At Your Service
BonnieThis is Dr. Bonita Bergin. She is the incredible woman who originated the concept of the "service dog" in 1975 to assist people with mobility limitations. Dr. Bergin then went on to establish Canine Companions for Independence, the world's very first service dog program. This was followed by her founding and becoming president of the Assistance Dog Institute (TADI) and Bergin University of Canine Studies. TADI is providing college programming, and doing research on training and the use of assistance dogs. They want to see just how much benefit these specialized canines provide for those persons who need them. They are doing this by:

Studying how to match the personality of an assistance dog with the personality of its human companion. This, of course, provides the best team partnership.
Studying the use of assistance dogs in Special Education classes for kids with severe disabilities.
Studying the use of therapy dogs for adults that are clinically depressed.
Studying what benefits emotionally disturbed kids & hospice patients get via interaction with assistance dogs.

There are several different kinds of service dogs that work in collaboration with humans. For example, we see guide dogs, hearing dogs, mobility dogs, seizure alert/response dogs, medical alert/response dogs for diabetes & heart disease, psychiatric service dogs, and social/autism dogs. There are also other types of dogs with jobs that help people, including therapy dogs and emotional support animals. According to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations, this is the 2010 definition of a Service Animal: (Click here to learn about modifications in policies, practices, or procedures)

Service animal means any dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability. Other species of animals, whether wild or domestic, trained or untrained, are not service animals for the purposes of this definition. The work or tasks performed by a service animal must be directly related to the handler's disability. Examples of work or tasks include, but are not limited to, assisting individuals who are blind or have low vision with navigation and other tasks, alerting individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing to the presence of people or sounds, providing non-violent protection or rescue work, pulling a wheelchair, assisting an individual during a seizure, alerting individuals to the presence of allergens, retrieving items such as medicine or the telephone, providing physical support and assistance with balance and stability to individuals with mobility disabilities, and helping persons with psychiatric and neurological disabilities by preventing or interrupting impulsive or destructive behaviors. The crime deterrent effects of an animal's presence and the provision of emotional support, well-being, comfort, or companionship do not constitute work or tasks for the purposes of this definition.

This video was created for the Canine Companions for Independence gala on October 27, 2007 to show what could not be expressed with words. It features Service Dog Team, Cole and Ilia Massie. Ilia is one handsome and smart dude, the best offered through his Golden Retriever-Lab breeding. In fact, he received ASPCA's 2008 Humane Dog of the Year Award.

In LA, you will never see Cole without his furry sidekick. In order to break away from being wheelchair-dependent, Cole underwent surgery in July 2008 so he would be able to walk again without assistance. Ilia travelled over 7,000 miles on six planes to be by Cole's side for surgery. He supported Cole through medical treatments and physical therapy, and he encouraged the boy throughout his road to recovery. These days, Cole is able to use his whole foot, and Ilia is still by his side, walking alongside him.

“He provides amazing incentive to Cole during therapies, doctor’s appointments and procedures,” says Cole’s mom, Michelle Massie. “He calms, inspires and motivates my son far better than anyone ever has.” Or, as Cole sums it up: “I like when he lies next to me in bed at night and we listen to Harry Potter on CD, and that he helps to clean me when I’m in the bath by licking my face and arms. He’s my furry brother and best friend—and a serious bed hog!

This past July, three years after boy and dog were paired by the nonprofit Canine Companions for Independence, Cole was faced with a difficult, but life-changing surgery. “He had walked on his toes, and his feet were totally rolled in,” says Massie. “The operation would allow him to use his feet and free him of the wheelchair.” “Cole was frightened by the idea of surgery at first,” remembers Massie. “We explained how much more independent he’d be afterward, but he wasn’t buying it. Finally, we told him that if he had this procedure, there was a very good chance he’d be able to walk Ilia on his own—with no parents and no walker.” After that, says Massie, “Cole would stroke the dog’s head in bed each night and whisper, ‘I will walk you, Ilia. I will walk you.’”

Did you know?
Service dogs are extremely important to those with disabilities. They include: guide dogs for the blind; hearing dogs that alert their humans to sounds; mobility assistance dogs who may pull a wheelchair or directly support a person; seizure alert dogs; medical condition alert dogs; and others. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, persons with disabilities are entitled to take service animals with them wherever needed.

