FOX6 investigator Bryan Polcyn reports that Wisconsin lawmakers are moving to put real penalties on people who pass off pets as service animals or emotional support animals.
Both the Wisconsin State Assembly and Senate have now passed a bill that would fine people for “fake” service animals and false ESA documentation.
Polcyn notes that if Governor Tony Evers signs the bill, Wisconsin would become the 35th state with laws targeting fraudulent service animal claims.
Supporters say it’s about protecting people with disabilities and businesses from abuse.
Opponents warn it could sweep in legitimate disabled people and create new barriers.
Underneath all of it is a cultural shift: more people want to bring animals everywhere, and the rules haven’t kept up.
Service Dogs vs. Emotional Support Animals
Polcyn is careful to point out a basic distinction a lot of people still miss.
A service animal and an emotional support animal are not the same thing under the law.
Service animals, he explains, are dogs or miniature horses trained to perform specific tasks for someone with a disability.
Emotional support animals can be almost anything, and they don’t need any task-specific training at all.
Service dogs get broad public access under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
ESAs do not have the right to go into restaurants, stores, or theaters just because their owner is attached to them.
Polcyn says both categories are now being abused.
And people like Carissa Tank, a professional service dog trainer, see the fallout every day.
How Real Service Dogs Actually Work
Tank tells Polcyn that you can often spot a fake just by watching how the animal behaves.
She recalls one woman walking three dogs in Target – the dogs were peeing on shelves and going wild when they saw her trained dog, Scar.
By contrast, Tank explains, Scar the Australian Shepherd has been trained to do task after task on command.
“He knows how to open doors. He can shut lights off. He can pick up any item,” she tells FOX6.
Scar can retrieve her keys, guide her to a chair if he “smells” she’s getting sick, and interrupt unhealthy habits like anxious leg tapping or nail picking.
Polcyn shows how Scar quietly places a paw on her leg when she bounces her knee, a subtle alert that looks simple but took hours of training.
Tank doesn’t just rely on one dog.
She spends hundreds of hours helping others train their own service dogs in busy environments like Brookfield Square Mall.
She tells Polcyn that all that effort can be undone in an instant if an aggressive or out-of-control “fake” dog goes after a trained one.
“They could ruin your dog in the blink of an eye,” she warns.
From a common-sense standpoint, that’s a key point.
A service dog isn’t a fashion accessory. It’s medical equipment that happens to have a heartbeat.
Businesses Caught Between Health Codes And Hashtags
Polcyn also talks with Susan Quam, executive director of the Wisconsin Restaurant Association.
Quam represents thousands of food businesses that are already heavily regulated on sanitation and safety.
She recounts a recent example: a member called her asking what they were supposed to do when a customer walked in with a peacock.
Her blunt assessment: “It is a public health risk.”
Under federal ADA rules, Quam explains, businesses can only ask two questions:
Is this a service animal for a disability?
And what tasks has this animal been trained to perform?
That’s it. No demanding medical papers. No asking what the disability is.
Polcyn reports that Hannah Balder, an attorney with Disability Rights Wisconsin, confirms how airtight those limits are.
Anything beyond those questions risks legal trouble.
Quam tells FOX6 that many owners are afraid to say anything for fear of a lawsuit or a viral social media video painting them as cruel or discriminatory.
“They do feel powerless because they’re kind of in a rock and a hard place,” she says.
Polcyn reminds viewers that this isn’t a new issue.
Nine years ago, FOX6 Investigators walked an emotional support goat into places like the Milwaukee Art Museum and a movie theater just to show how far the confusion would stretch.
Quam tells him it’s only gotten worse since then. There’s even a Facebook group dedicated to exposing “fake service dogs,” where people share videos of misbehaving animals and their owners.
On one hand, social media shaming can highlight real abuses. On the other, it can also turn everything into a public spectacle rather than a thoughtful policy debate.
Fines, ESA Letters, And “Out Of Control” Abuse
State Senator Rachael Cabral-Guevara, an Appleton Republican, tells Polcyn she’s had enough.
“It’s out of control and it needs to stop,” she says.
Cabral-Guevara’s bill would slap a $200 fine on anyone falsely claiming to have a service animal.
