I am going to make a PSA in your honour because this is an issue that really bothers me and I want to teach people that the criteria for "service dog" is by no means vague. "Service dog" is a piece of medical equipment that a person requires in order to go through life safely. They can help with panic attacks for people with PTSD who may pose a danger to themselves or others, they can detect changes in your body to signal to you if you're going to pass out, have a seizure, etc so you can get to a safe area or call for help or take medication. They are trained to be extremely focused and calm, and have full access rights to public spaces as they are not pets, but medical equipment as much as a pacemaker. "Emotional support animal" is a pet that whiny bitches carry around with them to feel special. They get their animals "registered" as service animals (there is no official ADA service dog registry, all of these registries are scams and no real service dog requires a registration as such) so they can wave paper in front of hotel managers and flight attendants and get their way. Their dogs play, bark, look around, and act like regular pet dogs. NO SERVICE DOG DOES THIS. Service dogs act like they've had a lobotomy because while they are "on duty" they must keep focus. Service dogs are so focused on listening to their owner's heart rate, smelling for their blood sugar levels, or sensing tension, they will not play or interact with other people or dogs. It is actually a federal crime to distract a service dog or inhibit it from performing its tasks because distracting them is as dangerous to the owner as disconnecting an oxygen tank could be. I reiterate: service dogs are not pets they are medical equipment. Emotional support animals have ZERO access rights. You can NOT take an ESA into a store, restaurant, plane, or any other space where animals are prohibited. Service dogs have FULL access rights and are a crucial part of their owner's survival, so they can go on planes and shit. If you see a service dog that's barking, growling, looking at people and dogs, playing, wandering from their owner, being distracted, chewing a toy, etc, it is NOT A SERVICE DOG. Service dogs are trained to behave so that they do not pose a risk to other people since they have to be in spaces where pet dogs usually are not. If you see an animal that is not a dog acting as a service animal, it is NOT A SERVICE ANIMAL. The only two animals approved by the ADA for service animal work are dogs, and miniature ponies for some weird reason. No cat, parrot, bunny, or any other animal will ever be anything but an ESA. They have no access rights.