Here’s one of world’s greatest descriptions of a dog: “[Gander looks like] … the canine version of a forgetful old literature professor in a corduroy jacket with patches at the elbows.” I’ve never met Gander, but the photos of him remind me of a grown-up, bachelor party version of Little Orphan Annie’s dog, Sandy. With muscle and gravitas. Sort of a “Sandy joined the Marine Corps but still plays with marbles” kind of dog. And Sandy is a hero, there’s no doubt about it. Gander is the dog that Freedom Service Dogs placed with a man named Lonnie, who suffered from PTSD and autoimmune issues that can make mobility almost impossible some days. Lonnie sums it up simply: “Gander saved my life.”
Before he got Gander, Lonnie rarely slept and had paralyzing panic attacks several times a day. This is a smart, articulate man, a military veteran who won prestigious awards for his poetry, who spoke around the country and the world at universities, Health Care Conferences and was a full professor on the faculty of two health sciences academies, among many other accomplishments. In other words, a successful professional struck down by a series of events, some of which he described to me as “worse than horrific.” But now that he has Gander, life is different. When Lonnie and Gander return home at night, Gander turns the lights on before Lonnie enters so he is not forced to walk into a dark room. Gander stands between Lonnie and jostling crowds in public places, and will even put his paws on Lonnie’s chest in an environment likely to cause panic attacks. “Time to leave Dude.” Lonnie is smart, and when Gander “talks,” he listens.
Gander (who is up for Dog Hero of the Year for the American Humane Association) is a Psychiatric Service Dog (PSD), a dog specifically selected and trained to assist people with psychiatric challenges (like PTSD) or developmental neuronal disabilities (like autism spectrum disorder). They are distinct from “therapy dogs,” in that they 1) live full-time with the person in need and 2) are trained to respond in specific ways that ameliorate the challenges their owner or charge is facing. Some examples of a PSD’s tasks are interrupting a person with OCD and redirecting him or her, entering a dark a room or house first to assure their owner that there is no danger, waking up someone with PTSD from a nightmare, and reminding their owners to take their medication.
I was motivated to write about this for several reasons, one being a raft of questions about PSDs after a brief comment here and on Facebook related to grading papers for my UW class on “The Biology and Philosophy of the Use of Psychiatric Service Dogs.” The student’s first paper focused on the biological issues, (broadly defined) and included a description of the dogs, what knowledge we have about their effectiveness and how the job might impact the welfare of the dogs themselves. Here is just some of what the students and I learned, related to the costs and benefits of PSDs.
HOW EFFECTIVE ARE THE DOGS? There is a raft of anecdotal evidence that suggests that in some contexts, the dogs can be life savers. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs Department, [scroll down to “Veterans Affairs” for the pdf on service dogs] veterans diagnosed with PTSD have reported less hyper-vigilance, better sleep (sometimes being able to sleep at all), an increased sense of security and a decrease in the need for psychotropic medications. However, there are concerns that most of the evidence of effectiveness is “subjective” and anecdotal. Although I’ve been trained as a scientist, or perhaps because of it, I find the concern about a lack of “data” interesting. Given that most of the symptoms of PTSD are subjective themselves (increased fear, vigilance, lack of ability to sleep, intrusive re-enactments etc.), why would we not believe vets when they say the dog is helping them? We base the effectiveness of pain medication on the reports of people who take it, because what matters is that the person feels better, not what an MRI tells us about activity in the areas of the brain that mediate the perception of pain.
Certainly we have a great deal of evidence that the presence of a dog increases the level of oxytocin in the body in most people, and that oxytocin can have a profound (and positive) effect on the body and the mind. In an earlier blog about AAA and AAT (Animal Assisted Activities and Animal Assisted Therapy) I cited studies that found even brief visits from dogs decreased the perception of pain after surgery, that petting dogs boosts one’s immune system and makes us feel safer and more secure. (If you are interested in more about AAA and AAT dogs I have a DVD of a 1/2 day seminar on that very topic.)
It’s not much of a stretch to generalize the potential positive effects of the right dog on someone suffering from conditions like PTSD or autism spectrum disorder. However, that doesn’t mean that dogs are good for everyone. Dogs are a lot of responsibility, and are require far too much care and attention for some patients. Every dog, of course, is not appropriate for every person–just finding and training dogs stable enough to be PSDs is a huge project, requiring not just the selection of the right dog, but hundreds of hours of training time to match a dog and a patient. This is not to say that I am not in support of more research; it would be extremely helpful to gather data about predictors of good matches, more about the mechanisms that create the positive effects and what is needed to prevent problems from occurring. However, a need for more information doesn’t negate what we have already, and if we use the same criteria for PSDs as we do for pain killers, it seems we already know a lot.
WHAT ABOUT THE DOGS? Asking if the presence of a dog can truly help someone suffering from neurological issues is one thing, but it’s another thing altogether to take the perspective of the dog. That was, in part, the charge of my students, to ask what effects being a working PSD might have on the dogs themselves. Here are some of the concerns:
Are the dogs themselves safe? Some psychiatric disorders result in lack of impulse control and an increase in aggression. That is why the good programs (examples are Freedom Service Dogs in Denver and Pathway Home, to name a few) are exceptionally careful to screen potential recipients and only place dogs in homes in which they believe that the dogs are safe and the person will benefit rather than being overburdened.
How hard do the dogs work? Obviously this varies greatly, but a study by Burrows et al raised concerns about dogs placed in families with children with autism spectrum disorder. The authors found that some of the dogs were expected to be “on” for most of the day, and were allowed too little time to rest. In some cases, the children were borderline abusive to the dogs, and the parents, in the author’s opinion, were not aware of the dog’s visual signals of discomfort and distress. Clearly, I would argue, the welfare of the dogs themselves should be a high priority, both for the sake of the dog and for the safety of others. (Tragically, in 2012 a service man’s PSD killed a six-year old boy. The veteran was suffering from PTSD himself, but there is no way to know what triggered the dog’s behavior.) However, the incident brings up the next question:
What effect does the work have on the dog? What is it like for a dog to live with someone who is anxious all the time? I asked this question of Lonnie, wondering what effect his symptoms have on Gander. Refreshingly honest, he answered me by referring to the “empaths” of Star Trek, who took on the emotions of others to free up the victims. “Sometimes I think that describes Gander,” a dog who is not only rock solid but seemingly in touch with the emotions of others. Lonnie describes Gander as a dog who intuitively senses when others are needy, and goes to them and offers exactly what that person needed at the time. What is the cost to Gander? We’ll never know, but it does seem that in his case he is truly a dog that has found his calling, and from talking to Lonnie, I expect that Gander has a wonderful home with an owner who loves, respects and adores him. You can read more about them on Lonnie’s blog, Veteran Traveler. Full disclosure: I’m voting for Gander for Dog Hero of the Year as soon as I finish writing this blog, not just for his work with Lonnie, but for protecting a young girl from what looked like a serious attack from another dog.
