KENTUCKY (WHAS11) – There are hundreds of thousands of Americans with disabilities paired with service dogs trained to provide daily assistance.
There's also some people who try to take advantage of that by claiming their pet is a service animal. The ease of online certification and availability of service dog vests online makes that possible.
States around the country have made efforts to crack down on fake service dogs, and now Kentucky could potentially join the ranks.
A Kentucky legislator has pre-filed a bill in Frankfort that would make it illegal for anyone to make an untrained animal pose as a certified service animal.
If the bill becomes law, an animal control officer or peace officer could investigate and issue a citation if anyone is found to have tried to pass an animal off as one who is certified as a service animal or one who is undergoing training to become certified.
Bill Deatherage has been paired with many service dogs over the last 45 years.
"Her names Agnes. She's a golden retriever from Leader Dogs for the Blind where she was trained in Rochester, Michigan," he said with Agnes by his side Thursday afternoon.
Agnes has been his eyes for over a year now.
"This is a privilege that we've worked hard for," he said. "She's my eyes. She sees what I miss."
Agnes is also doing a special job, but it takes more than just a vest or online certification to really be a service dog.
"I don't think people understand that," Deatherage said. "She just makes things a lot easier. We can go a lot faster."
Deatherage said his service dogs have prevented him from walking over ledges and helped him walk through doors or around corners.
That is why it can be frustrating for Deatherage when people try to pass off their pets as service animals. He said people take advantage of the system.
"People love their pets, I understand that and sometimes I have to stop and remember that," he said. "But if they distract my dog, I could bump into something and I could get hurt."
Deatherage said the pre-filed bill is a step in the right direction towards preventing that.
"Not only would it be good for us but it would be good for businesses," he said.
Although, Deatherage said there will still be people who try to work around the law, even if it was in place.
"I don't know that we could ever stop everyone. But I think it's a start in the right direction. I think that's the main thing," he said.
Deatherage said the laws have at least come along way since the 1970's in making things easier for those living with disabilities.
The proposed Kerntucky legislation states a person who was found to misrepresent a service dog would be punished by a fine of $250 to $1,000 or imprisonment in the county jail of 10 to 30 days or a fine and prison time.
Representative Kim King filed this bill on June 14. She represents District 55, that includes Washington, Mercer and Jessamine counties (part).
►Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. Download the WHAS11 News app now. For Apple or Android users.
Have a news tip? Email assign@whas11.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter feed.