Assistance dog
Encyclopedia
An assistance dog is a dog
trained to aid or assist a person with a disability. Many are trained by a specific organization, while others are trained by their handler (sometimes with the help of a professional trainer).
In the United States, there is minimal education as to what and where these dogs are allowed to accompany their owners/handlers. The general public and even law enforcement is not aware of Federal as well as additional state legislation (in some states) that expands upon the rights of owners and their dogs. Society does not always realize that a dog of this caliber is no longer considered a "pet" but more akin to a medical device such as a wheel chair, insulin instruments, etc. These dogs do no require special credentials, certification, or a certifying agency to validly qualify under Federal laws. Though many organizations (not the ACK) do assist and validate through testing and issuing credentials in many forms. Owners and/or dogs are not required to have these documents. This misconception has led to a subsequent abuse of the protections afforded in both Federal and state specific legislation. Hence, owners/handlers are advised because of lack of public knowledge to carry credentials that include items such as name, picture, identification, ADA and US Department of Justice excerpts to avoid "misunderstandings" and limit the owner and dogs access. Additionally, an owner is never required to divulge what specific medical need a dog serves. This includes dogs that are banned in some areas, communities, and over areas and geographies that are banned based on Breed Specific Legislation (BSL.) These include the banning of incorrectly branded "aggressive" breeds; most notably Pitbulls.
Dog
The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...
trained to aid or assist a person with a disability. Many are trained by a specific organization, while others are trained by their handler (sometimes with the help of a professional trainer).
Classification
There are three general "types" in which an assistance dog may be further classified. Most assistance dogs will be trained for only one of these, though "combination" dogs do exist.- Guide dogGuide dogGuide dogs are assistance dogs trained to lead blind and visually impaired people around obstacles.Although the dogs can be trained to navigate various obstacles, they are partially color blind and are not capable of interpreting street signs...
s assist the blindBlindnessBlindness is the condition of lacking visual perception due to physiological or neurological factors.Various scales have been developed to describe the extent of vision loss and define blindness...
and the visually impairedVisual impairmentVisual impairment is vision loss to such a degree as to qualify as an additional support need through a significant limitation of visual capability resulting from either disease, trauma, or congenital or degenerative conditions that cannot be corrected by conventional means, such as refractive...
.
- Hearing dogHearing dogA hearing dog is a specific type of assistance dog specifically selected and trained to assist people who are deaf or hearing impaired by alerting their handler to important sounds, such as doorbells, smoke alarms, ringing telephones, or alarm clocks...
s, or signal dogs, help the deaf and hard of hearingHearing impairment-Definition:Deafness is the inability for the ear to interpret certain or all frequencies of sound.-Environmental Situations:Deafness can be caused by environmental situations such as noise, trauma, or other ear defections...
.
- Service dogService dogA service dog is a type of assistance dog specifically trained to help people who have disabilities including visual or hearing impairment, and also to help people with mental disabilities including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and severe depression...
s refers to dogs not specifically trained for visual or hearing impairment, but trained to do other work, such as mobility assistance dogMobility assistance dogA mobility assistance dog is a service dog trained to assist a physically disabled person. Among other tasks, they are commonly trained to pick up objects, open and close doors, and operate light switches...
s, seizure alert dogs or other medical alert dogs, and psychiatric service dogPsychiatric service dogA psychiatric service dog is a specific type of service dog trained to assist their handler with a psychiatric disability, such as post-traumatic stress disorder or schizophrenia....
s. In the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the term "service dog" may be used synonymously with "assistance dog," and is occasionally used for other types of working dogWorking dogA working dog refers to a canine working animal, i.e., a type of dog that is not merely a pet but learns and performs tasks to assist and/or entertain its human companions, or a breed of such origin...
s as well. These dogs can in some instances be dual classified as Therapy Dogs. Also any of the above named dogs "in training" are protected under the ADA and ADAA (the later which expanded some legal protections,) even if the handler at the time is not "using" the dog in the capacity for which it is being trained. In most of the rest of the world a distinct separation between service dogs and assistance dogs is observed.
In the United States, there is minimal education as to what and where these dogs are allowed to accompany their owners/handlers. The general public and even law enforcement is not aware of Federal as well as additional state legislation (in some states) that expands upon the rights of owners and their dogs. Society does not always realize that a dog of this caliber is no longer considered a "pet" but more akin to a medical device such as a wheel chair, insulin instruments, etc. These dogs do no require special credentials, certification, or a certifying agency to validly qualify under Federal laws. Though many organizations (not the ACK) do assist and validate through testing and issuing credentials in many forms. Owners and/or dogs are not required to have these documents. This misconception has led to a subsequent abuse of the protections afforded in both Federal and state specific legislation. Hence, owners/handlers are advised because of lack of public knowledge to carry credentials that include items such as name, picture, identification, ADA and US Department of Justice excerpts to avoid "misunderstandings" and limit the owner and dogs access. Additionally, an owner is never required to divulge what specific medical need a dog serves. This includes dogs that are banned in some areas, communities, and over areas and geographies that are banned based on Breed Specific Legislation (BSL.) These include the banning of incorrectly branded "aggressive" breeds; most notably Pitbulls.
See also
- Assistance animal
- Autism service dogAutism service dogAn autism service dog is a service dog trained to assist a person with autism, to help them gain independence, confidence, and the ability to perform activities of daily living similar to anyone else...
- Dogs for the DisabledDogs for the DisabledDogs for the Disabled is a UK-based charity training and providing accredited assistance dogs to children and adults with impaired mobility due to physical disabilities.-History:...
(in the UK) - Guide dogGuide dogGuide dogs are assistance dogs trained to lead blind and visually impaired people around obstacles.Although the dogs can be trained to navigate various obstacles, they are partially color blind and are not capable of interpreting street signs...
- Hearing dogHearing dogA hearing dog is a specific type of assistance dog specifically selected and trained to assist people who are deaf or hearing impaired by alerting their handler to important sounds, such as doorbells, smoke alarms, ringing telephones, or alarm clocks...
- Medical response dogMedical response dogA medical response dog is a specific type of service dog specifically trained to help mitigate an individual's medical disability. Typically, they are dogs whose job does not handle primarily epilepsy or psychiatric-based conditions, though some seizure response dogs or psychiatric service dogs may...
- Mobility assistance dogMobility assistance dogA mobility assistance dog is a service dog trained to assist a physically disabled person. Among other tasks, they are commonly trained to pick up objects, open and close doors, and operate light switches...
- Psychiatric service dogPsychiatric service dogA psychiatric service dog is a specific type of service dog trained to assist their handler with a psychiatric disability, such as post-traumatic stress disorder or schizophrenia....
- Service dogService dogA service dog is a type of assistance dog specifically trained to help people who have disabilities including visual or hearing impairment, and also to help people with mental disabilities including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and severe depression...
- Seizure dog
External links
- Service Dogs and More - A large print site about Assistance Dogs
- Assistance Dogs International
- Christy Hill's Assistance Dog page no longer exists, please go to her business page
- Delta Society's National Service Animal Resource Center
- DMOZ Open Directory Project: Service Dogs
- International Association of Assistance Dog Partners
- Service Dog Central (includes guide and hearing dogs as well)