This “new work” of dogs is a huge issue, and I’ve only touched on a small piece of it. Currently the US Department of Defense has stopped funding PSDs for veterans until there is more research to support their effectiveness. (Go to veteran, author and PSD dog owner Louis Carlos Montalvan’s site to find his blistering criticism of this decision.) There are also controversies about whether the dogs must all be trained by organizations like Freedom Service Dogs or self-trained. The list goes on, but hopefully this introduction will spark some conversations about this very new, and very ancient, “work” of dogs… making people feel better.
MEANWHILE, back on the farm: We had a contest on Facebook to name one of the ewe lambs we’ll be keeping as part of the flock. One lamb is the daughter of my favorite ewe, Lady Godiva, a lovely, benign and prolific ewe who gives us healthy, wonderful lambs year after year. This year she had triplets, and unlike all the other ewes with triplets, she is raising them herself and they are thriving. (Rosebud had triplets and rejected one at birth (Ralphie), Solo had triplets but almost died in the process and her smallest female has been on a bottle since birth, and Spot had triplets but couldn’t milk out of one side of her udder and now out of neither, so all 3 are 100% bottle lambs.) Every year I have hoped for a ewe lamb from Lady Godiva, and finally this year she had 2 boys and one female. The little girl’s distinctive markings and her curious, outgoing personality is probably why I have become so attached to her. Here she is, with her new name, courtesy of “Name the Lamb” contest winner Cindy M and in a pose fitting of her name and personality– I give you (drum roll) Lady Baa Baa:
For those of you not on Facebook, we had 488 entries, many of which suggested more than one name. Wow. That prolific response inspired me to use the suggestions for the other lamb that we will be keeping, the female lamb of lead ewe Barbie, who had twins this year. I have also waited for a female lamb from her, because although she can be an absolute witch to dogs (not anymore to Willie, we got that sorted out this spring), she has gorgeous lambs and has been a trouper mother over many years. Although she is black, her lambs are both all white, and because we have several others who look like clones, I haven’t gotten to know her as well.
However, I spent some time with Barbie’s female lamb the last few evenings, and chose the name suggested by Micheal C, because she reminds me of a cupcake with vanilla icing. We’ll see if she stays sweet, or becomes The Enforcer as she gets older, like her mother. Here she is, our little Cupcake, with Momma Barbie staying close by:
And here are Spot’s triplets, who are still being bottle fed five times a day. The lambs were struggling for weeks, they couldn’t seem to get the hang of doing more than nibbling on the bottle, but they are thriving now. Whew. [Thanks to Katie for coming out and taking the photos!]
Sherry in MT says
I adore this post as I’ve wondered many of the same things you’ve posed as questions. Agree with much of what you have said as well. Oh and Lady Baa Baa was the PERFECT end to a long (short) week! Thanks so much for all of your insights as always! Sharing this with a number of trainer friends of mine that are involved in some of the pilot work for PSDs with the VA here.
Kerry M. says
My first puppy raised dog was placed as part of a working team two weeks ago. One of the first things I heard about his new person was that, “he can be difficult.” This caused me no small amount of worry because while this could definitely be said about myself and almost everyone I know, I hope it’s not one of the first things people think of. And I kept wondering what this would mean for my pup if it was code for easy to anger or something along that line.
I was so relieved to find out a week later that this was merely a misunderstanding on my part and that they meant, “can be difficult… to understand.” Phew! I can’t tell you how relieved I was after meeting the nice young man who got my pup. I think you raise a good question that just because dogs can help people, it doesn’t always mean its the right placement for the dog. Cheers to the service groups that really work to protect their dogs.
Sharon C. says
I have had the privilege of working for an organization similar to Freedom Service Dogs,. We have trained dogs for combat veterans with both physical disabilities as well as emotional/psychological challenges. We have also trained many dogs for work with children on the autism spectrum as well as Down’s Syndrome. When our clients come for the two-week training with their children, the change in the children is just magic to watch. The adults who rely on our Trauma Assistance Dogs for PTSD are also effusive in describing how much these dogs enable them to live more independently and functionally.
Jon Katz, in “The New Work of Dogs”, recognized that the jobs we give dogs are far different from the ones we gave them just 100 years ago. Thanks for the reminder that we have to take the dogs’ needs into consideration as well as what they can do for us.
Laura says
Tricia,
the lambies are so cute!
Thanks for writing this post. I’ve been wondering for a long time many of the questions you had your students answer. I’d love to go to school again, just to take a class with you. I think it would be so much fun. Anyway, I used to be of the opinion that PSds were simply companion dogs, that their owners just took them out when they felt like having their Fluffy with them that day. I didn’t understand what disability or disabilities they helped to midigate. I now know what kinds of tasks they can perform and am in full support of their existence in the Service Dog world. However, I am relieved that theJustice Department has set specific guidelines requiring handlers of service dogs to be able to show what special tasks their dog can perform that helps midigate their disability. I don’t want to sound harsh, but I’m simply speaking from experience. I’ve encountered people in my daily life that have been handling dogs which they claim are their “service dogs.” These dogs were sometimes out of control and presented a danger to my guide. When I asked the handler what the dog did for them, they couldn’t give me any answer. They would usually say something like, I use her for emotional support. Well, what does that mean? I wasn’t particularily put out by the fact that the dog was with them in public, especially if the dog as friendly and nice, but if the dog was posing a threat to my guide dog, such as growling, barking, and in one case, lundging at my dog’s face, I got upset. I rely so heavily on my dog for my own safety, that any attack from a dog has the potential to put his career in danger and I can’t let that happen. I believe this is what legitimate PSDs and their handlers are struggling to overcome. The idea that you can take your pet out and claim it is a service dog I think has become easier with the advance of owner-training and patches and coates which are easily available on the internet. by that, I’m not saying that someone can’t legitimately train their own service dog, but I would be in favor of certification from a PSD or any other service dog trainer at the end of the training, depending on what you’re training the dog to do.
Back to my main point. I wanted to touch on something you said in your post Tricia. Dogs make us feel better. Believe me, there are many days that I’m glad I have Seamus at work with me, and not just because he is my guide, but because sometimes, it’s just comforting to have him to pet and snuggle with. I understand that, but I hear, with worrying regularity, in places such as the vet’s office, the pet store and the park, “Oh, that’s such an amazing dog… I wish I could take my dog out with me everyday.” What those sentements tell me is that, the public doesn’t really understand what the relationship is like between a handler and their service dog. It isn’t always fun to go out everyday with Seamus. it’s necessary for me, but sometimes, he can be down right annoying to have around. He requires much more care and attention from me than I ever gave a pet. but he is my lifeline, something I can trust when their’s no one else around. I know he will keep me safe and when I read stories like Lonny’s, I tear up, because I understand exactly what he is saying with out him having to say it. We as handlers Need our dogs. It isn’t some decision like wondering if you’ll make French toast or pancakes that morning, we have to have them in our lives, to guide us, to protect us from our nightmares, to alert us to danger and it’s a relationship that I really do believe, goes further than the pet/owner bond. ok, now that I’ve written a novel, I’ll sit back and read the rest of the comments.
Happy Friday everyone!
Beth with the Corgis says
Lady Baa Baa!! I love it!
From all I have heard, PSD’s can be life-changing for their people. And as long as they perform a task instead of the more generic “bring comfort” they are protected by ADA. What a wonderful gift for dogs to give to people.
