Seesaw, how can someone report a person who is just hauling their pet around and calling it an ESA if there is no way to determine if the animal is or isn't? I'm not trying to be argumentative. How can states enforce laws against fakers if there is no way to determine if someone is faking?
I've seen people with what I'm pretty sure were pets passing as ESAs in stores. They were ill mannered and misbehaving. My understanding is that a business can not challenge a person and ask for proof that an animal is an ESA. How can businesses separate the real ones from fakes?
To answer the OP, I would like to see some kind of visible way of telling that an animal is an ESA for the reasons in my question above. I love my cats. I'd love to be able to take Miette to work with me. What's to stop me from claiming she is an ESA and taking her to work.
How do we draw a line for the rights of the person with the ESA and others in the area? There was mention of someone freaking out finding out they flew on a plane with a dog claiming they had an allergy. Obviously the allergy must not have been that bad, but what if they were so allergic it sent them into a major asthma attack?
I saw a story awhile back about a man in a restaurant with his ESA that was a snake. Other patrons were uncomfortable with the snake climbing around on the guy at the table. My mother had such a phobia of snakes that we could not even say the word "snake" around her because she would have screaming nightmares as a result. Can you imagine her reaction if someone at the next table had a snake crawling on him?
Back to the OP... service animal wear identification to show they are a service animal. Why not have the same requirement for ESAs? One last thought.... one reason service animals were some kind of identification is so that the public knows they are "on the job" and not to be distracted. Wouldn't ESAs benefit from the same?