Experts say a lack of regulation in the service dog industry has made vulnerable families easy prey. In several states, complaints are stacking up against unscrupulous companies. AllenGBreed
Sobie Cummings, 11, plays with her dog, Dallas, at the family's home in Waxhaw, N.C., Friday, March 29, 2019. A psychiatrist suggested that a service dog might help to ease Sobie’s crippling anxiety and feelings of isolation. But when they brought home a $14,500 Briard from Mark Mathis’ Ry-Con Service Dogs, Okami broke from Glenn Cummings' grasp and began mauling Dallas.
Ten months and $14,500 later, the family brought home a shaggy mop of a dog that Sobie had come to view as her “savior.” But when they opened the front door, Okami broke from Glenn Cummings’ grasp and began mauling one of the family’s elderly dogs — all as Sobie watched from the stairs in mute horror.
Properly training a service dog can take up to 1 ½ years and cost upward of $50,000, depending on the tasks it is taught to perform. But the Americans with Disabilities Act does not require that a service dog be professionally trained or certified. And, according to the, local and state agencies are prohibited from requiring that the dogs be registered.
Incorporated in 2014, Ry-Con worked exclusively with Briards — a long-haired French herding breed that can weigh anywhere from 55 to 100 pounds. The American Kennel Club site says the Briard “packs so much loyalty, love, and spirit into its ample frame that it’s often described as a ‘heart wrapped in fur.’”
The couple contacted Ry-Con in July 2017. Within days, Mathis called to say he had the perfect dog for Sobie, even though he’d not met her and his contracts promised Ry-Con would “hand select a puppy for the .” Rachel Cummings says she found that odd but: “I was blinded by hope.” Sobie plastered her walls and school folders with photos of Okami. She kept a framed picture of the dog beside her bed, hugging and kissing and talking to it before going to sleep.The International Association of Assistance Dog Partners says a service animal should have a minimum of 120 hours of schooling over six months or more. The dog must respond to basic commands — “Sit, Stay, Come, Down, Heel” — and be able to work without exhibiting “aggressive behavior toward people or other animals.
Some customers claimed they arrived at Ry-Con to find dogs emaciated, skittish and matted with urine and feces. Many said their pups lunged and nipped at children and other animals, weren’t housetrained and could not respond to basic commands. In an email to The Associated Press, he insisted that his troubles all stemmed from recent financial issues.
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