I think it takes a special dog to be a PS dog. I know mine would be awful at it; they are too easily upset by unexpected mood changes from their people. I have often mentioned that very little bothers Jack, but one thing that does bother him is any tension in the house. If I am angry, it does not matter if I am quiet about it and give no outward signs; he knows and responds with obvious distress.
I know of someone who did pure-breed rescue and had a dog come in who was wonderful with everyone but horrible with children, and she found the home that surrendered him had a child with a developmental issue who behaved unpredictably around the dog.
And I’ve related my story of Jack’s two bad experiences with mentally challenged adults; since then he will avoid adults who have mannerisms that indicate there is an underlying condition of some similar nature.
I’ve known other dogs who are perfectly relaxed even if their people are upset or loud or arguing or whatever, so surely the dog’s innate tolerance is part of the issue.
And of course the person they are placed with would make a difference too; breaking an OCD pattern, say, is probably not as stressful to most dogs and dealing with a child with autism might be.
I do have some concerns about self-training by owners, and I have also personally seen people who have comfort dogs that they incorrectly label service dogs just so they can bring them everywhere. The issue I have with this is that if there are poorly trained or reactive dogs out in public places being used as (or claimed to be) service dogs, there will be push-back from the public and other service-dog users. This could lead to tighter regulations, which would make more hoops to jump through for the already difficult and expensive process of training and matching dogs to owners. I would hope that everyone realizes just how crucial service dogs are to their handlers’ well-being, and therefore avoid the temptation to pass off a pet as a service dog, or take a self-trained dog with less-than-stellar obedience out in public.
When service dogs were mostly guide dogs, it was not very likely that someone would be able to successfully pass a pet off as a guide dog. But with the expansion of service dogs into so many areas (which is a good thing) the potential for misuse of the system becomes that much greater.
ABandMM says
I would like to reiterate the point that Laura alluded to regarding having a certification process. Laura, is there a national accredation process for seeing eye/guide dogs for the blind/vision impaired? I know that Fidelco is one organization. Are there others? I’m just wondering if there are aspects of how guide dogs for the blind are trained and accredited that can be used with respect to training PSD and having their task-specific training recognized.
I do not doubt that properly trained PSDs are essential for providing safety, physical and emotional benefits for their human. However, I worry about the “emotional support dogs” that Laura referenced above who have not been properly trained and do not have to proper skills to function in a public setting (i.e reactive towards other dogs and/or certain people).
My emotions are so much better when I am around my (pet)dog, but I would never claim her to be an “emotional support dog” or PSD. That is gaming a system. I hope that the organizations that are training PSDs are working together to define a set of standards for both the trainer (i.e. their skills, experiences) and for the dog (common skill set si.e. CGC, TD certifications , ability to work in public settings, and then specific task training).
I would be against “self-training” your own assistance dog (for whatever the purpose: PSD, diabetic or seizure alert dogs), I think they should be trained by someone with a documented level of expertise in that area and by an accredited organization. This helps to document and legitimize the dog’s training and skills.
In addition, by using experienced trainers/organizations, some of the concerns raised by your students: how to match the dog with an appropriate human/family; instructing the human part of the team how to recognize stress and fatigue in the working dog, and how to give the dog “time off to recharge” can be properly addressed.
If these various PSD training organizations can unite, perhaps with the help of scientists, they can come up with a way to scientifically and objectively measure the benefit of these dogs so that funding for training these service dogs can be restored.
Thanks for an informative post. Lady Baa-Baa…. I love it. Maybe you can send some of the wool from when you shear her to the original Lady Gaga-Gaga for her next exotic costume :).
Peter E says
I think anyone who has ever bonded with a dog knows they have psychological super-powers. Although I hope I don’t really need the help from Steve the Wonderdog, I’m always boosted by his unflagging enthusiasm when he greets me at the end of a particularly trying day. As a kid, I was one of those who poured out his secrets to the family dog, knowing that he had no idea what I was saying but feeling better just to have someone *so* interested in my problems. If that’s not psychiatric counseling (even without the couch) I don’t know what is.
So when I read this kind of background and thoughtfulness to the issue of certifying PSD dogs and validating their human partners’ need for them, I’m drawn to conclude that their utility is really not a yes/no question, but one of degree. The work professionals do in this area is really stunning, and a testament to the “power of the paw” in the bond between humans and (hu)man’s best friend. But it works because the raw material is already in place.
*Laura* – If you live in the Madison, WI area and have attained the age of 60, you can enroll in classes at no charge as a senior auditor. Just Google “uw madison senior audit”.
Kat says
In my classroom on Wednesday I had two registered Therapy Dogs, one from TDI, one from Pet Partners; a 4 month old yellow lap puppy being raised to be a handicapped assistance dog, a 4 month old GSD being raised as a potential guide dog, a 9 month old Cotton Dog in training as a hearing assistance dog, and a year old rescue mix being evaluated for potential service dog work. It was fascinating to me to see the differences in the dogs in light of their possible career paths. All the dogs were calm and polite. The rescue mix was initially stressed but calmed down enough to nap on the floor. She was wearing a yellow ribbon on her leash and her handler explained the meaning (dog in need of space) to the kids. The therapy dogs were interested in the kids and while attentive to their handlers cues were clearly focused on the people they could visit. The Hearing Assistance trainee was happy to be there, enjoyed the petting and attention but was clearly waiting for one of those sounds he’s supposed to alert to–like a person chatting with a friend while waiting for the oven timer to signal dinner was done. The Lab and the GSD were the most fascinating to me. As chance would have it they were born on the same day. The Lab was unflappable even at 4 months. She was totally focused on her handler and while she was happy to greet the kids and receive petting that wasn’t her interest. The potential guide dog GSD always had one eye on his handler and one on the environment constantly looking to see what else was going on. He accepted the petting and attention from the kids but he seemed to regard it as one of those things people do to him that wasn’t unpleasant; for him petting and attention from others was a neutral stimulus. I was totally fascinated with the range of jobs represented in the room and the different types of attitudes demonstrated by the dogs. It was a fun class, great for the kids to learn more about service dogs and what they can do for people and great for the dogs in training to be in a roomful of kids ages 5-9 as one more place to practice their work/training.
Frances says
I love the brilliant lamb name!
And another thank you for this post – I have often wondered how service dogs cope with the possibly unpredictable and inconsistent behaviour of their humans, and have read some very worrying forum posts elsewhere from service dogs owners, especially those training their own dogs – and, of course, some amazing posts demonstrating the strength of the bond that there can be between dog and human.
Slightly off topic, but something that came up just the other day. I have a blind friend staying – he can distinguish between bright light and darkness, but has no functional sight. He is just about to retire, and is considering getting a guide dog – he hasn’t in the past as he felt that a life of train journeys and boring days in the office would not be much fun for the dog! His wife and I were laughing at something my dogs were doing while playing and describing it to him, and we got into a discussion of how it was obvious to us but not to him that the blood curdling noises they were making were play growls, and not serious. And from there into how much of the interpretation of dog communication is based on body language, and tiny gestures like a tongue flick or side glance. I am sure dog owners who are unable to see their dogs learn to pick up on other signals, and that their dogs learn to communicate in other ways, but I would be fascinated to know how.
