Pulling your hair out trying to understand Laws for Assistance Dogs? Not sure what to say when you are approached by a person telling you your dog can't be in the building? Are you an employee and unsure of what to ask when you see a person with an Assistance dog in the store?
You are not alone.
There is a lot of misinformation passed around by word of mouth and on the internet relating to public access with service animals. To understand the different kinds of laws, here is a link to the law page of the International Association of Assistance Dog Partners.
(Note: You will be leaving this web site and going to the Association of Assistance Dog Partners (IAADP) web site when clicking the link below.)
Assistance Dog Laws and Legal ResourcesTo add to the confusion of laws for service animals, there are a variety of terms used for dogs that assist those with disabilities. The term Service Dog has been first used for police and military dogs, which initially had caused some confusion. Other terms in the mix are Assistance Dogs, Service Dogs, Guide Dog, Dog Guide, Hearing Dog, Signal Dog, Seizure Response Dog, Seizure Alert Dog, Helper Dog, Companion Dog along with many others. Some names are specific and registered to the program that trained the dog, such as Seeing-Eye and Leader Dog, which are programs that train dogs to assist those with vision impairments.
The American's with Disabiltiies Act uses service animals. This term was to include animals that assist a person with a disability other than dogs. These animals included monkeys and minature horses to name a few. Another common term used is Assistance Dogs to describe a dog that assists a person with a disability of blindness, deafness, mobility, psychiatric, and other medical conditions. Some people consider service dog and assistance dog interchangable.
Some more confusion, Therapy Dogs are dogs that have past a certification test and are invited to visit hospitals, homes and other places where people and children can find comfort or therapy with a dog. These dogs do not fall under service animals. They do not have the same access rights as service animals. Remember, it is the disabled person that has the right to be in public with accomodations and they can choose to have an individually trained dog to mitigate their disability. A dog, no matter how many tests it has past does not have the legal right to be in public unless they are partnered with a person with a disability and has been trained to assist that peron's disability. Some state laws do allow therapy dogs on some public transportation since some cities only have public transportation and it is difficult to drive a private vehicle.
The internet has a wealth of information but with any information researched on the internet, there is no gaurantee it is accurace. The internet isn't monitored and there are no accuracy police. Anyone can create a web site, which leaves the internet open for misinformation being spread. Make sure during your research check your sources. If you are being instructed on such laaws, ask for specific cites and read those cites to make sure. When it comes to laws, read the law directly from a government source that leads that particular law, code, ordinance or regulation. On web sites, many people will voice their opinions about a law and will have their own interpretationm which may or may not be correct. If you still are not sure, then try a law library or contact a lawyer.
Public access is the biggest complaint and issue with those partnered with an Assistance Dog and businesses owners. Being prepared and being understanding to the other party will help ease the awkwardness. Under the ADA, a disabled person with an individually trained service animal can bring the dog with them in a public establishment. Also under the ADA, A businesses has the legal right to ask, "What tasks has your dog been trained?" To further reference this, you can read the ADA Business Breif:Service Animals document on the Department of Jutice's web site.
When a person is approached about their dog, this is an information exchange between the two parties, not an access challenge. The nature of some businesses might be that they attract a lot of people who have pet dogs and business owners want to comply with health codes and ordinances disallowing pets and comply with the ADA by allowing a service animal. To do so, they need to ask about the dog.
Even if a business owner does ask you a question that violates the ADA, we can respond in an open and informative way. Just as you are not current on every issue in the world, neither is everyone else. Each person has 100% control in how they respond and a person can respond with, "oh, I see you are interested that I have my service dog here who helps me. Are you familiar with Assistance Dogs?" This is just one of many ways to respond. Think of how you would want to be treated if you made a mistake and asked the wrong question. We have always appreciated the teachers who helped us learn, not get mad at us for asking the wrong questions.
If you carry a small card of information and references, this is very helpful. The ADA doesn't say you have to have an identification card or any kind of identification on your dog; however, it will make it much easier for businesses to identify your dog as a working dog. If you only have a leash, and no harness, cape or jacket, expect to be asked about the dog.
We can strive to make the exchanges more pleasant, but since we do live in the real world, there will be times that an exchange will not be smooth. Each day is a learning experience and there are many resources for people to learn how to communicate during conflict. Debi Davis writes an excellent article in how to channel to better behavior. Each of us will have our own style and I don't expect anyone to be as skilled and polished as Debi. I have also included some other positive information exchanges to help make the process go smoother.
Debi Davi's Positive ways of dealing with public access challenges
Page last worked on 8/28/06