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Originally Posted by Dolcesmama_xoxo  2. Q: What is a service animal? A: The ADA defines a service animal as any guide dog, signal dog, or other animal individually trained to provide assistance to an individual with a disability. If they meet this definition, animals are considered service animals under the ADA regardless of whether they have been licensed or certified by a state or local government.
I am not in any way trying to find a "loophole" for the ADA. I have a disability which does not allow me to go places with crowds of people. Im not talking crowds like at a concert. Im talking crowds like at the grocery store. Like I stated before, I have anxiety/panic disorder to a degree where if I'm in "crowds" of people I hyperventilate and my hands cramp up where I can't even get to my medication in my purse. I have trained Dolce to get my medication which is in a pouch that she can grab for me. She is also the only thing that can calm me down enough while I wait for my medication to kick in. Anyway, I was only letting the poster know about these laws because I didn't even know about them myself until I started researching about them when my illness started to spiral out of control recently. I don't know anything about the poster other than they have a yorkie. They, and possible other people that post her on YT, might find the information useful if they are like me in any way. I'm in no way asking people to look for a loophole or break the law. I'm sorry that people took it that way. I didn't think I would need to explain myself and my situation to people, because I didnt think people would judge. Like I said before, the service dog would need to perform 3 tasks that you can look up a list for, and if the dog doesn't perform those tasks (which all have to do with helping a disabled person) then they don't qualify. *sigh* anyway, now i regret ever posting on this thread because it has just become a headache for me. I was just trying to explain some useful information for any people that it would benefit.
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I am fully aware of what a "service" animal is. I have a son that is special needs and my dog, cj is a service dog/therapy dog for him. However, there is a DISTINCT difference between the two. There is also a difference between and ESA (an Emotional Support Animal) and a PSD (Psychiatrica Service Dog) since youre all for quoting the ADA. I wasnt implying anything about you. I dont know you. I just wanted to know what were the three tasks a yorkie can do to qualify as a service dog just out of mere curiousity.
Just like the YT'ers on this forum is passionate about their babies and byb breeders, I am passionate about children and adults with special needs and I would hate for anyone to get the ideal from your situation that they can find a loophole just for the sole benefit of taking their furbaby anyway they feel they should go. It's an insult to my son and other people who require these dogs. She didnt mention anything about having any kind of disability in order for her dog to accompany her into Blockbuster.
BTW, your dog sounds like an ESA/Therapy dog, not a service dog. Since we're quoting things now, here we go:
"I can't go out alone because of social phobia; my dog makes me feel safe enough to go out to the grocery store and other places I need to go." This describes an emotional support animal, not a psychiatric service animal.
How can you tell the difference between emotional support and psychiatric tasks? Take emotion out of the equation by asking yourself what a robot might do to help you overcome a barrier to performing major life activities. Next ask yourself if a dog might be able to do the same thing. Then ask if a dog could be trained to do that thing.
Sometimes folks want emotional support so they look for a list of service dog tasks to try to justify their ESA as a PSD. This is the backwards way to select tasks and usually results in tasks which will not hold up in court. The courts have told us that tasks must: 1) be trained and not a natural behavior of the dog, 2) must mitigate the person's disability, 3) must be needed by that specific handler. Some examples that don't hold water:
medication reminders for someone who could just as easily check a clock or set a watch alarm
carrying medication for a person who could carry their own medication in a purse or pocket
retrieving a newspaper for someone who doesn't subscribe to a newspaper
public access for a handler whose dog's only task is to wake them, when the person doesn't fall asleep in public (which a person with narcolepsy might actually need help in managing, but most folks would not)
a dog who provides encouragement or affection so a person can take a test or visit a store
an attack dog to protect a victim of assault (see also IAADP's article on PTSD)
Please note that a dog which becomes upset when the handler is upset is not "alerting" to the handler's upset. He is responding to it and doing so in an emotionally unstable way. A psychiatric service dog should be extremely stable and not be drawn into their handler's emotional state, but rather remain calm, thinking, and working in spite of their handler's upset. Vomiting, trying to drag the handler away, and acting up are all indications of emotional distress in the dog. A therapist who joins the disabled person in "freaking out" is not professional, and neither is a service dog who does so. A person in emotional distress needs a solid rock to think clearly for them and guide and help them, be that a therapist or doctor, or service dog. They do not need someone "freaking out" or overly empathizing with them. Remember that the number one reason dogs bite is out of fear not aggression. A dog put into a situation that it is emotionally unable to handle is at risk of biting, something which can result in the dog being declared vicious and put down.