Nicola says
I have two examples relavent to this discussion. First, my younger dog, Tam is my first positive trained dog, yet despite never having aversives used, and rarely raising my voice, even in praise, he was the least enthusiastic of my dogs when it came to training, and any effort which didn’t result in click/treat caused him to shut down. In fact, I suffer from depression, and some days I could use him as a barometer to determine how anxious I was. On those days, we did quick training sessions (under 1 min) practicing things he knew very well (sit, down), because he also hated it when he didn’t get his turn. In the end, I took him to a vet behaviourist who diagnosed anxiety & we are now treated that with drugs and behaviour modification. This is an example of a dog, who while sensitive to my needs, would have a terrible life as a service dog – he just couldn’t cope.
On the other hand, my Tenterfield terrier, initially trained with a check chain, for many years functioned as an informal service dog. When I was agrophobic, she would accompany me, sometimes hidden in a bag, and gave me confidence to deal with the world. She was delighted to accompany me and never stressed by the people or children we met. Unfortunately as she got older, just about the time I discovered I could have her trained as an official assistance dog, she was severely frightened by an elderly woman and snapped at her. On a younger person, the snap would not have left a mark, on an elderly person, it (just) broke the skin. This meant she would never have been suitable as an assistance dog. I learnt from the situation, and it never happened again, but the point for me was that she was bonded to me, loved me, yet not stressed or anxious by my moods. Properly trained, she may well have enjoyed assistance dog work.
Rebecca Rice says
This is a fascinating discussion. One thing that I am woefully ignorant of is what happens to service dogs after they retire. The reason that I am curious is that I was at a BAT seminar recently, and one of the people there mentioned in conversation that he was going partly to learn how to handle his therapy dog, who was becoming head shy from having so many people doing things to his head (since a lot of dogs don’t like being patted on the head, and a lot of people like doing that to dogs, I can see how this could happen). As a therapy dog, worse comes to worse, the dog retires and has a wonderful life as a pet. But with a service dog, especially one from an organization that comes with a hefty fee, I can see people potentially delaying retiring a dog that shows signs of finding the job too stressful because they can’t afford to replace the dog, find the service the dog provides too valuable to do without, or don’t want to deal with having a retired dog around the place if they get a new service dog. So what sort of retirement plans do service dogs have?
Rose C says
I have yet to read the blog post itself but I love the pics! Thanks for letting us peek into your ‘farm’ world. Very much appreciated. 🙂
Margaret McLaughlin says
Very interesting post &links, thanks, Tricia. Service dogs are a subject close to my heart, since I am now raising my 18th guide dog puppy. I share Laura’s concern about owner-trained (possibly not that well trained) service dogs, or, worse yet, pet dogs being passed off as service dogs making it more difficult & even more dangerous for service dog users. Many times I have had people tell me, “I want a jacket like that so I don’t have to leave my dog in the car!” & I know at least one person reprehensible enough to have done it.
My first dog got me off medication & out of therapy (my psychiatrist said he was going to start prescribing dogs; this was in 1995) but he was not a PSD. I took him everywhere I legitimately could, even to church, & got him certified as a TDI therapy dog so he could come to work with me in a healthcare facility, but he was there for the residents, not for me directly.
Since the need for a PSD, like pain meds (great analogy) is subjective, I could see ‘prescriptions’ for dogs coming from physicians. Some kind of nationally recognized system of need & certification IS needed.
Robin Jackson says
As always, I very much enjoy your blog! Just wanted to mention that the US Department of Veteran Affairs is taking a slightly different position that just the “benefits are anecdotal” one, although they’re definitely still in the “needs more study” phase. But they’re also saying through the National Center on PTSD that for most patients PTSD is a “transitional” condition, meaning with appropriate treatment (usually a combination of cognitive behaviour therapy and meds) the person can control their symptoms. And they feel service dogs are most suited to those with permanent disabilities.
So if someone has a bad leg break and is expected to be in a wheelchair for 4 months but then be OK, you probably don’t give them a service dog. If someone is expected to use a wheelchair permanently, you might.
They also suggest that PTSD patients with service dogs might stop trying to learn to do things without the dog, making other therapies less effective. If you depend on the dog to turn on the lights in a dark room, you might stop trying to regain your prePTSD ability to turn them on for yourself. http://www.ptsd.va.gov/public/pages/dogs_and_ptsd.asp.
This is an interesting position. It wouldn’t apply to, say, a dog for someone with autism, which is at present considered a permanent disability.
Many different opinions on all this, of course, but since the VA position affects a large client population, their operating principles do impact a lot of the conversation among training programs. This is where all sides agree “more study is needed.”
Robin Jackson says
With regard to certification: in the US, the Department of Justice which administers the ADA continues to hold that no formal certification is required for any service dogs, including guide dogs for the blind. It is perfectly legal to owner train, and some blind people have owner-trained their own guide dogs. Under the Fair Housing Act administered by HUD,you still don’t need “certification” to have a service dog in no pets housing. However, under some limited circumstances you may be asked to provide proof of the dog’s training as well as verification of disability. These generally apply to situations like employment, long term housing, and some school situations as opposed to “passing through” situations like riding a bus or going into a store. The ADA infoline can answer any specific questions. http://www.ada.gov/service_animals_2010.htm
The big exception in the US is military bases. As of 2013 US military policy defines a “service dog” as a dog who is a graduate of either an Assistance Dogs International (ADI) or International Guide Dog Federation (IGDF) program. These are both independent trade organisations that don’t certify individual dogs, but do certify training programs that meet their standards. Member programs can be large or small, but all are nonprofits and have to meet standards not just for their training curricula but also for welfare of the clients and dogs, such as agreeing to take back any graduate dog whose partner can no longer care for him/her. They also require specific amounts of afterplacement visits. http://www.assistancedogsinternational.org/
Other countries like Japan and England mandate similar standards for any assistance dog working in no pets areas. But in the US, whether it’s a guide dog for the blind or a service dog for a person with PTSD, no certification is required except in areas subject to military jurisdiction.
If for some reason the courts get involved, like a person wants to sue a store for not allowing access, then proof of the dog’s training and taskwork may be required. But the dog still doesn’t have to be “certified.” Again, the ADA infoline can answer specific questions.
However, certification or not, the ADA does require that a service dog be housebroken, not aggressive, under the control of the handler, and not interfering with the essential nature of the business/facility. A dog who barks, growls, lunges, steals food, defecates, etc can be asked to leave even if she was trained by the most reputable program in the country. So no one should have to put up with a badly behaved dog in a no pets area regardless of the person’s disability or the dog’s training credentials.
