I AM A SERVICE DOG

 

The adventures of Caoimhe (Keeva), the medical alert service dog.

What is a Service Dog

According to law (2011 American’s With Disabilities Act from the Department of Justice):

"Service animals are defined as dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities."

The work or task a dog has been trained to provide must be directly related to the person’s disability.

A service dog is specifically trained to help people who have disabilities, such as visual or hearing impairments, mental illnesses, seizure disorder, mobility issues, autism, allergies and diabetes.

Service Dogs are not servants. Trained correctly, a service dog joyfully and intently does its job helping its handler.

A service dog is specifically trained to help people who have disabilities, such as visual impairment, hearing impairments, mental illnesses (such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)), seizure disorder, mobility impairment, and diabetes.

Service dogs bring freedom to their partners every hour of every day.

A person with a service dog has the same rights as anyone as granted by federal law (The Americans With Disabilities Act), which allows them to take their dog into all public facilities.

Service dogs should never be separated from their handlers! It can take 2 years to fully train a service dog.

Service dogs must be physically health, behaviorally stable, and should enjoy working with their partner.

What Does a Service Dogs Do?

Service Dogs have changed a lot over the last 20 years.

In the last 2 decades, the things that service dogs can do have grown 1000 times. Much more than just guiding the blind.

Just about any disability a person could have a dog could help with. From diabetes, to PTSD, from blood pressure issues to fainting.

Service Dogs are amazing.

Medical Detection and Alert Dogs sense bio-chemical changes in your body that indicate disease.

Hearing dogs alert their owners to common sounds like doorbells and point out the sound to their owner.

Mobility dogs do bracing, pulling, leading, crowd control, balance assistance, preventing falling and fainting Injuries, finding exits, finding the car, finding help safely, and much more!

Helping Others

Sophie is a mini–Australian Shepherd. She helps her owner hear. Whenever a sound happens near her owner, she bumps her owner’s thigh and then points to the sound with her nose. Some service dogs can do more than one thing. Sophie can also tell her owner when her blood sugar isn't optimal.

PSYCHIATRIC SERVICE DOG TRAINING

PTSD, Panic Disorders, Autism, and a host of other mental health issues can benefit from having a service dog.

Here is Bear. Bear is an Australian Shepherd. He helps his owner with anxiety, panic attacks, depression and blood sugar levels.

Where Can Service Dogs Go?

Service Dogs can go just about anywhere. They can go anywhere their owner can go, even into the hospital.

There are rules about being in certain places, but as long as the Service Dog doesn't bother anyone or cause people to work harder, they can go there if their owner can.

Many people use a service animal in order to fully participate in everyday life. Dogs can be trained to perform many important tasks to assist people with disabilities live a fuller life.

The ADA requires State and local government agencies, businesses, and non-profit organizations that provide goods or services to the public to make "reasonable modifications" in their policies, practices, or procedures when necessary to accommodate people with disabilities.

ADA 2010 Guidelines About Public Access

Inquiries, Exclusions, Charges, and Other Specific Rules Related to Service Animals

The Department of Justice published revised final regulations implementing the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) for title II (State and local government services) and title III (public accommodations and commercial facilities) on September 15, 2010, in the Federal Register. These requirements, or rules, contain updated requirements, including the 2010 Standards for Accessible Design (2010 Standards).

Overview

This publication provides guidance on the term “service animal” and the service animal provisions in the Department’s regulations.

Beginning on March 15, 2011, only dogs are recognized as service animals under titles II and III of the ADA.

A service animal is a dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for a person with a disability.

Generally, title II and title III entities must permit service animals to accompany people with disabilities in all areas where members of the public are allowed to go.

How “Service Animal” Is Defined

Service animals are defined as dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities. Examples of such work or tasks include guiding people who are blind, alerting people who are deaf, pulling a wheelchair, alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure, reminding a person with mental illness to take prescribed medications, calming a person with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) during an anxiety attack, or performing other duties. Service animals are working animals, not pets. The work or task a dog has been trained to provide must be directly related to the person’s disability. Dogs whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support do not qualify as service animals under the ADA.

This definition does not affect or limit the broader definition of “assistance animal” under the Fair Housing Act or the broader definition of “service animal” under the Air Carrier Access Act.

Some State and local laws also define service animal more broadly than the ADA does. Information about such laws can be obtained from the relevant State attorney general’s office.

