Seeing an adorable dog proudly wearing a service vest can bring a lot of joy to many UK students, but when those dogs are not really service dogs, it can cause a lot of problems. 

When students make their pet dog wear a service vest, those untrained dogs can give actual service dogs a bad reputation, President of Wildcat Service Dogs Kayla Mullins said. Counterfeit service dogs is not an issue to be taken lightly.

WSD trainers takes care of their dog from the time it is a few weeks old to about a year, Mullins said. 

“It can be a very big time commitment. It can be very frustrating and disheartening,” said Mullins, a nursing senior who has once trained a dog herself during her time here at UK.

Mullins said only seven dogs affiliated with WSD will be on campus this semester. President of UK’s 4 Paws chapter Sarah Stewart said via email that only 30 dogs will be affiliated with its program this semester.

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About half of all dogs who go through training end up not being qualified to be a service dog, according to Mullins. Successful service dogs need to be well-trained, not be easily distracted, remain calm in stressful situations and more. 

Mullins said in 2013, a dog with a bad temper injured a dog in WSD that was about to graduate from the program. That dog sustained injuries and became afraid of other dogs so it could not qualify any more to be a service dog. 

The bad-tempered dog also got into a fight with a dog in 4 Paws, Mullins said. Now, the program has a way to report incidents like this to a person in UK administration, but that can still be “dicey,” she said.

Most of these counterfeit service dogs go unnoticed because there is no national or state standard for service dog training, said Molly Mathistad, a kinesiology junior and Wildcat Service Dog VP who is currently training Hudson, a labrador retriever. 

Anyone with a dog can do a simple Google search and find websites like http://usdogregistry.org/ to order their license and a kit with a vest. Dog owners can use their Amazon Prime accounts to buy a vest for as little as $17.69. 

“As soon as people learn about vests, and how vests are this magic thing that lets you take your dog anywhere, then if they have one, they often don’t take the time to learn the whole story about them,” Mathistad said. 

WSD often uses the advice of Rachel Denton, or raising_liberty on Instagram, to educate their trainers. Denton said that having a fake service dog or not putting effort into training the dog is like when you spend four years at college and at graduation, you receive a diploma with some else’s name on it.

Many also misunderstand or misinterpret existing laws, Mathistad said. Therapy dogs do not have access rights, meaning they are not allowed in public places where pets are not allowed. Service dogs are allowed to have access. WSD gives access as the dog gets older and needs more socialization or interaction with public spaces. 

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It is also illegal to ask for service dogs’ licenses because it can be seen as isolating people with disabilities. Many professors and other UK employees do not know this and do not ask dogs and their owners to leave. 

Mullins said some professors do put in their syllabus that service dogs are not allowed, but WSD reaches out to them to explain the expectations of their trainers. For example, if a dog begins barking in class, the trainer must take the dog out. 

Mathistad said counterfeit service dogs are a bigger problem at UK than most other college campuses. The popularity of WSD and 4 Paws has increased the number of students who are interested in training their own dog or bringing their pet to class and getting away with it. 

WSD will host an event for Service Dog Awareness Day on Sept. 27. From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., dogs and their trainers will be outside the Chemistry-Physics Building. Mullins said students, faculty, and staff can sign a banner to pledge that they will “respect the vest”. Students will also learn about identifying counterfeit service dogs and how they could possibly distract a dog.