[nagdu] ADA definition of service animals

Julie J. julielj at neb.rr.com
Tue Dec 31 22:06:08 UTC 2013


The ADA defines a service dog as being individually trained to mitigate the 
handlers disability.  So this means that:

1. the dog has to have had individualized specific training to do tasks or 
perform work that directly offset a disability

2. the handler of the dog has to have a disability that qualifies under the 
ADA, examples given are seeing, hearing, walking etc.  Some disabilities are 
mental/emotional/chemical in nature.  A disability does not need to be of an 
obvious physical nature.

3. the tasks the dog is trained to do have to coincide with the handlers 
disability.  I am blind and have a guide dog.  If I were deaf a guide dog 
wouldn't be considered to be a service dog for me because it isn't trained 
to do anything that mitigates my hearing loss.   Of course if I was blind 
and deaf a guide dog or a hearing dog or a combo trained dog would all be 
able to mitigate some portion of my disability, so would be considered to be 
service dog.

Make sense so far?

Generally when we talk about an emotional support dog it is in reference to 
a dog that only gives comfort to it's handler by its presence.   That's not 
a service dog because it hasn't been trained to do any specific task. 
Emotional support dogs are allowed under the Fair Housing Act, but not the 
ADA.

If the handler's mental impairment is at a level to be considered a 
disability, meaning it has to interfere with daily life and the dog has been 
individually trained to do something to assist the handler with managing his 
disability, then that would be a service dog.  So let's say the handler has 
PTSD and will experience a severe panic attack if he sees a person wearing 
camouflage clothing.  His dog is trained to notice this type of clothing and 
alert the handler and move him to a safe area out of sight of the triggering 
clothing pattern.  The dog has been individually trained to do a specific 
task.  The handler benefits directly from this disability related task. 
This is a service dog.

Still make sense?

Now if the handler has some sort of disability and has a service dog trained 
to provide assistance related to that disability, but the handler also 
benefits from the emotional comfort the dog provides, it is still a service 
dog.

Frequently news stories that talk about emotional support dogs do nothing 
but increase confusion and misunderstandings of the laws.  If the person 
just likes to have their dog along, that isn't a disability.  If the dog 
isn't trained, it isn't a service dog.

Julie





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