Kat says
One of the things that strikes me is the huge number of names that are applied to dogs whose jobs take them into public. We have Service Dogs, Therapy Dogs, Assistance Dogs, Comfort Dogs, Companion Dogs, Psychiatric Support Dogs, Emotional Support Dogs, Handicap Assistance Dogs, Handicap Support Dogs, Therapeutic Support Dogs, Therapeutic Dogs, Guide Dogs, Hearing Dogs, Alert Dogs, Seizure Alert Dogs, Allergy Alert Dogs, Mobility Support Dogs and the list goes on and on. It’s no wonder people get so confused about the rules. I think the confusion is especially prevalent when the dog’s job if less clear cut. It’s pretty obvious that a Guide Dog is doing an important job but less clear what the dogs trained to provide emotional and/or psychological support or to alert to medical condition such as seizures. In other words a dog/handler team where the handler has a visible disability is obviously a Service Dog Team where a dog/handler team where the handler’s need for the dog is not obvious makes it less immediately clear that the dog is a Service Dog. I know that dogs working to alert or respond to seizures, etc. are every bit as essential to their handlers as a Guide Dog is to his/her handler but to the general public who doesn’t much think about these things or to the casual pet owner who wants to take their dog everywhere the rationale that the dog makes them feel better so the dog is an emotional support dogs so is a service dog so can go everywhere probably isn’t a huge stretch.
I totally get the attraction of doing so. Many times it would have been more convenient for me if I’d claimed Ranger was a Service Dog, and as a registered Therapy Dog his manners are such that I could easily have gotten away with it, including an honest answer to the second of the two questions businesses are permitted to ask by law. Question 1) Is that a Service Dog, Question 2) What tasks has he been trained to perform for you. Ranger helps with my balance when I need it; which in all honesty isn’t that often but it is a task he does for me. The legal distinction between Therapy Dogs and Service Dogs is that Service Dogs are permitted everywhere their person is permitted. Therapy Dogs can go anywhere they have permission. In other words a Service Dog can go into the grocery store simply by virtue of accompanying their person. Ranger could go into the grocery store if the store manager gave us permission to take him into the store. One store manager (not a grocery store) I ask about bringing Ranger in with me actually recommended that I lie and say he was a Service Dog, that way I wouldn’t have to ask permission and the manager wouldn’t have to make a judgement call. I actually don’t shop there anymore since I was really uncomfortable with a manager suggesting that I play fast and loose with the law.
Sorry, this has gotten off track. I was trying to make the point that if there was a greater understanding within society about how necessary the dogs are and about the standards to which they are all trained. And it would be very nice if society really frowned on people who tried to pass their personal pets off as Service Dogs. Instead, there are websites that will issue fake IDs and tell you how to cheat. Education, as with most things, is key.
Robin Jackson says
@Rebecca: you asked what happens to service dogs when they retire. For dogs from ADI or IGDF programs, the handler decides whether they will keep the dog as a pet or ask the program to rehome him/her. Some end up retiring to their original puppy raisers. Some become demo dogs in the program, helping model appropriate behaviours for new puppy candidates but without the stress of full time work. Some go to new homes, often with program volunteers, as pets.
It varies a lot by individual. In a family home with other ablebodied humans it may be easy to keep the dog as a pet. If the person with a disability is living alone, they may feel the dog will be unhappy if he has to stay home alone, or the person may not physically be able to care for two dogs.
Here’s a lovely tv news story from May about a group of service dog candidates visiting a paramedic station to start getting used to ambulances. This is an ADI member program and several retiree adult dogs are along to model calm behaviour for the puppies. A couple are golden retrievers, and you can see the typical white circles on the oldtimers’ faces. http://fox17online.com/2013/05/22/puppy-school-for-future-service-dogs-inside-an-ambulance/#axzz2UzvrRbe0
With owner trained dogs, most simply retire in place, working less, resting more, sometimes helping train a successor.
Emily says
I totally agree that some better guidelines and laws would be helpful, and certainly more research… I gotta say, though, that when I first started as a trainer, I worked with a couple of brilliant and competent ladies in wheelchairs who trained their own service dogs. Their point–and they were scathing about it–is that the whole purpose of having a service dog was to empower them in equal access, and being “issued” a dog by some agency or another–without being allowed to make their own decisions about breed, color, size or personality–was, hmmm, not empowering. What they were left with was feeling like they’d gotten condescending ‘tude: the poor little cripples (their terms) weren’t smart enough or skilled enough to choose their own companions.
The problem, then, with having a government or other agency in charge of issuing or certifying service dogs is that it goes exactly counter to the spirit of the ADA itself: Americans with disabilities have rights to equal access, jobs and choices to whatever degree they are able, and it simply can’t become the business of government or another agency to decide for folks with disabilities what dogs they may or may not have. We wouldn’t stand for a government or agency selecting our next agility, pet or herding dog, would we? So in the case of self-selected, self-trained service dogs, yes, it goes badly sometimes–it goes badly with a lot of pet dogs, too. And disabled folks have under the law just as much a right to have it go badly as abled pet owners–and to be held legally accountable if it does. The whole issues is tricky as a fox… 🙂
Laura says
i again guys,
To answer some questions which were posed. I can only speak for the school I have gone to for my dogs. Guide Dogs For the Blind, or GDB, in San Rafel California, has their instructors go through a three-year apprenticeship before they are certified as a guide dog instructor. I believe this is state wide, but I can’t speak to other training or certification other schools have their staff go through. Just one point about owner-trained dogs, I know several people who have very successfully trained their own guide/assistance ddogs and I have no problem with it. I’d only like to see some sort of certification card awarded to the team by, like I’ve said, either by a private trainer or by a local program which trains the dog in the particular tasks the owner-trainer has taught the dog. I feel this certification would cut down on the abuses of the system from people who are attempting to pass their pets off as service dogs. Anyway, back to answering questions…
I’d like to thank the commenter for bringing up the issue of us blind individuals and our ability to read our dog’s behavior when we can’t see. It’s true, sometimes, we just don’t catch our dog’s visual signals and we won’t ever be able to do that. Believe me, I wish I could see what Seamus is doing when he is happy or in pain, especially when he’s giving subtle signals, but in general, at least for me, I spend so much time around my dog that I can get a good idea of how he’s feeling. For example, if he’s stressed, he’ll do the golden thing and get very clinggy. He either tries to crawl into my lap or he just sits on my feet. If he’s happy, he’s all wiggles, tail wags and happy snorts. Speaking of sound, Tricia, this is what facenates me so much about your work with sound and animals. I’m just facenated by what noises our dogs make, why they make them and how they respond to the sounds we make. Anyway, sound is a very big indicator for me. Last weekend, Seamus ate a lamb bone which was just too rich for his system and consiquently was sick all night. I’d just get to sleep, and then, a quiet, but urgent whine would drift out of the dark. Up I’d get, tossing on a bair of jeans and slippers, all the while murmuring, “it’s ok Baby, i’m coming.” That’s one way we use sound, and btw, Seamus is feeling fine after a day of rice and pumpkin for food. I’ll just have to stick with turkey necks from now on. 🙁
At Kat, I just wanted to say thank you, for not going along with the store manager’s idea of lying to say Ranger was your service dog. businesses, though not allowed to ask a person what their disability is, are allowed to ask what tasks the dog performs and though you could’ve undoubtedly demonstrated Ranger’s ability to help you, I commend you for your honor in not skirting the law. Thank you again.
