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Dogs have been trained by their owners to help disabled people for centuries-LONG before there were service dog agencies. Charles Dickens describes a dog guiding his owner, a blind beggar, in his 1840s (A Christmas Carol. Also, someone once aptly described dogs as "workaholics forced to be couch potatoes" . This means that dogs (domesticated wolves) want to be useful to their pack-they want a task to perform. All most dogs are asked to do is lounge on the sofa being cute. But a dog as intelligent as a GSD would not only have a strong desire to aid his disabled master-he'd have the intelligence to figure out ways to do so. It's quite possible that this dog, while a pet and NOT a trained service dog, DID perform little tasks that helped his human. Maybe picking up dropped things and bringing them back to him so he wouldn't have to stoop down, maybe supporting his master with his weight on the weaker side-stuff like that.

Whether the dog is a trained service dog or not is irrelevant. The dog did aid his master, at least by his love and devotion, and he and his master are bonded. It is heartless and cruel and vile for the witch to keep the dog and his master separated because she and her horrible family have "bonded" to the dog, after a mere three weeks. Sadly, it does not sound as if the ADA will be able to help the man-if it's not a registered service dog, I don't see how they can become involved, either against the Neville thing or against people refusing to rent to a dogowner. But with a pro bono lawyer, I believe a judge will be able to void the "contract" here, as the man(having fled from Katrina)was obviously under duress, as another freeper pointed out above. I hope so anyway. Hopefully, a little public shaming will and fear of bad publicity will make the Neville creature retract her harpy claws from the dog and return him to the rightful owner.

Not ot mention those dogs who intuitively devine their owner's health problems and help them with no training at all.

Many dogs naturally have become "seizure alert" dogs on their own as well as helpers for deaf owners.

I have a fair amount of hearing loss myself and my dogs alert to me to -everything- that goes on around here.
If very loud barking doesn't get me up and looking outside, they will come over and paw me and then run to wherever the source of the "alarming event" is.

They do not do the same for my husband who has very good hearing.

One of my hounds once literally saved my life by bouncing on top of me as I slept.
I have no sense of smell and I couldn't hear the smoke detectors going off.
The woodstove had had a downdraft problem and when I woke up, the smoke was so thick I couldn't even see the dog that was bouncing on me and pawing me.

I am a light sleeper so her intense efforts to awaken me probably meant that I already was "out" from the smoke and carbon monoxide.

But bless her heart, she didn't give up.

[and all the bouncing and pawing was -not- her nature, normally]

Dogs know who's "weak" and will naturally guard them however they can.

The souless harpy who has this man's dog is keeping it for spite.
The more flack she receives the more likely she will be to refuse to return it.

Bet on it.