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The legal definition of a service dog is defined by the U.S. Department of Justice as “dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities.” On a broader spectrum, a service dog is a trained dog that provides assistance to a person with a disability or impairment.
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 gave a more specific definition for service dogs: “dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities. Examples of such work or tasks include guiding people who are blind, alerting people who are deaf, pulling a wheelchair, alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure, alerting owners to a panic attack, reminding a person with mental illness to take prescribed medications, calming a person with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) during an anxiety attack, or performing other duties.”
The Americans with Disabilities Act was the first piece of law that paved the path for service animals and assistance animals. An assistant dog previously was really only a seeing eye dog. This opened up the door to different types of service animals to help thousands of persons with all different types of mental and physical disabilities.
Types of Service Dogs
It is extremely important to note that under Title II and Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), that Therapy dogs and Emotional Support Animals are not classified as service animals, and it is a Federal offense to misrepresent any animal as a service dog.
Some examples of animals that fit the ADA definition of “service animal” because they have been trained to perform a specific task for someone with a disability include, but are not limited to:
Guide Dogs
Carefully selected and trained dogs that serve as mobility aids for the blind, or those with severe visual impairments.
Hearing Alert or Signal Dogs
A dog that has been trained to alert a person who has a significant hearing loss or is deaf to particular sounds, such as a knock on the door or fire alarm.
Psychiatric Service Dogs
Dogs that are specifically-trained to detect the onset of psychiatric episodes and lessen their effects. Tasks performed by a PSD may include reminding a handler to take medicine, providing safety checks or room searches, for persons with PTSD, interrupting self-mutilation by persons with dissociative identity disorders, and keeping disoriented individuals from danger.
Seizure Alert Dogs
Dogs that assist people with seizure disorders. How a SR Dog assists someone depends on the individual’s needs. For instance, the dog may stand guard over the person during a seizure or the dog may go for help.
Sensory Signal Dog / Social Signal Dog
A dog trained to assist a person with autism. “SSig Dogs” alert their handlers to distracting repetitive movements common among people with autism, allowing the person to stop the movement (e.g., hand flapping).
Service Dog Requirements
- Service animals must be canines or miniature horses.
- Other species of animals, whether wild or domestic, trained or untrained, can not be considered service animals.
- The work or tasks performed by a service animal must be directly related to the handler’s disability.
- It does not matter if a person has a note from a doctor which states an individual’s need to have the animal for emotional support.
NOTE: A doctor’s letter does not turn a pet into a service animal.
What’s a Psychiatric Service Dog?
Psychiatric service dogs are Americans with Disabilities Act recognized service dogs that help their handler have a sense of independence in the world with their mental disorders or disabilities. Some common conditions these pups help with include PTSD, anxiety, ADHD, autism, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, etc.
Each dog is different, as is each disability, and all service dogs offer emotional support, but they have their own unique skill set to best suit their person as an assistance dog. Here are just a few examples of what a service animal can do.
- Bring water to their handler
- Give medication reminders at certain times of day
- Fetch any products their handler may need
- Create a safe space for their handler in public when overwhelmed
- Guide their handler to a safe spot during an episode
- Protect their handler in public if they feel anxious
- Provide tactical therapy during harmful behaviors
This is just a small list of what a service animal can do. An assistance animal received specialized training to learn these tasks and be able to provide vital support for their handler. It’s why it’s important to know the difference between an emotional support animal and an assistance animal. There is a reason they have rights and not to try and pass an emotional support animal as a service animal.
Click the below video to learn more about psychiatric service dogs.
Do you qualify for an ESA?Click here to find it out
Psychiatric Service Dog Rights
Speaking of rights, a service animal has certain rights protected by law. An assistance animal earns these rights by helping individuals with a disability navigate the world. Emotional support animals, community service dogs, and therapy dogs do not have these same rights. Let’s go over them.
- Public access rights: This means service dogs have a right to come with their owners anywhere, whether that be a store, a restaurant, a federal building, a museum, or anywhere else you can think of. A service animal has the right to go anywhere their handler goes. They are vital for people with a disability and must be allowed access, or else the facilities denying access are breaking the law. Some businesses or places may ask for papers or registration, but legally, you do not have to provide those. They may ask what you service animal does for you though, which they are allowed to by law to separate them from emotional support animals.
- Travel rights: These rights ensure that service dogs can travel with their owners anywhere they may go. Traveling can be especially triggering for those with a mental disability, so it’s important that their dog come with them on airlines to help them stay in control. This means they are granted access onboard planes, in airports, on trains, on public transportation and more. Special accommodations can be made for the service animal too, they have a right to sit in the cabin and the owner does not have to pay a fee for their assistant animal to fly. Some airlines may require ID cards or registration papers for service dogs as proof of their status to fly.
