Under federal and Arizona state constabulary, persons with disabilities can bring service animals—all breeds of dog and miniature horses—into places of public accommodation (businesses open up to the public) even if the business otherwise excludes pets. No specific training or certification program is required to qualify as a service animal, nor are such animals required to habiliment any particular vests, leashes, or other identifying gear. Owners are not required to carry any papers proving that their animals are service animals. In fact, business owners are limited to asking persons with disabilities if (1) the dog or miniature horse is a service animal required because of a inability, and (2) what work or task the animal has been trained to perform.

Because in that location are so few restrictions on individuals bringing animals into places of public adaptation, many concern owners report situations when patrons take brought pets or comfort animals into their businesses trying to pass them off as legitimate service animals. Simply without the power to enquire further or any meaningful consequence for persons who attempt to fraudulently stand for their pets every bit service animals, business owners have been express to excluding such animals just if they present a electric current threat to the wellness or safe of others, are non housebroken, or if the animal's presence fundamentally alters the business' service, program, or action or poses an undue brunt.

To try to remedy this, Arizona lawmakers recently passed a beak, which Gov. Ducey signed into law, making information technology illegal to misrepresent a pet as a service animal or service fauna-in-preparation, and creating civil penalties of upwards to $250 for each violation. Critics say the law will have little practical bear upon, every bit it does not expand the type of questions business organisation owners can ask or crave that owners comport papers certifying the animal as a service animal. Business owners must still accept patrons at their word that an fauna is a service animal that helps them perform a particular task; it is the rare individual who would volunteer that he or she is trying to falsely represent their pet as a service brute. Inability advocates worry the measure out will prompt business owners to enquire impermissible questions of disabled patrons—peculiarly those with not-visible disabilities like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or epilepsy—in an endeavour to go them to admit that the brute is not, in fact, aiding them with their inability needs, and that calls to law enforcement to report suspected abuse of service animal accommodations will escalate.

When the law goes into effect this fall, Arizona business concern owners can accept comfort knowing that abusers of creature accommodations may be subject to significant fines, but should still exist certain to attach to restrictions on what they can and cannot enquire of patrons bringing animals into their businesses. The law does non permit business owners to demand proof of the person'south disability, the fauna's training, or any class of certification or identification, and the failure or refusal past patrons to produce such information is not a violation of the police force, only business owners insisting that patrons produce such proof is a violation of disability law. Business owners withal should exclude patrons with service animals only where the animal'southward very presence would fundamentally alter the nature of the business or where the animals pose a safety chance.