Did you know?
Service dogs help people overcome the limitations of their disabilities & the barriers that they have in their environments. In 1995, a two-year study led by Dr. Karen Allen, found that people with disabilities who had service dogs actually scored higher for psychological well-being, self-esteem, and for the amount of control they could exert over their environment. Other studies tell us that self-esteem, independence & social acceptance are all improved. Research has shown that companion dogs can: Lower your blood pressure; Help lower your stress; Improve your motivation; Decrease your serum cholesterol; and, Lessen the effects of loneliness.

Did you know?
Goldens, according to Dr. Bergin, have proven to be the best breed for doing service work. That's because their calm disposition and strong body strength (needed for pulling wheelchairs) are important traits for having successful placements. However, it is very expensive to train service dogs. Presently, it costs more than $10,000 a dog. As service dogs are given to disabled people free of charge, much fund-raising is necessary to get these canines to the people who need them. The average waiting period to get an assistance dog is currently five to ten years.

Did you know?
Dr. Bergin has been looking at better methods of producing service dogs. She has developed a more cost-effective way of training the dogs. It involves getting help from at-risk teenagers in juvenile detention facilities. Only one professional instructor is needed, working with only five students at a time. This allows for careful, step-by-step instruction.

The kids teach their Goldens obedience skills such as sit, down, and stay from early puppyhood. There is also advanced training given to older dogs in the program. This includes turning on light switches, pulling wheelchairs, retrieving dropped items and handing money over the counter to clerks. This is achieved by having daily one-hour classes, which are part of the on-site school curriculum. Here is a young Golden learning proper wheelchair manners from a teenage trainer.

Everybody is benefiting greatly from this program. The teenagers have formed loving relationships with their dogs, based on trust and motivation. They've learned the value of positive reinforcement, consistency & praise, as these are the techniques used in training these Golden guys. And, they have gained pride and a sense of self-worth from their new success. The disabled persons who receive these service dogs have been amazed at how well-trained their new partners are from training provided by at-risk teenagers.  

Did you know?
There are also Assisted Service (Social) Dogs and Facility Dogs. An Assisted Service Dog placement is made with a disabled person who needs someone else's assistance to work with the dog. This type of dog is taught to perform interactive and practical tasks. Click here to read a wonderful article about using such dogs with disabled children. A Facility Dog placement is made with a trained professional who uses the dog for pet therapy and interactions.

Service Dogs are often utilized to provide demonstrations. This is a picture of Mary & Blake, with their TOP DOG's Sedona & Savannah. Here, they are talking to a large classroom of really fascinated kids. TOP DOG helps people understand lots more about disabled people and their service dogs. They have done hundreds of educational demonstrations for thousands of children and adults in schools, nursing homes, hospitals, and organizations in the Tucson area. The audience gets to see how a service dog assists its human companion in the daily activities we able-bodied take for granted. They show how their service dogs help them get dressed, turn lights on & off, bring a phone to them, and push or pull wheelchairs.

Here's Savannah again, with her companion Blake. He uses crutches due to a spinal cord injury. But, they both love the tennis courts. And, get this! Savannah even has her own membership card. She must think, 'what a dreamy life, to be surrounded by tennis balls!' Because as we all know, tennis balls are one of the most favorite things of our Goldens.

Did you know?
Assistance dogs are generally evaluated and trained by professionals through formal organizations. However, many programs that provide service dogs have long waiting lists, are out of state, or charge too much money.

Through new resources (DVDs, online groups, etc.), many in the disabled community are training their own dogs to help in everyday tasks. There are a multitude of tasks that dogs can be trained to perform that qualify the dogs as service dogs under federal law. In actuality, there are more owner-trained service dogs in the United States than the service dogs from all of the programs combined.

Meet Christina, the President of Paws to Freedom, a Service Dog Team education group, teaches those with disabilities to positively train their own service dog. Christina, who has Cerebral Palsy and uses a wheelchair, has a 2-year-old Golden named Maverick who she trained to be her assistance dog.

These videos feature a 9-month-old Maverick's turn and basket commands. The turn command helps dogs out of messes with their leashes, getting them to utilize their entire bodies. The basket command, which teaches dogs to use all four legs, when normally they're only aware of having two, helps when they need to get in close quarters such as an airplane. Christina used Barbara Handelman's Clicker Train your own Assistance Dog: A Four-Part DVD Series as a reference.