Lastly, what happens to service dogs after retirement? It was answered very well above, but for me, I just wanted to explain it from a personal perspective to highlight some of the decisions which can go into retiring a guide dog. Marlin, my first guide, retired because of medical reasons. He’d recovered from Reenal failure and was alive thank God, but didn’t have the stamina to remain as an active guide. I kept him and he lived with my parents, as I was in school at the time and wouldn’t have been able to keep him as a pet in the dorms. Torpedo, my second guide, retired because, well, he was done, and he let me know it. His anxious thunder fobia had become too severe and I couldn’t keep him up here in the mid-west where are summers can get loud and stormy. He currently lives out in California with his raiser family and the biggest decision of his day is where the best place to take a nap is. In making these decisions, I did what was best for the dog. It nearly killed me emotionally to retire Marlin, but he needed me to and it wasn’t fair for me to keep Torpedo in an environment where he would be scared all the time. I miss them both, but I know I made the right decision for both my guys and I have a new, very happy dog who gives me joy every day. I hope I answered all the questions I was asked, and for the commenter who suggested I take a class, I’d jump at it, except for one problem, I live 8 hours north of Madison, alas. Oh well, I can still read Tricia’s wonderful blog and hope we can see her in the Twin Cities area soon.
Robin Jackson says
@Kat,
There’s only one legal term at the federal level in the US for a dog allowed to accompany a person with a qualifying disability for shopping in a no pets area: “service dog.” There’s a second legal term: Emotional Support Animal (ESA), but that applies only for housing and air travel. All the other terms you gave are used colloquially, but not legally. A guide dog for the blind is legally just one type of service dog. A dog trained to assist someone with PTSD is also just a service dog. The law regarding air travel, the ACAA is even older than the ADA, and it does identify “psychiatric service dogs,” although it appears to think they’re the same as ESAs. But for all the other federal laws, including the ADA, it doesn’t matter what the specific disability is. The task trained dogs are all “service dogs.”
Wherever the health code applies, as in restaurants, the management can’t legally give permission for a pet dog or therapy dog to stay. That woukd be a health code violation. But they must allow service teams in most cases. Pets dogs and therapy are not allowed in grocery stores in most jurisdictions as it’s a health code violation. You’re quite right that a hardware store, clothing store, book store etc can give permission if they choose to in many places. But in places where food is prepared it’s usually pet dogs no, service dogs yes, no matter what management wants.
As for the two questions allowed to be asked under the ADA, they’re very specific. The first question is not, “is that a service dog?” Instead, it’s “Is the dog a service animal required because of a disability?” The second question is “What tasks or work has the dog been trained to do?” So the issue of your disability is included. You don’t have to give specifics, but you do have to be disabled.
http://www.ada.gov/service_animals_2010.htm
If your balance issues rise to the level of an ADA qualified disability and the dog has been specifically trained to do something to ameliorate that disability, and he’s properly mannered, then legally he is a service dog. If “helping with your balance” didn’t require any special training, or if your balance issues are minor, than he isn’t.
Again, the ADA infoline can answer specific questions.
http://www.ada.gov/infoline.htm
Robin Jackson says
In the blog article, you mentioned some studies on “the presence of the dog’ conferring health benefits. Because of the way the ADA has been interpreted, we have to throw out all the benefits that come just from the presence of a companionable dog when we’re considering “whether a service dog is effective.” Strange, but true. For example, someone might have life threateningly high blood pressure. Just petting a dog can reduce blood pressure. But that doesn’t mean a service dog is effective for that person, nor that they could get a dog and take him to work with them. Why? Because DoJ has said in order to count as a “service dog” the dog has to be “individually trained” to do something that ameliorates the disability. Just being a friendly dog isn’t enough, even if there’s an established medical benefit.
This complicates study designs, because we have to show not just that there are benefits from having a dog around, but that there are benefits to having a trained dog that are distinct from the benefits of a companion dog. Otherwise you don’t get the right of public access for the team.
So while we may know quite a bit scientifically about the presence of dogs, studies on the value of individualised task/work training, which is what legally distinguishes a service dog, are still few and far between when it comes to DSM IV diagnoses.
The Veterans Administration has been authorised by Congress to do a 3 year clinical trial. It actually started in 2011, but was suspended twice. The first time, a dog in the trial bit a child, and the trial was halted for 6 months to review postplacement procedures. The trial then restarted briefly and then one of the training groups lost their DOD contract and everything was put on hold. The trial has been complicated by a review requirement that programs operate in Florida. However, it is now active again.
So although the federal government will not at present approve VA service dog benefits when the handler’s illness is PTSD, they are still spending money on a clinical trial. Scheduled release date has always been 2014, but I don’t know if that will change because of the suspensions.
http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/study/NCT01329341
The following September 2012 article from The Atlantic details the issues with the VA trial and has a brief mention of two other studies now underway. All 3 are looking at individually trained service dogs.
http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/09/the-fight-for-service-dogs-for-veterans-with-ptsd/262863/
Beth with the Corgis says
Robin Jackson, thank you for your clarifications of the law.
I believe that a lot of the contention around “fake” service dogs arises from restaurants and grocery stores. Understandably, non dog-lovers (and even more than a few dog-lovers) don’t want dogs around their food for sanitation reasons.
When people take their dog into the grocery cart, people notice. They complain to management, management is then in an awkward position. If the dog is legitimate, that’s fine. But this is the big area where issues of “fakes” have seemed to generate a lot of conversation.
I also read a blog once by someone (keeping in mind people can say anything on the ‘net, so I’m running under the assumption the story is true) who had some sort of condition where the dog was trained to call 911 if the owner was not responsive.
This person admitted to taking the dog to restaurants even when out with friends and family who were aware of his condition and would be in the position to call 911, just because the dog brought him a sense of peace and security. By his own admission, the dog was not necessary in these scenarios (and calling for help was not something that had to be done routinely, because the condition was fairly well-managed).
I do have mixed feelings about that, just because it’s a restaurant and so many people are uncomfortable with dogs in restaurants. In society , we all must balance the needs of others with our own needs, each and every day. For the person whose dog provides benefits not easily obtainable by another method, making people uncomfortable by having the dog present is just an acceptable part of the compromises we all make every day. But what if the dog is invaluable in some contexts, but not in others, and the person chooses to use the dog anyway even knowing it makes others uncomfortable?
For the blind person who has independence when out with others because the dog can guide them and they don’t need to be led around, that is invaluable.
But what of the person whose dog is more an emergency alert system? These are fine lines. The law, of course, must protect the party who needs the dog. But this is perhaps where each of our own moral compasses should guide what we do within the bounds of the law.
Rebecca Rice says
@Emily, about people with disabilities choosing their own dogs. This is, as you have rightly pointed out, where it gets tricky. Yes, disabled people have every right to pick their own dogs, and have it go badly. BUT… the entire point of why service dogs get to go places that pet dogs don’t is because they are not pets, but required assistive devices. And we wouldn’t say that just because someone is disabled, they have the right to pick their own pacemaker, cochlear implant, stent, wheelchair, etc. You might, possibly, be told that “between these two brands/models/manufacturers, either would work”, but there is a professional involved in there guiding you. So why shouldn’t there be a professional involved in picking out the right service animal?