- Fair housing: Under the Fair Housing Act, service dogs can live in housing accommodations that don’t normally allow pets at no additional fee. This is backed by laws, including the Fair Housing Act This applies even if the housing location has a no pets policy. This way a service dog owner can have the support they need from their pup in their own home. Housing providers cannot refuse to make reasonable accommodations in all rules, policies, practices, or services when they are necessary for a person with a disability to live happily in the dwelling with their assistance animal.
- Educational Facility Access: Under the Individuals with Disabilities Act, service animals can accompany their owner into schools, colleges, universities, etc. This way owners can still continue their lessons and courses with their dog by their side. Any assistance animal must be allowed on the premises with their person if that disability prevents them from learning properly or thriving.
Service dog rights are always adapting and can differ depending on local laws and regulations, so be sure to check your local ordinances before attempting to adopt or train a service dog. Check all local and state laws and legislation to make sure you know you and your dog’s rights.
Service Dog Breeds
The most important things to consider when selecting a breed to be a service dog are the animal’s size, temperament, and receptiveness to training. Smaller breeds of dogs may struggle to perform their necessary tasks, and dogs that are too large may be difficult for a disabled person to transport.
That’s why most service dog programs and organizations train golden retrievers and labradors to be assistance animals, but many other breeds may also make suitable service animals.
According to Assistance Dogs International:
“A good service dog is not protective, is people orientated, not overly active, confident but not dominant or submissive. Service dogs should not require complex grooming as this could be a problem for their owner”
Service Dog Training
In order to be classified as a service dog under Federal law, and in order to fall under the legal protections afforded to service animals, a service dog must be specially trained to perform specific tasks that will aid a person with a disability.
As with all working animals, service dogs are held to a very high standard.
If a service animal behaves inappropriately becomes disruptive or aggressive, or interferes with the rights of others, then the animal may no longer fall under the legal protections afforded to service dogs.
This is why service dogs must be highly trained, calm and collected, even under stressful circumstances.
Service Dog Laws
In the United States, service dog laws can be separated into three areas:
- Case Law – decisions made by courts
- Federal Law – (both statutory and regulatory laws) and
- State Law
The primary federal laws governing service dogs in the United States are the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Fair Housing Act (FHA) and the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA).
Many cases that appear before judges are tried under both federal and state laws at the same time, and in the event that an individual is qualified for protection under both a Federal and a State law, whichever law affords greater rights to the disabled individual shall apply.
Read more about Service Dog Laws.
Service Dog Certification and Registration
Although there exists no shortage of websites that sell official-looking ID cards and vests for “service dogs”, therapy dogs and emotional support animals, registering or certifying an animal on such a site provides the handler with no discernible value.
As an owner/handler of a service dog, you are not legally required to register or certify your animal as a service dog and there is no official Service Dog registry in the United States.
In order to determine whether an animal is a bona fide service dog, the U.S. Department of Justice allows businesses to ask the following two questions:
- Is this a service dog required because of disability?
- What is it trained to do to mitigate the disability?
In order to qualify as a “service animal” under federal law, the dog must be trained to perform specific tasks which assist an individual with his or her disability.
Service Dog Resources
Check out our free guides for service dog handlers, which include:
- Handler Rights & Responsibilities
- Service Animals in Training
- Service Dog Laws and Enforcement
- Service Dog FAQ
See the complete collection of Service Dog Resources.
In the United States, service dog laws can be separated into three areas:
- Case Law – decisions made by courts
- Federal Law – (both statutory and regulatory laws) and
- State Law
Service Dog Laws and Requirements- Federal Law
The primary federal laws governing service dogs in the United States are the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Fair Housing Act (FHA) and the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA).
In order to be classified as a service dog under Federal law, and in order to fall under the legal protections afforded to service animals, a service dog must be specially trained to perform specific tasks that will aid a person with a disability.
As with all working animals, service dogs are held to a very high standard.
If a service animal behaves inappropriately becomes disruptive or aggressive, or interferes with the rights of others, then the animal may no longer fall under the legal protections afforded to service dogs.
This is why service dogs must be highly trained, calm and collected, even under stressful circumstances.
Service Dog Laws and Requirements- ID Cards and Vests
Although there exists no shortage of websites that sell official-looking ID cards and vests for “service dogs”, therapy dogs and emotional support animals, registering or certifying an animal on such a site provides the handler with no discernible value. As an owner/handler of a service dog, you are not legally required to register or certify your animal as a service dog and there is no official Service Dog registry in the United States.
In order to determine whether an animal is a bona fide service dog, the U.S. Department of Justice allows businesses to ask the following two questions:
- Is this a service dog required because of a disability?
- What is it trained to do to mitigate the disability?
In order to qualify as a “service animal” under federal law, the dog must be trained to perform specific tasks which assist an individual with his or her disability.
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