Quote Originally Posted by mike001
Very wrong to lie about a SD. And let's remember that a dog that is licking tears away, hugging, kissing, is not a SD but a comfort animal. Some people can't seem to tell the difference and order a cape and put it on their dog. Fortunately in Canada we are now taking steps to rid ourselves of fakers because of the complaints from businesses and people who see this happenning. Unless you and your dog have been assessed and trained by a facility, there is no acceptance for the word SD in a lot of Canadian cities now.
I greatly dislike the idea that there could be any prejiduce over owner-trained dogs. There are no training facilities in my area and I could never afford a facility-trained dog. Not only that but I have limited space. I will eventually keep a four dog limit and already one of them is a pet and one is to be retired after her next litter. Having a breeding program and a service dog is hard unless your service dog is part of your breeding program.

I think that by saying a service dog is not one that licks tears away and gives hugs and kisses and such is very misleading. There is no reason a service dog can not be relied on for comfort. My dog's presence alone is a comfort for me on a bad day. For those of us with mental conditions, sometimes all a service dog can provide is comfort. Luckily most of us have dogs skilled enough to tell us when there is a problem or to lead us home when things get bad, but not everyone is that lucky, and when you are sitting in a bathroom stall having the worst panic attack of your life you will want your biggest comfort to be there. Having been through it all, I can tell you that psychological disorders are not fun and as long as you are doing something to make yourself feel better, and it is not a harm to anyone else, than I don't see the problem with having a "comfort" dog.