Where Service Animals Are Allowed

Under the ADA, State and local governments, businesses, and nonprofit organizations that serve the public generally must allow service animals to accompany people with disabilities in all areas of the facility where the public is allowed to go. For example, in a hospital it usually would be inappropriate to exclude a service animal from areas such as patient rooms, clinics, cafeterias, or examination rooms. However, it may be appropriate to exclude a service animal from operating rooms or burn units where the animal’s presence may compromise a sterile environment.

Service Animals Must Be Under Control

A service animal must be under the control of its handler. Under the ADA, service animals must be harnessed, leashed, or tethered, unless the individual’s disability prevents using these devices or these devices interfere with the service animal's safe, effective performance of tasks. In that case, the individual must maintain control of the animal through voice, signal, or other effective controls.

Inquiries, Exclusions, Charges, and Other Specific Rules Related to Service Animals

When it is not obvious what service an animal provides, only limited inquiries are allowed. Staff may ask two questions: (1) is the dog a service animal required because of a disability, and (2) what work or task has the dog been trained to perform. Staff cannot ask about the person’s disability, require medical documentation, require a special identification card or training documentation for the dog, or ask that the dog demonstrate its ability to perform the work or task.

Allergies and fear of dogs are not valid reasons for denying access or refusing service to people using service animals. When a person who is allergic to dog dander and a person who uses a service animal must spend time in the same room or facility, for example, in a school classroom or at a homeless shelter, they both should be accommodated by assigning them, if possible, to different locations within the room or different rooms in the facility.

A person with a disability cannot be asked to remove his service animal from the premises unless: (1) the dog is out of control and the handler does not take effective action to control it or (2) the dog is not housebroken. When there is a legitimate reason to ask that a service animal be removed, staff must offer the person with the disability the opportunity to obtain goods or services without the animal’s presence.

Establishments that sell or prepare food must generally allow service animals in public areas even if state or local health codes prohibit animals on the premises.

People with disabilities who use service animals cannot be isolated from other patrons, treated less favorably than other patrons, or charged fees that are not charged to other patrons without animals. In addition, if a business requires a deposit or fee to be paid by patrons with pets, it must waive the charge for service animals.

If a business such as a hotel normally charges guests for damage that they cause, a customer with a disability may also be charged for damage caused by himself or his service animal.

Staff are not required to provide care for or supervision of a service animal.

Miniature Horses

In addition to the provisions about service dogs, the Department’s ADA regulations have a separate provision about miniature horses that have been individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities. (Miniature horses generally range in height from 24 inches to 34 inches measured to the shoulders and generally weigh between 70 and 100 pounds.) Entities covered by the ADA must modify their policies to permit miniature horses where reasonable. The regulations set out four assessment factors to assist entities in determining whether miniature horses can be accommodated in their facility. The assessment factors are (1) whether the miniature horse is housebroken; (2) whether the miniature horse is under the owner’s control; (3) whether the facility can accommodate the miniature horse’s type, size, and weight; and (4) whether the miniature horse’s presence will not compromise legitimate safety requirements necessary for safe operation of the facility.

For more information about the ADA, please visit our website or call our toll-free number.

ADA Website

www.ADA.gov

To receive e-mail notifications when new ADA information is available,

visit the ADA Website’s home page to sign up for email updates.

ADA Information Line

800-514-0301 (Voice) and 800-514-0383 (TTY)

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to speak with an ADA Specialist. All calls are confidential.

For persons with disabilities, this publication is available in alternate formats.

Duplication of this document is encouraged.

The Americans with Disabilities Act authorizes the Department of Justice (the Department) to provide technical assistance to individuals and entities that have rights or responsibilities under the Act. This document provides informal guidance to assist you in understanding the ADA and the Department's regulations.

This guidance document is not intended to be a final agency action, has no legally binding effect, and may be rescinded or modified in the Department's complete discretion, in accordance with applicable laws. The Department's guidance documents, including this guidance, do not establish legally enforceable responsibilities beyond what is required by the terms of the applicable statutes, regulations, or binding judicial precedent.

Originally issued: July 12, 2011

Last updated: February 24, 2020

Keeva's Adventures

Keeva is a Boxer / Afghan mix. She was originally trained to detect Cancer, Kidney Disease and watch Blood Sugar levels.

She is now trained to detect levels of chemicals produced by mast cells in her owners’ body that could cause a medical emergency.

Keeva is the star of two 90-minute documentaries - one in Germany and one in Japan. She has been the subject of many news programs, magazine articles and numerous blog posts.

Here is the Japanese film crew getting video of Keeva. She got so use to the cameras, the GoPro's attached to her collar, the foreign languages and 100's of people watching, that she just treated it like normal life.

