I'm one of the many who suffer from severe, life-threatening allergies. Throughout my life, I have been hospitalized and continuously suffer due to severe allergic reactions specifically caused by exposure to animals. This ongoing issue has resulted in my development of PTSD; I have nightmares about my allergic reactions, I do not go into stores, I constantly am looking over my shoulder, and I continuously call places a head of time to ensure my safety making it increasingly difficult to have a positive quality of life. In attempt to alleviate symptoms and therefore stress, I have acquired disability insurance to help with my Immunotherapy costs. Despite undergoing immunotherapy for the past 3 years, the treatment hasn't been effective for me. This issue is becoming increasingly urgent as animals have become more prevalent and are increasingly allowed within public spaces regardless of status. The problem isn't actual service animals themselves; which with proper enforcement would be few and far between anyway, however, it's the people who lie about having legitimate service animals with no repercussions only to impose a selfish agenda and put businesses at risk for potential law suits and backlash leaving owners no choice but to blindly comply.

Widespread tolerance and insufficient regulations make it easier for mislabeled pets and emotional support or therapy animals, which aren't seen by the ADA as service animals righteously, to enter and live in places which were traditionally pet-free zones. This is a rising concern in medical facilities where maintaining a sterile, non-allergenic environment is crucial for patient survival and risk free recovery. For example: my allergist office, some woman a few years back had a huge "service dog" in the waiting room.. Not only is this incredibly insensitive given the location, but proper accommodations should've been implemented in ensuring the safety of everyone; i.e. if it was a real service animal not emotional support, services should've been provided from their car to ensure the animal was still able to perform its duties but also to ensure the safety of all of us already suffering in the waiting room. After my panic attack, the office mentioned to me they couldn't ask her questions and had to simply comply regardless and mentioned that I call prior to ensure my safety moving forward though they aren't allowed to tell me when she'd be there etc... Another instance were 2 tattoo shops where one of the artists had a "service dog". People's tattoos which are open wounds are being exposed to the unhygienic nature of animals in a location meant to be sterile for obvious safety repercussions a therefore creating potential liabilities. One last instance that has scarred me through the years was a mall in Ohio. My friend and I were targeted by a cop, probably do to our tattoos, in his attempt to keep the mall drug free. Well, given I've never done drugs in my life and my friend didn't at least at the time it was crazy for him to get a drug dog and follow us. I understand he's doing his job and clearly didn't know us but I almost threw up and had to pull out my note from my allergist telling him Im severely allergic to stay back since I was far from home and didn't want to end up in the hospital alone. To his response: "You're lucky this time." and walked off. I clearly left because I didn't want to risk further exposure, since it takes a building 32 weeks without an animal to be allergen free, and decided to cut my trip short due to the anxiety of the event. To prevent this, a cop with a drug dog could've been at every entrance of the mall so it could actually get a whiff of everyone coming in instead of polluting the inside of the mall. It's one thing to be an animal lover, but there needs to be lines drawn somewhere. There is a time and place for your pet and businesses should be able to abide/create their own policies in accordance with food safety and other accredited regulations; however after covid all the barriers of appropriateness and thoughtfulness were thrown out the window.

It's time for a change. It's time for laws surrounding service animals to become more stringent, to ensure that they are truly serving those who need them most – severe cases like individuals with significant visual impairment without family support or epilepsy. The process for acquiring a service animal should not be simple, as in paying $60 and filling out an online form. Similar to presenting vaccination cards to businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, owners of these animals should be mandated to carry official paperwork validating their animal's bona fide service status, acquired only after intense training. This isn't to say one needs to share their specific medical issues that require a service animal, though showing vaccine cards was a HIPPA violation nonetheless, but as to ensure the sense of urgency and validity without question from the establishments. That being said, these instances should also be accommodated within reason. For example: if an employee is allergic a compromise as in sitting/being accommodated outside shouldn't be an issue and looked at as exclusion, or if the establishment is pet free having them sit near a door or window to ensure proper health codes are maintained especially within restaurants.

By doing so, we can maintain the much-needed role of service animals for those who truly need them, while keeping public places safer for allergen-sensitive populations and simply respecting and abiding by company policies and regulations. This goes beyond my personal struggle and aims to protect those vulnerable in our society as well as establish a sense of peace among companies eliminating the overbearing possibility of public boycott and fines. This is an urgent call for balanced, well thought out, and fair measures that respect all citizens' rights and health needs. The tolerance and lack of regulations have not only diminished the credibility of the term "service animal" but has completely blurred the lines of appropriateness and selfishness in public and health clinic settings. 

Stand with us to advocate for rigid service animal laws, for the sake of personal health, public hygiene, and a more comfortable public existence for all. Let us uphold the validity of service animals without compromising the well-being of the broader population. We pave a way to a more inclusive, considerate society when we acknowledge and address the impacts of our actions on others. Please sign this petition.