The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the governing document for service dogs, defines a service dog as an animal that has been trained to perform a specific task for a person with a disability. Some organizations also refer to service dogs as “assistance dogs.”
A service animal is not a pet, nor is it a therapy dog. A service dog must assist a person with a physical, sensory, psychiatric, neurological, or other mental disability, which the ADA has recently (March 2011) defined as:
- Impaired vision or hearing
- Restricted movement, such as confinement to a wheelchair
- Biologic conditions, such as heart disease, epilepsy or diabetes
- Psychiatric disabilities like PTSD, associative identity disorder, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or anxiety
- Neurological disabilities, such as autism or Down’s syndrome
The ADA further specifies that animals that provide emotional support, well-being, comfort or companionship do not qualify as service dogs.
Tasks Service Dogs Perform
Service dogs have traditionally served as guide dogs for the blind, but they can actually perform a wide variety of tasks for people with disabilities:
- Alerting people with hearing impairments to sounds, such as the doorbell or the presence of people
- Pulling a wheelchair or retrieving and carrying objects for people with mobility issues
- Providing physical support or assisting with balance and stability
- Alerting people with biological disabilities that an attack might be imminent
- Preventing or interrupting impulsive or destructive behavior for people with psychiatric or neurological disabilities
Even if the task you require a service dog to perform isn’t specifically listed in the ADA, if the animal has been trained to assist you with a task you cannot perform for yourself, your dog is a service dog.
The “Rights” of Service Dogs
Service dogs have the same rights of entry as do their owners. Under ADA guidelines, business owners cannot refuse to allow a service animal into their places of business. Likewise, landlords cannot refuse accommodation to someone because they require a service animal to live with them.
Business owners may only ask two questions of someone with a service dog:
1. Is the dog required because of a disability?
2. What task has the animal been trained to perform?
No member of the public may ask for proof that you have a disability or certification that your dog has been trained, certified or licensed as a service dog. Business owners may not inquire to the nature of the disability, even if isn’t visible, or argue about the qualifications of a service dog.
The only exceptions to this policy are airlines, which are covered by Air Carrier Access Act, and landlords, which are covered by the Fair Housing Act. In both cases, you will need to provide extensive documentation about your disability and your dog’s service, including a letter from a qualified doctor.
Qualifications for Service Dogs
Although the most commonly seen service dogs are retrievers and German shepherds, a service dog may be of any age, size, breed or pedigree.
Guide dog organizations often spend generations breeding lines of service dogs that have proven themselves to be of superior genetics and abilities. However, a shelter mutt that has been trained to perform a task for a disabled person is equally qualified to be a service dog.
Besides being trained to perform tasks for disabled people, the only other qualifications a service dog must have are adherence to general obedience commands and appropriate manners. The service dog must be under the control of its handler at all times, secured on a harness, leash or tether.
There is currently no requirement for service dog certification, but dogs who have excelled in obedience training, therapy work, agility or other specialized activities may be good candidates for service-dog work.
Training Your Own Service Dog
Even though no formal training is required for a dog to be a service animal, your dog should know how to come, sit, stay and heel, among other basic commands. A service dog should have good manners and respond appropriately in any situation.
Teaching your dog basic commands is fairly easy, especially if you use positive reinforcement training techniques. More difficult tasks naturally require more extensive training, such as pulling a wheelchair, retrieving objects, or guiding the visual or hearing impaired. In this case, it’s best to obtain the dog from a service dog training organization, which breeds and trains dogs for complex tasks.
Service Dog Organizations
A number of service dog training organizations work exclusively to ready dogs for co-habitation with people with disabilities.
- Guide Dogs for the Blind: Probably the most widely known service dog training organization, Guide Dogs for the Blind has been training guide dogs since 1964, also making it one of the oldest training organizations.
- The Sam Simon Foundation: This California-based nonprofit not only assists with low-cost veterinary services, but also trains hearing dogs.
- Pro-Train: Serving the United States and Canada, Pro-Train trains guide dogs, hearing dogs, service dogs for people with mobility issues and dogs that assist with autism and seizure response.
- The Delta Society: In addition to training therapy dogs, the Delta Society has established the National Service Dog Resource Center, a web-based service that provides information about service dogs.
For a list of service dog training organizations in your area, click here.
A recent trend in service dog training is matching prison inmates with dogs for their initial training. In these “dogs in jail” programs, prisoners work with shelter dogs that have been identified as potential service dogs.
Once the dogs have demonstrated they are suited to service work and passed basic training, they are often turned over to service dog organizations to complete their specialized training so they can be matched with a handler.
Obtaining a Service Dog
If you elect to purchase a service dog from a professional service dog training organization, you may have a long wait ahead of you. Dogs are carefully screened and individually trained, which takes time and requires dogs of the correct temperament. As such, service dogs are not always immediately available.
A great solution to this problem is to adopt a potential service dog from a local animal shelter. Although you wouldn’t be able to tell by sight alone if the animal is qualified, shelter personnel should be able to direct you to suitable candidates.
Shelter dogs aren’t recommended for people with visual, hearing or biological disabilities, but the appropriate shelter dog can be trained to retrieve, provide balance, pull a wheelchair, or provide emotional support to people with psychiatric or neurological disabilities.