Did you know?
Sometimes, Goldens who train to become assistance dogs are released from the program due to medical or temperament related issues. They are referred to as Change of Career dogs. However, many of these pups go on to work in another program such as pet therapy or search and rescue.

Did you know?
Many assistance dog organizations choose the "best of the best" to become Breeder Dogs. These dogs are selected only after temperament and medical evaluations and are housed with volunteer Breeder Caretakers. The Breeder Caretakers of the females are responsible for whelping litters and caring for the puppies during their first 8 weeks of life. And, the Breeder Caretakers of the male dogs are required to have the dog readily and promptly available for mating purposes.


Above is a Christopher Reeve Foundation video on mobility service dogs

   
   
  Helpful Resources   Service Dog Books   Training Standards / Tasks
Nationwide Service Dog Groups Listing
Frequently Asked Questions
Emergency Preparedness
Diabetes: Medical Alert Dogs
Epilepsy: Seizure Alert Dogs
Service Dog Central: Psychiatric Service Dogs
Mitigating a World of Hurt: Psychiatric Service Dogs Stepping up to the Challenge
Is it an emotional support animal or a psychiatric service dog?
 
Working Like Dogs Service Dog Site/Guidebook
Healing Companions: Ordinary Dogs and Their Extraordinary Power to Transform Lives
Visual Impairment General Listing
Hearing Impairment General Listing
Mobility Impairment General Listing
Medical Impairment General Listing


 

Service Dog Standards
Hearing Dog Standards
Guide Dog Standards
Psychiatric Service Dog Tasks
Traditional Service Dog Tasks
Dog Partner Standards
Public Access Test
  Service  Dog Articles   Organizations   American with Disabilities Act (ADA)
Assistant Dog Enhances Life of Disabled Child
Getting a Seizure Alert Dog
Seizure Alert Dogs: The Struggles
Seizure Alert Dogs: First Time Meeting
Partnering with Correctional Facilities to Raise and Train Assistance Dogs
 
Assistance Dog International
Delta Society National Service Dog Center
International Association of Assistance Dog Partners (IAADP)
Assistance Dog United Campaign (ADUC)
Prison Dog Project
Americans with Disabilities Act
ADA Information Line
FAQ on Service Animals in Business Places
EEOC: ADA and Psychiatric Disabilities
Dept. of Justice Nondiscrimination on Basis of Disability: Proposed Rules June 2008

 

TaleTell: Your own Stories of Assistance Goldens
Meet some wonderful, hard-working assistance dogs, demonstration dogs, and dogs in training. And, if you have an Assistance Golden tale to tell, just send it along with photos to:
   back

 


Service Dogs & the Law: Modifications in Policies, Practices, or Procedures.
 

The Department of Justice has stipulated revised 2010 ADA regulations implementing Title II and Title III which includes the new definition of a service animal.

Service animal means any dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability. Other species of animals, whether wild or domestic, trained or untrained, are not service animals for the purposes of this definition. The work or tasks performed by a service animal must be directly related to the handler's disability. Examples of work or tasks include, but are not limited to, assisting individuals who are blind or have low vision with navigation and other tasks, alerting individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing to the presence of people or sounds, providing non-violent protection or rescue work, pulling a wheelchair, assisting an individual during a seizure, alerting individuals to the presence of allergens, retrieving items such as medicine or the telephone, providing physical support and assistance with balance and stability to individuals with mobility disabilities, and helping persons with psychiatric and neurological disabilities by preventing or interrupting impulsive or destructive behaviors. The crime deterrent effects of an animal's presence and the provision of emotional support, well-being, comfort, or companionship do not constitute work or tasks for the purposes of this definition.

***** § 36.302 Modifications in policies, practices, or procedures. (c) * * *

(2) Exceptions. A public accommodation may ask an individual with a disability to remove a service animal from the premises if:

(i) The animal is out of control and the animal's handler does not take effective action to control it; or

(ii) The animal is not housebroken.

(3) If an animal is properly excluded. If a public accommodation properly excludes a service animal under § 36.302(c)(2), it shall give the individual with a disability the opportunity to obtain goods, services, and accommodations without having the service animal on the premises.

