NEADS in the News
Check out our featured stories below, or view our archives by clicking any of the years listed to the right.
If you would like to write or film a story about NEADS, please contact us.
Tightening the Leash on Fake Service Dogs
Monday, October 16, 2017 by Michael Ollove, The Pew Charitable Trusts Incidents like one that occured in Reading, MA have spurred 19 states to enact laws cracking down on people who try to pass off their pets as service animals. The push has been gathering steam in recent years: Virginia implemented its new law in 2016,…
Proposed state bill cracks down on fake service dogs
by Shannon Larson, The Daily Free Press, Boston University It’s typing a quick Google search, filling out a form for false credentials at a small fee and purchasing a “service dog” vest on Amazon, and a household pet is afforded the rights of public access mandated by the Americans with Disabilities Act. Soon, however, this…
A hard look at the special role of service animals
by Gerry DeRoche, in a Letter to the Editor, The Boston Globe Fakery puts the work of true service dogs in jeopardy On behalf of NEADS World Class Service Dogs, our clients, and all legitimate working service dog teams, as well as the general public, I want to thank you for your editorial “No support for…
Bill Would Penalize People For ‘Fake’ Service Dogs
by Doug Cope, CBS Boston BOSTON (CBS) – Advocates for service dogs for the disabled were at the State House Tuesday, lobbying for a bill that would penalize those who say their animals are service dogs when they’re not. Kaitlyn Steinke of Falmouth and her dog Jones were among those in favor of what’s been called…
New push to keep people from taking advantage of service animal program
by Nichole Berlie, WCVB-TV MA Bill H.2277 is taking aim at people who misrepresent their pets as Service Dogs. Full Story
No support for fake service animals
Boston Globe Editorial BOSTON (BOSTON GLOBE) – We increasingly face a menagerie in public places, part of a trend that suggests person and pet are inseparable. Animal lovers grow bolder by the day, often claiming the animals provide essential emotional comfort. What’s the harm of sharing an airplane cabin with a pig, right? Problem is,…
Considering a Service Dog? Meet My Monty
by Tracey L. Stoll, M.ED., B.C.S.E., A.C.A.S, Parenting Special Needs Magazine My Monty is a Social Therapy Assistance Dog, specializing in trained social behavior and emotional support. (Please turn to pages 22-28) Full Story
Meet Suzie the incredible, adorable New Orleans courthouse dog
WDSU 6 News NEW ORLEANS — For nearly a year, Suzie has been serving as the courthouse facility dog for the Orleans Parish Juvenile Court. She knows how to open doors, turn lights on and off and turn the pages of a book. Full Story
The story of Rescue and Jessica, a dog, a woman, and rebirth
by Cristela Guerra, The Boston Globe It brings Jessica Kensky joy to watch her dog run. At the park, Rescue the black Labrador chases balls down and leaps with athletic abandon. He came into Kensky ‘s life six months after the Boston Marathon bombing. Full Story
NEADS Assistance Dog Bailey Graduates From Service Dog Training
Here and Now, WBUR Here & Now has spent the last year following Bailey, a budding Service Dog raised by MA-based NEADS. During the week, NEADS are trained by, and live with, prison inmates (under the expert guidance of professional dog trainers). Then, on weekends, the dogs go to families. In this segment, Bailey graduates…