Service Dog Guidelines-Overview of Laws Regarding Service Dogs-Requirements for Service Dogs in Public

Guidelines by the Americans with Disabilities Act for People with Service Dogs

Prior to the Americans with Disabilities Act, people with disabilities were not given fair treatment, were discriminated against, and obviously there was a need for something to be put into place.  In 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act was put forth by Congress and was authorized and made law by President George H.W. Bush.   

The Americans with Disabilities Act is a set of federal regulations that also apply to states that were put into place so that all people that have disabilities will be treated fairly and equally in places of employment as well as in public establishments. It sets forth things like wheelchair ramps and modifications to buildings that make it possible for people with various disabilities to access these public places just like anyone else.

Also set forth in the Americans with Disabilities Act are guidelines and recommendations regarding guide dogs for the blind, therapy dogs, service dogs, and assistance dogs. The ADA clarifies the rights of the disabled person and their dog as well as the requirements of owners of businesses and those in charge of other public places where a disabled person may go.

Typically, service dogs have been known as "seeing eye dogs", because of their known work with the blind. These guide dogs for the blind are rigorously trained to carry out the day-to-day activities that the blind person is unable to do.  They are essentially the eyes for the blind person.  Assistance dogs and therapy dogs have different responsibilities and are trained for different purposes to help people with disabilities other than blindness.

Guide dogs, assistance dogs, and therapy dogs have different duties, but the Americans with Disabilities Act recognizes that not only blind and visually disabled people have dogs to help them, but also people that appear to have no disabilities, such as people who suffer from depression, anxiety, and other emotional problems.   Dogs can be very helpful to people with all kinds of disabilities.

Below I have quoted the wording from the section of the Americans with Disabilities Act that sets forth the guidelines when it comes to service, therapy, assistance, and guide dogs for the blind. 

Quoted definition from the United States Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Disability Rights Section as to what service animals as:

"Any guide dog, signal dog, or other animal individually trained to provide assistance to an individual with a disability. If they meet this definition, animals are considered service animals under the ADA regardless of whether they have been licensed or certified by a State or local government.

Service animals perform some of the functions and tasks that the individual with a disability cannot perform for him or herself. Guide dogs are one type of service animal, used by some individuals who are blind. This is the type of service animal with which most people are familiar. But there are service animals that assist persons with other kinds of disabilities in their day-to-day activities. Some examples include:

• Alerting people with hearing impairments to sounds.
• Pulling wheelchairs or carrying and picking up things for persons with mobility impairments.
• Assisting people with mobility impairments with balance.

A service animal is not a pet."

5/16/2011

Although there is no federal law which requires that service dogs, therapy dogs, assistance dogs, etc.,  be certified or registered in any way, some states do have their own set of laws. I did the research on what is required for assistance dogs or therapy dogs in California. For those of you who do not live in California, I found a site with a link to each state's therapy, assistance, service dog requirements. For that list, please click here.

The reason I decided to do this hub on service dogs is because I am someone who benefits from having my dog with me in public. Since I do have a documented disability and I feel she helps me in certain situations, I truly believe she is a therapy dog.   In many states, there is not requirement for certification of the dog.  If the dog is providing assistance, therapy, or somehow helping the disabled person and the person considers the dog to be a therapy dog, then the dog is a therapy dog.   Of course, the dog must be able to behave in public and comply with the directives of the person who it is accompanying.

My dog is only six pounds and she always stays in my arms when we go in.  Some places don't seem to care, but some places stop me and ask me whether she is a service dog or not.  I consider her to be my service dog, but purporting your dog to be a service dog is in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act and in California, a violation of a penal code section that is subject to a fine.   I decided to set out to figure out how to go about getting her recognized as a service dog.  I decided to do this hub on it because I am sure there are others who are curious about this too.

In California, Penal Code Section 30850 basically states that any therapy dog, service dog, assistance dog, or guide dog must have an ID tag verifying that the dog has been trained to behave properly in public situations and has met certain requirements.

If the dog is going to be a Guide Dog for a blind person, California Board of Guide Dogs for the Blind is the agency which handles that.  Guide dogs for the blind is a more involved process in which that agency deals specifically with and where the training requirements are much more in depth and the training much more rigorous.  The Board of Guide Dogs for the Blind staff provided me with this information I am relaying.

If a person is seeking training, certification, and licensing information for an assistance dog or therapy dog, not a guide dog for the blind, this is handled through the SPCA in Sacramento. The SPCA registers and issues identification tags for therapy or assistance dogs after they have participated in a training program where they must meet certain criteria. 

Another thing I found interesting is that businesses are also prohibited and it is unlawful (could also be fined) to require that the disabled person provide proof of the dog's certification by way of a certificate or ID tag.  (Not everyone has this paperwork on them at all times, especially if they are making an unplanned trip to the store or something so this makes sense.)  The only question that can be asked when a person comes into a public place with their well-behaved dog is whether or not the dog is a service dog. If the person answers yes, the store employees must oblige and allow the person and the dog to enter onto the premises. 

I hope I have provided understandable information. I have been really curious about this for a long time, but could never really figure out exactly what the laws and requirements were. I have thought about how helpful it would be to have a therapy dog before I even knew the term existed, so I am grateful to have found the information I was seeking and I hope this will help others too.

As someone who has suffered severe anxiety in public situations at different times through my life, it benefits me greatly to be able to take my 6-pound dog to places with me that trigger anxiety. Ever since I was young, I knew in my heart that if I were able to take my dog with me to places like school (and later work) things would have been different for me.

This information was derived from a number of sources. For the California information, I contacted the Board of Guide Dogs for the Blind as well as the Sacramento County Animal Shelter and got some information. I also consulted with the SPCA website. For the general information of the Americans with Disabilities Act, I went to the ADA's website as well as the United States Department of Justice.

Thanks for reading.