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Originally Posted by diva pup But to say an animal is a service dog that has had no formal training is stretching it. The actual service dogs have gone thru extensive training. What you seem to continually describe is a therapy dog, there is a big difference. I just had a conversation with my neighbor on this subject today. She has had therapy dogs and service dogs. There IS a difference.
Most of the restaraunts and buildings that do not allow dogs in our state do not say "service dogs only" they say "guide dogs only".
I do enjoy good health, I am lucky. But if I had high blood pressure or a migraine I simply can't see twisting the laws that are there for people that need them so I can take my dog to the mall. IMO it just really makes people question the animals that are truly needed. |
Thank you for the opportunity to once again reiterate what the law actually says. The more people read and understand the scope of the law the better for everyone. I am glad you are in good health and do not need to use your dog to assist you in your daily activities. Many of us are not so lucky.
Actually, you are not correct about the training required.
The law does not require any "formal" training, whatever that might mean. Service dogs do have to be trained to assist the person with the disability in some way, but the owner can train the dog. It is not "stretching it" to do so. It is perfectly acceptable and encouraged even. I do not know what you mean by "actual" service dogs but I assume you mean "seeing eye dogs since you have referred to them in previous posts and, depending on the severity of the disability, and the nature of the task being trained, a professional trainer might be necessary, but not always.
Yes, you are correct that
there is a difference between therapy animals and service anmals and I have always made that clear when the issue has arisen. Therapy dogs are not allowed access like service dogs are. I have never used the term therapy animals once in my discussions regarding service dogs except to point them out as being different and not subject to the same privileges.
The law which allows service dogs access to all public places is a federal law and supercedes all state and local laws so it is the controlling law in every state in the country and whether the sign in an estblishment opent to the public says "service dogs" or "guide dogs" is irrelevant. This law was enacted in 1990 and it allows all service animals who are assisiting a person with a disability.
I have done extensive legal research on the subject to the point of reading the majority of the case law. There is no "twisting the law" as you describe. These are legitimate uses of dogs that are allowed under the law and to imply otherwise is actually misrepresenting the nature of the law in my opinion.
For anyone who wants to do some research on their own to learn more the law is enforced by the Deaprtment of Justice and there are severe penalties for business owners who violate the law. There is a FAQ sheet they have printed to educate business owners about the law in layman's terms. It is located at
www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/qasrvc.htm
I always carry a copy of this with me for any business owner who is unfamiliar with the laws.
Of course, this just gives a periferal overview and is not an in depth analysis but I have done the in depth analysis and there is lots of info on the internet if anyone wants to look into it for their dogs and themselves.