(4) Animal under handler's control. A service animal shall be under the control of its handler. A service animal shall have a harness, leash, or other tether, unless either the handler is unable because of a disability to use a harness, leash, or other tether, or the use of a harness, leash, or other tether would interfere with the service animal's safe, effective performance of work or tasks, in which case the service animal must be otherwise under the handler's control (e.g., voice control, signals, or other effective means).

(5) Care or supervision. A public accommodation is not responsible for the care or supervision of a service animal.

(6) Inquiries. A public accommodation shall not ask about the nature or extent of a person's disability, but may make two inquiries to determine whether an animal qualifies as a service animal. A public accommodation may ask if the animal is required because of a disability and what work or task the animal has been trained to perform. A public accommodation shall not require documentation, such as proof that the animal has been certified, trained, or licensed as a service animal. Generally, a public accommodation may not make these inquiries about a service animal when it is readily apparent that an animal is trained to do work or perform tasks for an individual with a disability (e.g., the dog is observed guiding an individual who is blind or has low vision, pulling a person's wheelchair, or providing assistance with stability or balance to an individual with an observable mobility disability).

(7) Access to areas of a public accommodation. Individuals with disabilities shall be permitted to be accompanied by their service animals in all areas of a place of public accommodation where members of the public, program participants, clients, customers, patrons, or invitees, as relevant, are allowed to go.

(8) Surcharges. A public accommodation shall not ask or require an individual with a disability to pay a surcharge, even if people accompanied by pets are required to pay fees, or to comply with other requirements generally not applicable to people without pets. If a public accommodation normally charges individuals for the damage they cause, an individual with a disability may be charged for damage caused by his or her service animal.

(9) Miniature horses. (i) A public accommodation shall make reasonable modifications in policies, practices, or procedures to permit the use of a miniature horse by an individual with a disability if the miniature horse has been individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of the individual with a disability.

(ii) Assessment factors. In determining whether reasonable modifications in policies, practices, or procedures can be made to allow a miniature horse into a specific facility, a public accommodation shall consider--

(A) The type, size, and weight of the miniature horse and whether the facility can accommodate these features;

(B) Whether the handler has sufficient control of the miniature horse;

(C) Whether the miniature horse is housebroken; and

(D) Whether the miniature horse's presence in a specific facility compromises legitimate safety requirements that are necessary for safe operation.

(iii) Other requirements. Sections 36.302(c)(3) through (c)(8), which apply to service animals, shall also apply to miniature horses.

COMMENTS FROM THE DOJ ON ITS DECISIONS
Part 36: Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability by Public Accommodations and in Commercial Facilities - Species limitations. When the Department originally issued its title III regulation in the early 1990s, the Department did not define the parameters of acceptable animal species. At that time, few anticipated the variety of animals that would be promoted as service animals in the years to come, which ranged from pigs and miniature horses to snakes, iguanas, and parrots. The Department has followed this particular issue closely, keeping current with the many unusual species of animals represented to be service animals. Thus, the Department has decided to refine further this aspect of the service animal definition in the final rule.

The Department received many comments from individuals and organizations recommending species limitations. Several of these commenters asserted that limiting the number of allowable species would help stop erosion of the public's trust, which has resulted in reduced access for many individuals with disabilities who use trained service animals that adhere to high behavioral standards. Several commenters suggested that other species would be acceptable if those animals could meet nationally recognized behavioral standards for trained service dogs. Other commenters asserted that certain species of animals (e.g., reptiles) cannot be trained to do work or perform tasks, so these animals would not be covered.

In the NPRM, the Department used the term "common domestic animal" in the service animal definition and excluded reptiles, rabbits, farm animals (including horses, miniature horses, ponies, pigs, and goats), ferrets, amphibians, and rodents from the service animal definition. 73 FR 34508, 34553 (June 17, 2008). However, the term "common domestic animal" is difficult to define with precision due to the increase in the number of domesticated species. Also, several State and local laws define a "domestic" animal as an animal that is not wild.

The Department is compelled to take into account the practical considerations of certain animals and to contemplate their suitability in a variety of public contexts, such as restaurants, grocery stores, hospitals, and performing arts venues, as well as suitability for urban environments. The Department agrees with commenters´ views that limiting the number and types of species recognized as service animals will provide greater predictability for public accommodations as well as added assurance of access for individuals with disabilities who use dogs as service animals. As a consequence, the Department has decided to limit this rule's coverage of service animals to dogs, which are the most common service animals used by individuals with disabilities.