@Robin: You probably know this, and just didn’t want to go into the details, but thought I would throw it out there just to be clear for others reading this blog. The ADA requires businesses to make “reasonable accommodations” to allow the disabled to use their services. They can deny service animals if it is not reasonable. For example, I have worked in medical device companies with class 3 clean rooms (the kinds where people where full “bunny suits” and the kinds of soaps, lotions, and other skincare products that workers could use was strictly controlled). Having a service dog in there would not be a reasonable accommodation, and the company wouldn’t have to allow it.
And having said that, this is an example of some of the questions that are being raised in this blog. This is a video clip of a service dog for a 3-year-old girl. Yes, she is disabled under the ADA. However, I am not sure that “carries her oxygen tanks” is something that she needs a service dog for. As stated above about PTSD, this is a transitional period, since at some point she should be strong enough to carry her own, and at 3, I assume that she has a caretaker around who could carry it. And on the dog side of the equation, we have a dog who is with a three year old all day, who states that he “sometimes gets hit in the head”, and who doesn’t seem all that bonded with or comfortable with the little girl, based on his body language, especially in the part where they are in the studio. So… what should happen in this kind of situation? Do we leave the dog there, because her needs trumps his? Do you look for a better match? Or find some alternative? http://www.today.com/video/today/46806594#46806594
Rebecca Rice says
Just as a side note, I have seen an interesting discussion on Service Animals and housing. Service Animals are allowed in “no pets” housing. And you can’t charge pet deposits or pet rent for them in pet-friendly housing. That’s a given. The spot that seems to be murkier is whether you can then deny a person a pet dog in a pet-friendly apartment. In other words, if the apartment complex says it allows one dog, and you have a service dog, and you want a pet dog, can they deny you the pet? Having a pet dog isn’t a protected class, and most complexes put that they reserve the right to approve the pet dog, but some people are apparently arguing that being denied a pet based on the fact that they have a service dog is discriminating based on their disability, since they would be allowed the pet without the service dog.
I will also point out that under the reasonable accommodation rules, the landlord has to allow the service dog, but can make reasonable rules about it, and can evict if those rules aren’t followed. For example, someone with a psychiatric service dog was evicted because he allowed the dog to defecate outside of an area that the landlord had set aside for that purpose, and which had been moved once to better suit the dog’s owner.
Mary K. says
Fascinating post and comments! I am learning so much.
@Laura- thank you for sharing your very personal experience and giving me the opportunity to learn from you. Your obvious commitment to and love for your dogs is inspiring 🙂
@Robin-thanks for all the helpful guidelines and information you have provided. Very interesting, indeed!
Laura says
Robin,
thanks for all the links and helpful info. There are little things, that even I forget about, and i’m a service dog handler. 🙂
Trisha says
Thank you all so much for your comments, I too have learned a great deal from Robin, Rebecca and Laura’s comments (and I’m sure I’m leaving some out.) There are so many issues here, from does someone with PTSD need a service dog if the the condition is temporary, to how to handle cases in which people are clearly gaming the system and bringing their pet dog along on a plane ride because, well, they can get away with it. A few more thoughts to add to the mix. I’m afraid they will just create more questions, but I’d love to hear any responses.
Re issues like PTSD being temporary condition, and being able to be controlled with meds and therapy: That’s a tricky call, given that severe PTSD creates substantial changes in brain structure and neurological function (ie, a significant shrinking of the hippocampus). As I understand it, the symptoms can be ameliorated with medications, but not ‘cured’ unless, in some cases, the meds are given within hours of the trauma. Therapy too can help tremendously, but in severe cases this is a long, slow process, and I would argue that many people suffering from PTSD would argue that they are never ‘cured,’ but that they are substantially improved and have found ways to manage their remaining symptoms. Given the short life span of dogs, and the long course of recovery from PTSD, onc could make a good argument that they are a good match. Thoughts?
A comment also about suspicions that someone is gaming the system: I would suggest it is never a good idea to ask someone what function their dog serves or ask about their disability. Joan Esnayra, an early and passionate advocate for PSDs, told me about cases in which people suffering from panic attacks and severe social anxieties were asked at airports “And exactly what is your dog supposed to be helping with, anyway?” One can easily imagine that would be the last thing someone suffering from social anxiety would need. I have a few friends who have panic attacks, and believe me, they are not brief moments of discomfort, they are horrific. I had one once in my life (only once, thank heaven), and I was in abject terror, believing that I was about to die while staring at cans of peaches in a supermarket.
The oxytocin issue is also a tricky one. I’d argue that it is an important aspect of the work of a PSD, given the profound effect it has on healing, quelling fear and panic, etc, but of course that is not enough to make a dog an official service dog. As stated, by law service dogs have to be trained to provide a service that his or her owner simply can’t provide him or herself. I do wish there was more research and more acknowledgement for the importance of non-medical ways to change a person’s physiology and affect a positive outcome, whether it is the presence of a dog or meditation or even a good, long walk. Hopefully we’ll get better and better at integrating western medicine and other modalities that can cure a vast range of disabilities, discomforts and diseases. I’d love to hear from those of you with service dogs or who train them about your thoughts here…
Robin Jackson says
@RebeccaRice,
You asked about what happens if a person wants to have both a service dog and a pet dog in a pet friendly complex that allows one pet dog. Excellent question, because it comes up quite often, and consequently lots of case law on it. Fortunately the answer turns out to be really simple: a service dog is not a pet, and consequently none of the pet clauses in a lease apply. If the apartment allows one pet dog, it still allows one pet dog even if you also have a service dog as a reasonable accommodation. So two dogs, only one is a pet. You still have to meet all the other service dog requirements. But pet dog and service dog are different categories. There are a few cases where two dogs might be one too many if the landlord can prove a health code or animal welfare issue, so it still gets looked at on a case by case basis. This falls under the Fair Housing Act, but you can still call the ADA infoline and they’ll refer you on to another agency if needed. Or contact a local Fair Housing Office.
Housing in general has a different process than just going to a store. You do have to get landlord approval before moving the dog in and you may have to provide proof of both disability and the dog’s training. And some landlords may be exempt. More details here:
http://www.petpartners.org/page.aspx?pid=489
Robin Jackson says
Tricia,
I understand your concerns about a “challenge situation” for someone with social anxiety, but that’s the trade off we get in the US for NOT having national government certification of service dogs. In England, you just show your government approved service team ID and you’re in, no questions needed.
In the US, without a government approved ID, every service dog handler in a no pets area must be prepared to answer the two legally allowed ADA questions. They can have the questions and answers rehearsed or even written on a card they can hand to the authority giving the challenge, but they have to answer or leave. This has been established both in case law and in the Department of Justice ADA regulations. You don’t have to answer random strangers, but a store employee, TSA screener, school official etc does have the right to ask.
http://servicedogcentral.org/content/node/196
http://www.ada.gov/service_animals_2010.htm
Good programs like Freedom Service Dogs have their teams practice and practice challenge situations, including developing custom procedures like using a written card if that’s what’s best for the client. The card typically includes the ADA infoline phone number.
So being allowed to take a service dog into an airport is a civil right for a person with a disability–but avoiding two questions about the dog is not.
