About the Dogs

General Assistance Dogs

What Is a Service/Assistance Dog?
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." To be considered a service dog, the dog must be trained to perform tasks directly related to the person's disability.

Service animals are legally defined (Americans With Disabilities Act, 1990) 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."

Dogs that assist people with disabilities are termed "Assistance Dogs" or "Service Dogs". Those dogs actually need to do something to help with the disability. In return, they are allowed anywhere you could take another medical device, such as a wheelchair. The dogs may or may not do actual physical work for their handlers; for example, some deaf people use very small dogs who can alert them to sounds.

A person who has a disability and uses a dog to help compensate for abilities lost as a result, is guaranteed the right to be accompanied by that dog in any place where the public is usually invited. This right is guaranteed by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), which is a (US) federal law. Some (US) states also have laws concerning access with a Service Dog. The state laws may include restrictions as far as equipment that must be used, certification, trainers, and so on. The rule is that where the federal law allows you more rights, it prevails.

Please be aware that the ADA does not mention service dogs in training. Many state laws do. In that case, the state law is the ONLY one that applies; however, once your dog is no longer "in Training", you are protected by the federal statute mentioned previously. (a page with links to US state & federal laws, as well as links for Canada, Mexico, and Native American laws, can be found at http://www.lawsource.com/also/)

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