Wild animals, monkeys, and other nonhuman primates. Numerous business entities endorsed a narrow definition of acceptable service animal species, and asserted that there are certain animals (e.g., reptiles) that cannot be trained to do work or perform tasks. Other commenters suggested that the Department should identify excluded animals, such as birds and llamas, in
the final rule. Although one commenter noted that wild animals bred in captivity should be permitted to be service animals, the Department has decided to make clear that all wild animals, whether born or bred in captivity or in the wild, are eliminated from coverage as service animals. The Department believes that this approach reduces risks to health or safety attendant with wild animals. Some animals, such as certain nonhuman primates, including certain monkeys, pose a direct threat; their behavior can be unpredictably aggressive and violent without notice or provocation. The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) issued a position statement advising against the use of monkeys as service animals, stating that "[t]he AVMA does not support the use of nonhuman primates as assistance animals because of animal welfare concerns, and the potential for serious injury and zoonotic [animal to human disease transmission] risks." AVMA Position Statement, Nonhuman Primates as Assistance Animals (2005), available at www.avma.org/issues/policy/nonhuman_primates.asp. (last visited June 24, 2010).

An organization that trains capuchin monkeys to provide in-home services to individuals with paraplegia and quadriplegia was in substantial agreement with the AVMA's views but requested a limited recognition in the service animal definition for the capuchin monkeys it trains to provide assistance for persons with disabilities. The organization commented that its trained capuchin monkeys undergo scrupulous veterinary examinations to ensure that the animals pose no health risks, and are used by individuals with disabilities exclusively in their homes. The organization acknowledged that the capuchin monkeys it trains are not necessarily suitable for use in a place of public accommodation but noted that the monkeys may need to be used in circumstances that implicate title III coverage, e.g., in the event the handler had to leave home due to an emergency, to visit a veterinarian, or for the initial delivery of the monkey to the individual with a disability. The organization noted that several State and local government entities have local zoning, licensing, health, and safety laws that prohibit non-human primates, and that these prohibitions would prevent individuals with disabilities from using these animals even in their homes.

The organization argued that including capuchin monkeys under the service animal umbrella would make it easier for individuals with disabilities to obtain reasonable modifications of State and local licensing, health, and safety laws that would permit the use of these monkeys. The organization argued that this limited modification to the service animal definition was warranted in view of the services these monkeys perform, which enable many individuals with paraplegia and quadriplegia to live and function with increased independence.

The Department has carefully considered the potential risks associated with the use of nonhuman primates as service animals in places of public accommodation, as well as the information provided to the Department about the significant benefits that trained capuchin monkeys provide to certain individuals with disabilities in residential settings. The Department has determined, however, that nonhuman primates, including capuchin monkeys, will not be recognized as service animals for purposes of this rule because of their potential for disease transmission and unpredictable aggressive behavior. The Department believes that these characteristics make nonhuman primates unsuitable for use as service animals in the context of the wide variety of public settings subject to this rule. As the organization advocating the inclusion of capuchin monkeys acknowledges, capuchin monkeys are not suitable for use in public facilities.

The Department emphasizes that it has decided only that capuchin monkeys will not be included in the definition of service animals for purposes of its regulation implementing the ADA. This decision does not have any effect on the extent to which public accommodations are required to allow the use of such monkeys under other Federal statutes, like the FHAct or the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA). For example, a public accommodation that also is considered to be a "dwelling" may be covered under both the ADA and the FHAct. While the ADA does not require such a public accommodation to admit people with service monkeys, the FHAct may. Under the FHAct an individual with a disability may have the right to have an animal other than a dog in his or her home if the animal qualifies as a "reasonable accommodation" that is necessary to afford the individual equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling, assuming that the use of the animal does not pose a direct threat. In some cases, the right of an individual to have an animal under the FHAct may conflict with State or local laws that prohibit all individuals, with or without disabilities, from owning a particular species. However, in this circumstance, an individual who wishes to request a reasonable modification of the State or local law must do so under the FHAct, not the ADA.

Having considered all of the comments about which species should qualify as service animals under the ADA, the Department has determined the most reasonable approach is to limit acceptable species to dogs.

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