All About Service Animals

Service dogs are sometimes called “guide dogs”wear a vest identifying them as a service dog and a
or “assistance dogs.” These dogs are speciallysign asking people not to pet the animal because he is
trained to work with people who are disabled, includingon duty. Service dogs even get to ride without being
the visual or hearing impaired, but it is not limited toplaced into carriers when they travel with their owners
those two disabilities. A service dog, as defined by theon trains, busses, and planes. Public accessibility of
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is “any dogservice dogs varies according to country and region
that is individually trained to do work or perform taskswhich gives them equal access to anywhere the
for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including,general public is allowed, such as grocery stores and
but not limited to, guiding people with impaired vision,theaters. Some regions require the person to carry ID
alerting people with impaired hearing to intruders orexplaining that the dog is a service dog.
sounds, providing minimal protection or rescue work,Service dogs come in all breeds and sizes, although
pulling a wheelchair, or fetching dropped items”many trainers prefer to work with Labradors and
(ADA Subection 36.104, 1990).Golden Retrievers because they're known for their
In order to get a service dog, a person has to applygreat temperament. They are selected for their ability
and be evaluated to assure that he/she is suitable toto respond well to obedience commands that aren't
have a guide dog and then that person's name getstoo aggressive, that aren't too hyper, and that are
placed on a waiting list while the most suitable dog forfriendly and intelligent. Puppies chosen as service dogs
that person's disability is found or trained. Most peoplefrom breeders, animal shelters, or donated by owners
who have service dogs have to pay for that servicego to obedience training first and then more specialized
out-of-pocket, though a few are available free oftraining. Dogs can be trained to retrieve dropped
charge or are available through financial assistance.objects, open the refrigerator, open/close doors, turn
The dog and the disabled person have to be trainedlights on/off, assist people across streets, and other
together over a period of months in order to learn howduties. Families now use service dogs to work with
to work together before the dog can be permanentlytheir autistic children. Other dogs are trained to assist
placed in the disabled person's home.people with hearing impairment by alerting their owners
Before readying a dog to be a service dog, they goto sounds such as someone knocking on the door or
through a year-long program, starting as puppies,ringing the door bell, telephones, and smoke alarms.
where they learn to get acclimated to being aroundMobility service dogs help people transfer from their
others, going into different types of establishments, andwheelchairs, with dressing/undressing, with balance
preparing for multiple types of situations. There areissues while standing at cash registers, etc. There are
private organizations that train service dogs,even dogs for people with psychiatric disorders where
not-for-profit organizations that use volunteers to trainthe dog's job is to keep them calm while they're out in
service dogs, and more recently, prisons havepublic.  
instituted programs where selected inmates train dogsThere are many different types of service dogs who
for service.provide care to our loved ones. Next time you're out at
Service dogs are allowed to go inside places wherea large public venue such as a mall, large church, or
regular dogs aren't allowed to go, such as restaurants,other venue, look around to see if there are service
airplanes, banks, and so-forth. Service dogs usuallydogs on duty.