Tag: Service animal

Canine Companions

Canine Companions is one of the most reputable service dog training facilities operating nationwide. This link, https://canine.org/service-dogs/service-dog-month/ provides an excellent overview of the differences between service dogs, therapy dogs, facilities dogs, and ESAs.  

More to the point, it provides some very concerning statistics about the problems created for service dog users by the inappropriate presence of other animals in public settings. There are consequences to allowing untrained animals to go where they shouldn’t be.

To learn more about Canine Companions, visit, https://canine.org/about/

Is this a Service or an Emotional Support Animal

So you’ve received a request to permit an animal on campus. Now what? The answer is not always straightforward and it is always determined on a case-by-case basis.  But, the steps below can help guide your analysis.

Institutions may ask two questions about dogs identified as service animals.

  1. Is the dog required because of a disability?
  2. What work or task has the dog been trained to perform?

The student or staffers answers will guide how you proceed.

The critical  issue is one of task-training, NOT the nature of the disability.  What is the TASK the dog has been trained to perform?

  • If the dog has been trained to perform tasks related to the disability, then it’s a service dog, regardless of what type of disability it is.
  • Conversely, if the dog has not been task trained, then it is NOT a service dog regardless of  the type of disability the handler has.

Example: Just because a person is blind, deaf, or a wheelchair user, does not entitle that person to have access with an untrained pet dog just for emotional support. Conversely, because a person’s disability is psychiatric or balance related, does not entitle you to deny access for a dog who IS task-trained for that person’s disability.

Terminology used is meant to be descriptive of what the dog DOES for his/her handler: “Psychiatric service dog,” like “mobility dog,” “guide dog,” or “hearing dog,” is a term that merely identifies a particular type of service dog.   They are ALL service dogs. They are ALL covered by the ADA.

If the handler is a person with a disability, and if the dog is trained to perform assistance tasks related to the disability, then it is a service dog.