Our guest post comes from Kaitlyn Joseph who is Director of Puppy Raising for Pawsitive Service Dog Solutions. Kaitlyn has raised 15 Guide Dog Puppies and was a Guide Dog Puppy Club leader for five years. She has also volunteered for Dogs4Diabetics. She is majoring in Psychology. In her spare time, Kaitlyn has also shown dogs in AKC Obedience and Dock Diving.

Almost everyone knows what a therapy dog is. They visit people in hospitals; care homes; schools, and other places to provide emotional support. What a lot of people don’t know, is that these dogs are still considered pets under the ADA Laws (Americans with Disabilities Act).

While it is very fun to take your dogs everywhere you go, you are not only breaking the law, but sabotaging it for those who truly need their dog with them to save their life. Claiming a dog as a service dog when you aren’t disabled or the dog isn’t trained can cost you future benefits, such as social security even when you would normally qualify (ie when you retire). In some states, it is also a criminal offense that can result in fines over $50,000 and/or jail time.

“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.”

Therefore, therapy dogs do not have public access rights. Therapy dogs would fall under this category because their sole function is to provide comfort and support. Another type of dog that would fall under this category is a “Companion Dog,” because they are not trained to do a specific task. Essentially they are glorified pets that people are passing off as service dogs.

The ADA Laws meant to protect people with legit service dogs has made it harder for business owners to identify who has a well trained service dog and who is trying to sneak their dog in as a companion animal. According to the ADA, “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.”

This is a constant and very recent issue. Everyday there are people walking or carrying their dogs in stores claiming it to be a Service Dog. The general public as well as business owners need to be educated on what is legitimate and what is clearly not a service dog.

Think PAWSITIVE!