The Basics

Welcome to pawsitive adventures 

Welcome everyone, my name is Kye and I have a service dog 

Today I will be going over the Basics of what you should and need to know about service dogs and being a service dog handler. Before we get started i'd like to invite you to join my Facebook group pawsitive adventures fan page. Okay so some of the Basics you want to get extremely educated on Is something called the Americans with disabilities act, you will hear a lot of handlers call this the A.D.A Laws one of the most biggest and most important law that is a MUST KNOW is what business may ask and what they can not .

Let's start with 

What Service animals are:

-Dogs

-Any breed and any size of dog

-Trained to perform a task directly related to a person’s disability

What Service animals are not:

Required to be certified or go through a professional training program

Required to wear a vest or other ID that indicates they’re a service dog

Emotional support or comfort dogs, because providing emotional support or comfort is not a task related to a person’s disability

What is allowed to be asked:

• Is the dog a service animal required because of a disability?

• What work or task has the dog been trained to perform?

What is not allowed :

Request any documentation that the dog is registered, licensed, or certified as a service animal

Require that the dog demonstrate its task, or inquire about the nature of the person’s disability.

Now you may be asking yourself what are task ? Some task may be

- A person who uses a wheelchair may have a dog that is trained to retrieve objects for them.

A person with depression may have a dog that is trained to perform a task to remind them to take their medication.

A person with PTSD may have a dog that is trained to lick their hand to alert them to an oncoming panic attack.

A person who has epilepsy may have a dog that is trained to detect the onset of a seizure and then help the person remain safe during the seizure.

When a Service Animal Can Be Kept Out?

A business or state/local government does not need to allow a service animal if the dog’s presence would fundamentally alter the nature of the goods, services, programs, or activities provided to the public.

When can a service dog be asked to leave the premise?  

A business or state/local government can ask someone to remove their service animal if:

-The dog is not housebroken.

-The dog is out of control, and the person cannot get the dog under control.

Now that we have gone over the overview of the basics of service dogs we will now go over some scenarios that may happen in your everyday life while having a service dog ,

Oh no you got hurt and have to go to the hospital, the paramedics try to tell you that your service dog can't go . You then explain to them :  my service dog is legally required to ride with me,  if the space in the ambulance is crowded and the dog’s presence would interfere with the emergency medical staff’s ability to treat the patient, staff should make other arrangements to have the dog transported to the hospital.

You're at a buffet and a angry employee comes marching over yelling at you telling you to get your service dog out of the restaurant what should you do?:  Explain respectfully that Service animals must be allowed to accompany their handlers to and through self-service food lines. Similarly, service animals may not be prohibited from communal food preparation areas, such as are commonly found in shelters or dormitories

You enter a store when you are stopped by a manger who is demanding a identification card for your service dog ! What do you do?:  I'm sorry but The ADA does not require service animals to wear a vest, ID tag, or specific harness. You can only ask me two legal questions

1. Is that a service dog trained to aid your disabilities

2. What task does the dog preform (no they are not asking your disability just asking what task the dog was trained to aid you)