It would also impose a $500 fine for providing false documentation of an emotional support animal.
Polcyn explains that the senator isn’t just focused on restaurants and airports.
She says people are abusing ESA protections in housing as well.
Under the federal Fair Housing Act, landlords must allow tenants to live with ESAs and can’t charge extra pet fees.
Cabral-Guevara argues some people are gaming that system to dodge pet rent or restrictions.
Her bill would require any health care provider who prescribes an ESA to have at least a 30-day provider–patient relationship before writing that letter.
She frames it as a way to filter out fly-by-night online mills and make sure the need is real.
“Is it truly that you have a medical issue that you truly need assistance with,” she asks in Polcyn’s report, “or are we abusing the system and then getting a reduction of rent?”
It’s easy to see the appeal for businesses and landlords. If all it takes is a quick online form to transform a pet into an ESA with housing privileges, abuse is almost guaranteed.
At the same time, the bill is clearly aiming at both financial fraud and the cultural trend of “my dog goes everywhere with me.” It’s trying to draw a bright line in a very blurry area.
Disability Advocates Warn Of Unintended Harm
Not everyone in Madison is cheering.
Polcyn highlights how Rep. Ryan Clancy, a Milwaukee Democrat, says he’s “really torn” on the bill.
Clancy’s concern is that the 30-day medical relationship requirement could punish poorer or uninsured people.
He worries it will “squeeze out folks who don’t have somebody who can write them a prescription or even a counselor who can write them a note.”
For people struggling with mental health, stable access to a provider is already a challenge.
Layering a timing requirement on top of that could delay or block legitimate ESA needs.
On the service animal side, Hannah Balder of Disability Rights Wisconsin calls the enforcement piece “impossible.”
She reminds Polcyn there is no official registry or certification for service dogs.
Under the ADA, disabled people are allowed to self-train their dogs.
That means there’s no central database an officer or inspector can call up to verify a dog’s status.
“What are they going to do?” Balder asks.
“Call the police, and then a police officer is going to decide based on what they believe, what they can see?”
That’s a fair criticism.
Any law that depends on an officer’s gut feeling about whether a dog “looks trained enough” could easily slide into profiling or harassment.
When disability rights groups start raising red flags, policymakers ignore them at their own risk.
The last thing anyone wants is a law meant to stop fakers being used to grill people with invisible disabilities.
Deterrence, Conscience, And What Comes Next
Despite the worries, Polcyn notes that trainers like Carissa Tank support the bill.
“I think it’s a great idea to at least do something,” she says.
She has a lot on the line.
Her work, and the independence of her clients, depend on public trust that a dog in a vest really belongs there.
Quam also tells FOX6 that enforcement isn’t the main goal.
“What we are asking for is some deterrence,” she says.
In her mind, the law is partly about sending a message: faking a service or support animal isn’t a harmless life hack.
It’s a choice that affects public health, disabled people, and businesses that are trying to follow the rules.
Quam closes with a simple point that Polcyn highlights.
“In the end, it comes down to, what does your conscience tell you, right?”
On Nov. 18, Polcyn reports, the State Senate approved the bill after the Assembly had already passed it.
Next stop is Governor Tony Evers’ desk.
As of FOX6’s reporting, Evers’ staff hadn’t said whether he plans to sign it.
If he does, Wisconsin will officially join the majority of states that punish fake service animal claims.
Even with a new law, the deeper tension won’t vanish.
We’re a country that loves animals, distrusts bureaucracy, and lives on social media – all at the same time.
Polcyn’s reporting, along with the voices of Tank, Quam, Cabral-Guevara, Clancy, and Balder, shows a system trying to catch up to that reality.
The real test will be whether Wisconsin can discourage the obvious fakers without making life harder for the people service dogs were meant to help in the first place.
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Mark grew up in the heart of Texas, where tornadoes and extreme weather were a part of life. His early experiences sparked a fascination with emergency preparedness and homesteading. A father of three, Mark is dedicated to teaching families how to be self-sufficient, with a focus on food storage, DIY projects, and energy independence. His writing empowers everyday people to take small steps toward greater self-reliance without feeling overwhelmed.
