Service Animals

Introduction

Service animals are defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) as “any dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability.” Service animals are limited to dogs and miniature horses in some situations. Trained service animals can often help people with disabilities gain independence, increase one’s ability to participate in activities, and even provide invaluable emotional support.

Specifically, for people with limb loss or limb difference, service dogs can be trained to retrieve or hold items, turn light switches on and off, aid with dressing, and much more. They can also increase mobility independence by opening doors, pulling a wheelchair or by acting as a balance or brace for transfers. Unlike traditional adaptive equipment, dogs are extremely sociable animals who love to be with people. They can provide much-needed companionship, unconditional love and support, vastly reducing loneliness.

Other Working Animals

• Emotional Support Animal – Any animal that provides emotional support alleviating one or more symptoms or effects of a person’s disability. These animals provide companionship, relieve loneliness, and sometimes help with depression, anxiety, and certain phobias, but do not have special training to perform tasks that assist people with disabilities. Emotional support animals are not limited to dogs.
• Therapy Animals – Animals that provide people with healing contact, typically in an institutional or clinical setting, to improve their physical, social, emotional, or cognitive functioning. They are not trained to perform a specific task for an individual with a disability.
• Comfort Animals – Animals that work during active crises, they offer a calming distraction to those impacted in an active disaster or emergency. They are not trained to perform a specific task for an individual with a disability.

An individual with a disability can use or interact with any of the working animals listed above. However, only dogs who have received specialized training to perform a specific task or tasks for an individual with a disability are considered to be service animals.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

• What if I have a doctor’s note that says I need my emotional support animal at all times, does that make it a service animal? 
  No. A note from a doctor that states a person’s disability and need for an emotional support animal does not declare that animal to be a service animal.
• Can I take my emotional support animal to work?
  It depends. Employers are required to provide reasonable accommodation when requested by an individual with a disability. Title I of the ADA covers employment. Title I does not limit the type of animal that an individual with a disability can take to the workplace. This means, allowing a service animal or an emotional support animal to accompany an individual with a disability may be considered an accommodation.
• Is having paperwork to state that my dog is a registered service animal sufficient proof?
  No. The service animal industry is filled with fraudulent “paper mills” and websites that promise paperwork for your dog. However, the ADA has no requirement for a service animal to be “certified,” there is not an official registry, and a certificate affords the owner no more rights than someone without one.
• What questions is someone allowed to ask me about my service animal?
  The ADA limits the questions you can be asked. When a person with a service animal enters a public facility or a place of public accommodation, the person cannot be asked about the nature or extent of their disability. A public accommodation or facility cannot ask for documentation or proof that the animal has been certified, trained, or licensed as a service animal. They are also not allowed to demand a demonstration of the tasks the service animal can perform. Only two questions may be asked:
  1. Is the animal required because of a disability?
  2. What work or task has the animal been trained to perform?

Common Misconceptions About Service Animals

• A service animal must wear a vest.
  False. Vests can be worn by service animals as a way of communicating with the public, but it is not required. There is no requirement for the service animal to wear any form of identification or for the owner to carry any identification proving the animal is a service animal.
• A service animal will never bark.
  False. While service animals are often better trained than most pets, some dogs are actually trained to bark. Such is the case with some medical alert dogs.
• Pit bulls and other “banned” breeds can never be service animals.
  False. Evin in areas where some breeds are banned, a service animal may be any breed of dog. The decision to exclude a service animal cannot be due to a generalized fear of the breed and must be based on the actual dog’s behavior.
• Service animals do not have to follow local laws to license or maintain vaccination requirements.
  False. All service animals and their handlers must follow local laws to license and or keep vaccinations up to date.
• Service animals must complete training programs to be considered “real” service animals. 
  False. The training needed for service animals to be able to perform tasks for individuals with disabilities varies, but the ADA does not require that service animals complete an official training program.
• Businesses are not allowed to ask an individual with a service animal any questions about the service animal.
  False. There are two questions that a business is allowed to ask when the need for the service animal is not apparent. They are, “Is the animal required because of a disability?” and “What work or task has the animal been trained to perform?”
• Businesses are not allowed to exclude a service animal or ask that it be removed.
  Under specific conditions, businesses have the right to exclude or remove a service animal. This may apply to the following situations: If the accompaniment of a service animal would jeopardize the safe operation of the public accommodation, if the animal is not housebroken, or if the handler cannot take effective action to control the animal’s behavior.
• It is illegal to claim a pet is a service animal.
  It depends. Many states prohibit this, but the laws vary from state to state. See the Table of State Service Animal Laws below for comprehensive state-by-state information.

Resources on Legal Rights Regarding the Use of Service Animals

ADA Revised Requirements: Service Animals
ada.gov/service_animals_2010.htm

Frequently Asked Questions About Service Animals and the ADA
ada.gov/regs2010/service_animal_qa.html

Service Animals and Emotional Support Animals: Where Are They Allowed, and Under What Conditions?
adata.org/publication/service-animals-booklet

Service Animal or Emotional Support Animal: What is the Difference?
adata.org/service-animal-resource-hub/differences

Table of State Service Animal Laws
animallaw.info/topic/table-state-assistance-animal-laws

Service Dog Programs and Organizations

Assistance Dogs International
assistancedogsinternational.org/members/programs-search

Canine Companions for Independence
cci.org

Canine Partners for Life
k94life.org/programs/servicedog

Freedom Service Dogs of America
freedomservicedogs.org

Genesis Assistance Dogs, Inc. (Florida residents only)
genesisassistancedogsinc.org/blog/how-to-get-a-service-dog-in-florida/

Little Angels Service Dogs
littleangelsservicedogs.org

Pet Partners
petpartners.org

International Association of Assistance Dog Partners
iaadp.org

New England Assistance Dog Services (NEADS)
neads.org

Operation Overwatch
operationoverwatch.org/service-dog-training-program

Service Dogs for America
servicedogsforamerica.org/programs

Smoky Mountain Service Dogs
smokymountainservicedogs.org

Additional Resources

How to Keep Your Pets Safe While Driving
carcovers.com/carresources/how-to-keep-your-pets-safe-while-driving/

United States Department of Transportation-Service Animals
transportation.gov/resources/individuals/aviation-consumer-protection/service-animals