Column: Dogs are everywhere — but are they really there for service or support?

It’s never the dog’s fault.

In some ways you can blame the Americans with Disabilities Act. But mostly, you can just blame the dog’s owner.

Dogs are everywhere, and there’s not a lot you can do about it.

They block aisles in restaurants, begging for food.

They soil sidewalks and tag everything with wet graffiti.

They fight among themselves in retail stores, banks and offices.

Big and small, docile and hyper, droolers and yippers, they have surpassed screaming children on the annoying scale.

Are dogs usually adorable? Absolutely.

Do they need to be constantly underfoot? Absolutely not.

And yet owners insist on bringing little Shih Tzu to a crowded protest march where they are accidentally stepped on, kicked and, well, assaulted.

In 1990 when the newly minted ADA started allowing legitimate service dogs to help the disabled, it opened the doggie door to scam artists. Slowly but surely, the non-disabled started feeling entitled.

The line began to blur between service dogs and everything else. Now there are emotional support dogs, therapy dogs, comfort dogs — none of which are supposed to have carte blanche.

But they do.

And, by the way, it’s not limited to dogs. Technically, you can have an emotional support turtle, snake or hedgehog.

According to the National Service Animal Registry, all domesticated animals are able to qualify as an official emotional support animal.

“The only requirement is that the animal is manageable in public and does not create a nuisance,” the group says.

The challenge for businesses is that it’s tough to keep up with the various designations, and a mistake can be costly.

If a business confronts a suspicious dog owner, only to find out that it’s a real service dog, the fine can be $2,500 in California. By law, businesses can only ask, “Is this a service animal?” and “What is it trained to do?” Any inquiry beyond that is a violation of the ADA.

The fines and confusion have led to a pervasive, public dog park. A study by UC Davis found that the number of emotional support animals registered by animal control facilities increased 1,000% between 2002 and 2012.

The study also said that too many emotional support tags were being issued — wrongly.

“The state governmental registering system does not work properly,” the study said. “Also, a substantive number of ID tags were issued to dogs that seem not appropriate to use as assistance dogs, such as old dogs which were registered for the first time when they were 10 years or older.”

And this is from people who were trying to get a tag the right way. Now, a simple Internet search and some cash can land bogus credentials and fake dog vests with free two-day delivery.

To its credit, California has the nation’s toughest fake service dog law, but it’s rarely enforced. If someone attempts to pose a regular pet as a service dog, the maximum penalty is a $1,000 fine and up to six months in jail.

Apparently, however, people view the laws as all bark and no bite because violations are obvious. Stories abound of obnoxious dog owners claiming their “rights.”

The allure of bringing Fifi to coastal tourist cities is understandable. Play in the water, fetch, take the cutest-ever videos, troll pet-friendly stores for treats.

But is it really necessary to go to concerts, parades, poetry readings and churches?

Dogs have sensitive ears. They generally don’t like crowds. They are not slaves.

I loved my golden retriever and chocolate Labrador and all the other dogs in my life.

My neighbors call me the “dog whisperer” as they regularly ask me to dog sit.

But there are lines that should not be crossed.

And turning dogs into fake, illegal toys for our own amusement is one of them.

DAVID HANSEN is a writer and Laguna Beach resident. He can be reached at hansen.dave@gmail.com.