Pooches can very easily be certified as service dogs, according to legitimate service dog owners and trainers in South Florida and this has made them frustrated. The responsibility is certain loopholes in state and federal law.

Facilities that certified service dogs can avail are accompanying owners inside restaurants, flying for free in cabins and not cargo holds and housing that are restricted can also be accessed by such dogs.

Nick Kutsukos, 72, who runs the Elite K9 Academy in Jupiter and has trained service dogs for 40 years said, “I don't want to say it's a scam, but it is a scam.”

To get a dog certified as a service dog, all one needs to do is, go online, search dog certification websites, fill out a form, and send some money and a photo of the pet.

Pets will also get a vest or collar that are marked for them for anything between $20 and $300, ID cards and special identification tags, DVDs on training, a certificate, items that look official but the law does not need them and information CDs.

Toni Eames, president of the Michigan-based International Association of Assistance Dog Partners said, “There is no certification required, so there's no such thing as a legitimate document.”