Testimonial From Keeva’s Owner’s Mother

"[XXX] had the opportunity to go out with friends to a coffee shop in the area. While standing in line, a woman remarked loudly to her companion “what is a DOG doing in here!” Her companion replied “it’s a service dog.” The woman said “I don’t care that’s disgusting and gross!!!” [XXX] briefly glanced over but was focused on getting her drink and treat and spending quality time with friends. Then she and her friends found a table and Keeva became almost invisible under the table but remained vigilant to alert [XXX] to triggers which could be deadly to her.

[XXX] was able to sit and socialize with friends. I wish this woman could see what we see when we see [XXX] and her amazing Keeva with her. We see freedom and a chance for her to have a more normal life! She is able to socialize and to freely go about her business and focus on other things besides her illness. We see less trips to the ER and less time in isolation. We see professionalism, with every alert Keeva makes, her pulling [XXX] to safer places, finding exits for her, and getting help as needed. And we see joy!!! Joy in breathing, living, experiencing life the way any teenager should!!!

How much people miss out on when they don’t see, really see, the experience of others and they remain in their own narrow, angry world. So thankful for this amazing, beautiful, wonder dog!!! "

 

Can I Have A Service Dog?

First test: do you have a disability?

It is important to remember that in the context of the ADA, “disability” is a legal term rather than a medical one.

The ADA defines a person with a disability as a person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activity. This includes people who have a record of such an impairment, even if they do not currently have a disability. It also includes individuals who do not have a disability but are regarded as having a disability.

THE ADA LIST OF DISABILITIES defines “disability” very broadly and does not limit the type of disability for which a service animal can be used.

The essence of the law states that if you have any condition that makes it difficult to perform or limits an important life activity, you are qualified. You are not required to have a doctor’s prescription.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) defines a person with a disability as an individual with a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities.

To break down this definition:

The person must have a record and/or be regarded as having the impairment, which can include having difficulty hearing, seeing, walking, and learning, as well as a loss of physical or mental function

Major life activities including activities that are essential to a person’s life, such as performing manual tasks.

This does not mean that every disabled person can use a service dog. There must be tasks the dog can do for you that directly relate to your loss of physical or mental function.

But the list of tasks that dogs can be trained for are getting longer every year as creative trainers figure out how to train a new task.

 

Can I Pet A Service Dog?

In short, the answer is no. If you see a dog wearing a harness, vest, or cape, assume it’s working. Service dogs provide mobility, guidance, medical alert, and assistance for their handlers and interfering with what the team is doing could result in a dangerous situation.

You wouldn’t try to distract your parent while driving a car, would you? No! That would be dangerous. The same goes for a service dog. When you see a service dog, assume it’s working to prevent any harm to it's handler.

This means:

• NO petting
• NO talking to
• NO saying his/her name
• NO eye contact
• NO action in an attempt to get the dog’s attention

Just Pretend The Dog Is Not There

When it comes to Service Dogs, the rule is NO DISTRACTION. No touch, no talk, no eye contact. Why? Because distracting a service dog is like putting a blanket over your mom's face when she is driving the car!

Invisible Disabilities

Not all disabilities are visible and not all disabled people ride in wheelchairs or navigate with a cane.

Not all Service Dogs wear vests or capes or other identification.

So your job is to always ask. You should never pet any dog, no matter whether it is a service dog or not, without getting permissions from the dog's handler.

Training A Service Dog

Public Access

Obedience Training: a dog must master the basic obedience skills: "Sit, Stay, Come, Down, Heel" and a dropped leash recall in a store in response to verbal commands and/or hand signals.

Manners: a dog must acquire proper social behavior skills. Leave it, stop, no jumping, potty trained, no barking or biting and no pulling on the leash unless it is a specific task trained for specific circumstances.

Assistance Tasks

A basic retrieve skill is a must no matter what the disability specific tasks might be. This would include knowing directions (left, right, forward, back), and being able to target an object.

Door chores, pushing buttons, dropping objects in a receptacle, taking objects out of a receptacle and many other simple tasks

Disability Specific Tasks

Other than guide dogs and hearing dogs, most other service dogs either do mobility and assistance or medical alert, support and response. Even psychiatric service dogs are doing medical alert, response and support.

18 Months of Training

It takes time and effort to train a service dog. They must be bomb proof in public, have discrimination skills and know when and how to do their job.

A service dog must also have a deep bond with his handler.

You Can Train Your Own Dog

There are no rules or laws on how a dog is trained, who trains the dog, or even what is trained other than the task specific behaviors.

If you want to train your own dog, go right ahead.