Small Breed Service Animals Article

[SoCalyorkiLvr]

Originally Posted by LvMyYorki

So Kim since there is a distinction between service versus seizure- Are your dogs trained as service dogs or seizure alert dogs?

This makes no sense. Don't know how to answer except to continue to state that my dogs are service dogs. No one in my family suffers from seizures. Did you read the entire thread before posting?

[LvMyYorki]

i thought you posted previously that the tranining was different for service versus seizure dogs. That is why i was asking about which type of traning your dogs had received.

[Maddie-Rudy-Mom]

I don't think any one is picking on anyone, I think people are just asking questions about all the info that is being posted. If it seem like someone is being picked on, maybe it is because she is posting all the info people have questions about. Is it wrong to ask question or should we just not post when we don't agree with something?

[LvMyYorki]

I agree Maddie-Rudy-Mom...when one person comes forth as an expert in an area, as Kim has done in the service dog area, there is somewhat of an obligation to answer questions from other members whether they agree or disagree.

[Laura]

I guess it did not seem to me that she was an expert, just another dog lover giving us some useful information, and something that she knows about and has some experience first hand.

[LvMyYorki]

Originally Posted by SoCalyorkiLvr

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.

Laura- This is the post from KIm that I was referring to where states that she has done indepth legal research on the issue.

[Laura]

Well, I read that Tara; but she is saying she has done research, also gave the link to the government fact sheet. I actually find it admirable for someone to do research. I mean, I guess is there something wrong in what she is saying there?

I understand that you guys don't want people to take advantage of the rights of the handicapped. I don't park in handicapped parking, or in the yellow striped area by that, or in fire lanes. But I would be the last to criticize someone who does. Who am I to say that the reason they have is not valid? I do my best not to judge a persons motives for what they are doing. Maybe she truly wants to help people that didn't know these opportunities.

Whoever said they did not know about dogs being able to help with migranes - I want to find what it is they do and how they can be trained for her. I know it's out there, it is just not always so easy to find.

[LvMyYorki]

Laura- That was my original question...since the training is different for service dogs versus the training for seizure dogs, I wanted to know which area Kim's dogs are being trained in.

[Laura]

Oh! That makes sense, I think she said she did not train them for seizures, just that it could be done if that is a need. Or maybe that was just part of the article she was referring to?

[LvMyYorki]

Hee hee hee... Its late and a lot of info, so I may have started scanning! My bad!

[Laura]

I think it is later there than here, and I better get to bed. Zowie is calling me and she needs to go to sleep before she wakes the house. Ya'll have a good night!

[Maddie-Rudy-Mom]

Laura, your in Texas like me and I know it is late, but I am not sleepy. All the furbabies are sleeping in here with me, got two in one bed and one on a rug. It's peaceful with three sleeping furbabies, but as soon I get up they all will right behind me teady to get in bed. Nite.

[centralnewyorki]

Kim,

Thanks for the articles. I think it's great that you continue to post information on service dogs. Properly trained service dogs have the potential to help so many people that aren't aware of this possibility. We have dozens of new people on YT each month. Not to mention new research that is continually being done. If you had only posted once on service dogs, I may have missed the information since I joined YT after you. It's not something that I, or many other people, have thought about it the past, and wouldn't think to search YT for the info. I hope in the future that you continue to post information on service dogs.


As Diva Pup mentioned "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 think that's exactly Kim's point. People have dibilitating issues other than being blind. I just read a "Dear Abby" type of letter in the paper; a woman wrote saying that her father has severe anxiety attacks and can not go to her wedding. Obviously this man is not able to live life to the fullest if he has to miss his own daughter's wedding; his quality of life is just as important as someone who is blind, in a wheelchair, etc. What if having his Golden retriever sitting in the church would help? You can't always pin-point the ills a person has. There are medications that help some of these diseases/illnesses, but not everyone is willing to live their lives on a prescription drug (because of side-effects, etc) Not to mention that prescriptions don't always help everyone. As Lexi's_Mommy said, Kim isn't asking anyone to fake a disability to be able to take your dog to the mall.

(and from the biased opinion of a dog-lover):Actually, IMO, any individual that is "dis-able" to live their lives in a way that is equally as satisfying as any other individual should be able take their dog into a store for 5 minutes if that's what it takes. I would hate to think of some poor person staying home all day every day because they suffer from anxiety attacks and establishments won't allow the one item that makes that person feel secure- their dog. I think this is no different than a person in a wheelchair sitting home all day, every day because everywhere they want to go doesn't have access ramps. The person with the emotional disability is not able to control their situation any better than someone with a visible physical disability.

[MeganS]

Originally Posted by SoCalyorkiLvr

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.

I agree there are a lot of other problems out there that you would never imagine that people need service dogs for. a lot of people do use them for migrains. some use them if they have arthritis, MS, in a wheel chair, or if they just can't move the right way. just because a problem isn't as serious as someone who can't see doesn't mean its not improtant and needs to be addressed. so socalyorkilvr really seems to know what she's talking about and also has a lot of expierance so i agree with her 110%!!!! if every single service dog had to go through "formal" training that means the owners would have to wait longer for help and the dogs might not become service dogs . if the owner can train them to do what they have to do then no extra training is needed.