Many people see the vest for therapy animals and automatically assume they are service animals, awarded the access privileges under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
And many people with therapy dogs mistakenly call them service dogs.
This is not the case.
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." Also according to the ADA, a 'disability' is a "mental or physical condition which substantially limits a major life activity" such as:
• caring for one's self
• performing manual tasks
• walking
• seeing
• hearing
• speaking
• breathing
• learning
• working
• as well as some disabilities that may not be visible, such as: deafness, epilepsy, psychiatric conditions
To be considered a service dog/animal, the dog/animal must be trained to perform tasks directly related to the person's documented disability, and they must be tasks provided in “response to commands” not just the ordinary pet actions such as kissing, cuddling, etc.
Changes to the rules of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) which pertain to service animals (Section 35.136) went into effect March 15, 2011.
The ADA has tightened their rules for what constitutes a service animal and no longer included are:
- Emotional Support animals
- Companion animals
- Comfort animals
The ADA’s revised definition of ‘service animal’ applies only to dogs and, in certain cases, miniature horses.
Therapy animals are animals trained and tested to volunteer with people other than their owners. While they certainly provide tremendous benefits to those they meet with, they do not perform a specific task to enhance their owners’ lives and have not trained or been tested to this standard.
Very misleading are “service” vests or apparel and identification cards that can be purchased online. There are very specific parameters for authentic ID cards and the testing for service dogs, and the proliferation of inappropriate labeling has led to the ADA tightening their rules and regulations.
Comments