INFORMATION ON SERVICE DOGS Modified from information provided by http://www.deltasociety.org/page.aspx?pid=303 What Is a Service Dog (Animal)? According to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA, 1990), a dog is considered a "service dog" if it has been "individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability." Also according to the ADA, a 'disability' is a "mental or physical condition which substantially limits a major life activity" such as:
• caring for one's self and assisting with routine tasks of daily living • performing manual tasks so people with disabilities can enjoy and participate in their community • walking and providing balance and ballast to protect their partner from harm caused by falls • seeing and guiding their partner as they go about daily community life • hearing and alerting their partner to sounds ie: people’s voices, fire alarms, or other emergencies • speaking by delivering written notes when a partner is unable to communicate verbally • breathing by alerting their partner to allergens causing anaphylactic shock ie: peanuts

• learning: many Service Dogs empower their partner to attend school and gain experience to work • working: many Service Dogs empower their partner to be able to work and become independent • as well as some disabilities that may not be visible, such as: deafness, autism spectrum, heart disease, diabetes, epilepsy, allergies, Alzheimers, and psychiatric conditions To be considered a service dog, s/he must be trained to perform tasks directly related to the person's disability.
Example: Chris has a hearing disability and can't hear sounds such as a smoke alarms, doorbells, sirens, or her name being called. Chris is otherwise able to function with no other assistance. Chris has a dog named Dusty. If Dusty is trained to let Chris know when a sound occurs (e.g., smoke alarm, doorbell), Dusty is considered a service dog. On the other hand, if Dusty is only trained to retrieve items around the house and does not know how to alert Chris to sounds, Dusty is not considered a service dog for Chris, because the task of retrieving is not directly related to Chris' disability.

The only way that a dog can be recognized as a true “service animal” under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is when the following conditions are met:

The owner or handler has a documented disability as defined under the ADA, “….a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities”.

The dog (or miniature horse) must be trained to perform a task or tasks that alleviate that disability. The mere presence of the animal (for example, “s/he gives me a reason to get up every morning”) does not qualify a dog as a service animal.

The dog (or miniature horse) must not alter the environment for others. This means that s/he must be kept on a leash and under the control of the handler at all times in public, must not show signs of aggression, must be kept quiet and clean.

Unfortunately, there is considerable lack of knowledge among the public regarding the rights of the disabled. Many people believe that without a “Service Dog” vest or tag, a dog cannot be a legitimate service animal — and there are several unethical companies that profit by this ignorance. They sell these forms of identification without requiring proper proof of the level of training a dog has had, nor medical documentation of a person’s disability.

If a dog does not meet all the requirements listed above, but a person misrepresents their dog as a service animal, they are in violation of a federal law and subject to a heavy fine and/or imprisonment.

Minimum Standards for Service Dogs

The Minimum Standards for Service Dogs, were developed by a team of service dog trainers, animal behaviorists, people with disabilities, and veterinarians to guide the development of the Service Dog Education System.

The Minimum Standards includes only those recommended characteristics and minimum behaviors required of all Service Dogs. The characteristics and specialized behaviors required of individual dogs should vary, based on the individual disability requirements of the person for whom the dog is trained.

Other Terms Used to Refer to Service Dogs

Service Animal

Any DOG (or, in some cases, Minature Horse) that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability. Miniature horses are typically used for guiding, mobility, or carting.

Service Dog

Adapted from the term service animal, service dog is a species-specific term to generically describe any dog in the role of a service animal.

The terminology used to label specific types of work dogs perform for people with disabilities has not been standardized. For example, a dog trained to help a person walk might be referred to by different sources as a 'mobility dog', a 'walker dog', or a 'support dog'. In addition to the wide variety of terms used, many service dogs are cross-trained to perform more than one category of work (such as guide and mobility for a person who is blind and has severe arthritis) and labeling them by the work they do becomes cumbersome.

Many individuals choose to identify their service animal generically because it identifies the roles of the animals without disclosing the nature of the persons' disabilities, and it is consistent with the terminology of the laws that protect them.

The Difference Between:

Service, Therapy, Companion and "Social/therapy" Animals

Service Animals are legally defined (Americans With Disabilities Act, 1990 and redefined in the ADA Reauthorization of 2010 effective March 15, 2011) and are trained to meet the disability-related needs of their handlers who have disabilities. Federal laws protect the rights of individuals with disabilities to be accompanied by their service animals in public places. Service animals are not considered 'pets'.

Therapy Animals are not legally defined by federal law, but some states have laws defining therapy animals. They provide people with contact to animals, but are not limited to working with people who have disabilities. They are usually the personal pets of their handlers, and work with their handlers to provide services to others. Federal laws have no provisions for people to be accompanied by therapy animals in places of public accommodation that have "no pets" policies. Therapy animals usually are not service animals.

A Companion Animal is not legally defined, but is accepted as another term for pet.

'Social/therapy' Animals have no legal definition. They often are animals that did not complete service animal or service dog training due to health, disposition, trainability, or other factors, and are made available as pets for people who have disabilities. These animals might or might not meet the definition of service animals. Tips for Interacting with People
Who use a Service Dog

• Do not photograph or video record a service dog team without permission.
• Do not touch the Service Dog without permission from the handler.
• Do not distract the Service
Dog with noises, food or attempts to pet.
• Talk to the person, not the Service Dog.
Do not stare at the
Service Dog team.
• Do not ask the person what her/his disability is, or any other very personal questions. • Don’t be offended if the handler doesn’t want to talk about his service dog.
• Do not draw unnecessary attention to a service dog team.
Pointing, exclaiming things like, “Look, a dog!” and doing other things to make a spectacle of a service dog team are rude and make service dog handlers feel uncomfortable.
Allow a service dog handler to go about his or her business just as you would anyone else.
• If you have a dog, never let your dog approach, play with, or bark at a Service Dog.
• Tell a Service Dog handler that might be visually impaired where your dog is in relation to them. • Never make assumptions about the individual's intelligence, feelings or capabilities. Offers of help are appreciated, but ask first. Usually, the Service Dog team can get the task done by themselves.

Use an encounter with a Service Dog team as an opportunity to educate children (and adults!)
Explain to children (or other adults!) what a Service Dog does and why it is important not to interfere with the team’s work. Also explain that not all disabilities are obvious to others