogs and refused to come out of the break room and the other -- well, the other was weird.

[TheSHAD0W]

Fifth section down talks about what you're allowed to ask and it also states that if the dog is acting dangerously a business is allowed to ask that the animal be removed. http://www.ada.gov/service_animals_2010.htm

Not just dangerous. From the above:

A person with a disability cannot be asked to remove his service animal from the premises unless: (1) the dog is out of control and the handler does not take effective action to control it or (2) the dog is not housebroken. When there is a legitimate reason to ask that a service animal be removed, staff must offer the person with the disability the opportunity to obtain goods or services without the animal’s presence.

[Headset Hellion]

Fifth section down talks about what you're allowed to ask and it also states that if the dog is acting dangerously a business is allowed to ask that the animal be removed. http://www.ada.gov/service_animals_2010.htm

Here is a registry site where you can search by the owner's last name and the animal's name. http://www.nsarco.com/database.html

Service animal registration or certification is not required by the federal ADA. That site doesn't verify anything. You check two boxes stating that you have a disability and that your service dog is trained to perform an essential function. The dog does not require professional training to be NSAR registered. $65 later, you have a lifetime registration and two service dog patches. Another $49 will get you a vest.

At best, this company is a joke. At worst, it's a fucking scam.

[Sapphire Silk]

<snip>Well, anyway, I've seen this "service" dog and it doesn't act like others that I've seen. Others were quiet, following their owners, looking at their owners constantly. This dog I've seen lunge and growl at my CW, look at me and lift its lip. So very suspicious.
They aren't allowed to growl and snap are they? I mean, ANY? At all? If so, I guess I'll report it to my managers what I saw, but I doubt they'll do anything at all, since the guest is a top tier frequent guest to our chain and the law forbids any investigations.

No, they are NOT allowed to snarl and snap at you. That behavior alone is reason enough for the hotel to ask the guest to remove the animal from the premises. The guest doesn't have to leave, just the dog. They can put the dog up with a boarder or a vet while they're in town.

This does not sound like a service dog. Service dogs should be quiet and barely noticeable. They should not beg for food or make messes on the floor. Any bad behavior by the dog (or any service animal) and the business owner has the right to ask the animal be removed, not to return. However, in this case it doesn't actually matter. You don't even have to ask why they need the dog to do that if the dog behaves badly. The reasons why the animal is needed don't matter. All that matters is the behavior.

If the guest refuses to remove the animal at that point, you can call the cops, but have a copy of the ADA's section on service animals when you do since they may or may not be familiar with the law.

I guess I'll just write a note to my manager. They (the guest and his dog) are here for a week so I hope Fido doesn't take a chunk out of someone. I guess the hotel would be sued, not the dog owner, which I don't think is right. Shouldn't the DOG OWNER be sued? Sigh. Fido is a medium sized dog, so wouldn't do much to an adult, but he might do some damage to a child.
Oh well. If Fido does bite we can just say we're following the law and didn't know it wasn't a service dog. The dog was quiet except for the growls.

I hope you did just that. If another guest is bitten, both the hotel and the dog owner would be liable, and animal control must be called. The hotel would be liable because they knew the animal was snapping and biting at people because you knew it, even if you never pass it up the chain of command, and nothing was done. It won't matter if it's a legit service animal or not.

If a dog, service dog or not, bit a guest and the hotel was unaware that the dog was snapping at people (or if it was so sudden that warning behaviors were not displayed or recognized) then the hotel could get off the hook. But you know the dog is dangerous, and that increases your employer's liability, and puts your job at risk. So always communicate situations like this up the chain IN WRITING so they can't come back and blame you later.

The owner would be liable no matter what because all dog owners are responsible for controlling their animals, service animal or not.

Service animal registration or certification is not required by the federal ADA. That site doesn't verify anything. You check two boxes stating that you have a disability and that your service dog is trained to perform an essential function. The dog does not require professional training to be NSAR registered. $65 later, you have a lifetime registration and two service dog patches. Another $49 will get you a vest.

At best, this company is a joke. At worst, it's a fucking scam.

This. So this. Evil Empryss trained Goldie herself, made Goldie a vest very cheaply, and made an "ID" for her very cheaply that identifies her as a service dog. Most people don't question it if Goldie is in her vest. Goldie, for her part, knows she is "on the job" when she is wearing her vest: her normally playful, affectionate behavior disappears and she is all pro.

We only had trouble with her (or rather over her) in public once, with a C store owner who was foreign and couldn't grasp the concept of service dog, even with his own employees trying to explain it to him. He was afraid of the health department giving him grief. Goldie never missed a step during all the fuss, was a perfect lady.