Maxine Gonzalez says
Thanks for your coverage of Gander here – as a dog lover myself and a volunteer for Freedom Service Dogs, I cannot say enough about how wonderful an organization Freedom is… they are serious about their training and their dogs are amazing. I have had the great privilege of meeting GANDER and believe me, he is very special and just seems to know what to do. Obviously Lonnie is so blessed by him. Since I have had the opportunity to also foster some dogs from Freedom, I have learned all about the service dog world and it has opened my eyes. So your article here is full of information…. anyone reading it will certainly learn much.
I have been voting for GANDER every day in the hopes that Freedom Service Dogs will get the extra money as well. It is amazing what dogs do for us in general… they are a gift from Heaven for sure.
Robin Jackson says
@RebeccaRice,
Great points about when access is NOT guaranteed. There are actually a bunch of exceptions in the US:
1) religious properties and private clubs
2) private homes even if hosting a public meeting
3) places where humans are required to take infection control measures
4) places where the dog’s mere presence might upset other live animals that are essential to the facility, like inside a petting zoo enclosure or a cat grooming parlor that bars all dogs
5) places where there is equipment or chemicals that require special safety equipment for humans, like a chemistry lab or welding room
6) places where the dog’s presence creates a hygiene issue. Service dogs are allowed on buses but not to sit on seats intended for humans. They are allowed up to the water’s edge at a public swimming pool, but not in the pool itself. They can retrieve boxes of cereal from a grocery store shelf but not an unwrapped apple from a produce basket.
7) Native American property, including casino hotels, are not subject to the ADA, although many do adopt ADA parallel policies.
8) Areas subject to military jurisdiction, including onbase housing, have their own rules, currently more restrictive than the ADA as they do not recognise owner trained dogs as service dogs.
9) federal property is exempt from the ADA but subject to other laws that usually, but not always, have similar effect.
Again, the ADA infoline can answer any specific questions.
As to the 3 year old and the dog carrying oxygen tanks, that’s several questions in one.
1) appropriate age of human partner is hugely debated. Most ADI programs look for triad teams for children under 16, where an adult handler is always present while the dog is working. But some do go younger on a case by case basis. If it’s a triad team, it’s the adult whose responsible for both management of the dog and seeing to the dog’s welfare.
2) Jean Hampl, an expert SD trainer, often says “Just because a dog can do something doesn’t mean she should.” Dogs will endure a great deal of pain and discomfort. Just as with child labour laws, it really is up to responsible adults to make sure working conditions are safe and reasonable for the long term.
3) Treatment choice. In the US, patients have huge freedom in choosing their preferred medical support as long as it doesn’t endanger others. Glasses, contacts, LASIK surgery, opera glasses: each person chooses for themselves.
I myself am a partial quad, wheelchair dependent with limited hand control. A stereotypical little old lady in a wheelchair. My 25 year old son lives with me. I know if I drop the tv remote for the 5th time in a day I can call my son in from the other room and he’ll pick it up for me. But you know what? After about the third time, I just don’t ask. I feel embarrassed. I feel a burden. I feel I have to ask him to do enough other stuff. I just don’t ask.
But with my dog, he loves to pick stuff up. His tail wags, his eyes shines, he literally leaps from his mat at the chance to work. He puts the remote in my hand, and it’s so clear he’s thinking, “That was fun, drop something else!”
I can’t explain the logic of it, but I feel like we’re a team. We accomplish things together. My son does things for me–my dog does things with me. Maybe it’s as simple as the fact that my dog loves me, but doesn’t pity me. I don’t know.
I’ve had a service dog for almost 5 years. Dogs are a lot of work, but he gives me independence I just didn’t have before. When my mother comes over, the first thing she always does is visually scan the floor. And for the last few years, the second thing she always does is say, “The floor’s so clean!” Yes, Mom–Dilly’s on the job. 😉
So I don’t feel I’m in a position to judge whether having a service dog carry an oxygen tank “makes sense” or not. Maybe it’s logistical–if the wheelchair doesn’t have to carry that weight it can be lighter and smaller, which makes the kind of loading and unloading a mom has to do with small children a lot easier. It needs to be safe and comfortable for the dog, but that’s a separate issue.
p.s. my favourite true story about treatment choice: a young man is wounded during military service and ends up quadriplegic. He lives with his parents. His stay at home mom is happy to do anything for him. He has a service dog. Every few weeks, some of his military buddies drop by, have a few beers, watch sports. They leave a brown paper bag–with a couple of porn tapes. Dogs can’t handle DVDs very well, but they’re great at VCRs. A good thing. Because asking mom to start your porn tape is unlikely to be the treatment choice for many 22 year old guys. 😉 Service dogs enable us to be independent in ways that human helpers just can’t.
Robin Jackson says
@RebeccaRice,
My apologies, I got the little girl at the link you gave confused with another similar story where the child is in a wheelchair. I just finished watching the full interview, and around the five minute mark I personally became very concerned. The child is much too rough with the dog and the parents are not protecting the dog as I would. I’m not sure the dog even likes the girl much; he definitely appears to not like the situation. I think having a large dog carry an oxygen tank is fine, but my issue here isn’t with the task work–it’s the partner relationship. It’s not just about her needs vs his–a dog who hates his work is far more likely to be unreliable or even aggressive. So you can’t meet her needs unless you’re also meeting his. Hopefully their trainer saw the interview and will give them some guidance.
Robin Jackson says
Sigh. “Trisha.” Not “Tricia.” Voice error, my apologies.
Rebecca Rice says
I know from other forums that there is another sticky situation, especially with regards to ESA dogs and gaming the system. If you have an ESA, you can have them in a no-pets housing situation, the same as a service animal. But there are people out there who have multiple ESA dogs, or at least try to convince the landlord of that. I think a common tactic is to claim that one dog provides emotional support inside the house, and the other when out in public. Then you get a couple, each of which claims to need an ESA, and each of which has two dogs, and suddenly you get a situation where someone is claiming a right to have 4 dogs in a no-pets apartment, with no pet deposits or pet fees. And, especially with ESA dogs, it’s really hard to look at that and see it as being different than someone just wanting to have their pets, and in fact it is often offered up as a way of getting to keep your dogs when you are trying to rent a no-pet apartment.
I will say that part of what drives the gaming is that it can be very difficult to find spots to rent with dogs, especially large ones. This is in contrast to much of Europe, where you can rent with pets much easier.
triangle says
I have a close friend with a PTSD dog. It’s important to understand a PTSD only qualifies as a service dog (with the legal benefits thereof) if the dog performs specific tasks. Simply being WITH the person does not count. In my friend’s case, Bento assists with balance issues unrelated to the PTSD (he assists in moving between standing and sitting, and will brace during dizzy spells.) For the PTSD, he is trained to seek an exit if my friend becomes panicked, is trained to recognize and disrupt dissociative episodes, and to body block in crowds.
Having been out with my friend and Bento many times, he encounters almost daily resistance to the dog. Although they are legally not allowed to, he is often asked by store owners what his disability is (they may ask what tasks the dog performs, but they are not allowed to pry into a person’s medical history.)
My friend feels that much of this resistance is a direct consequence of people who do take advantage of the law to bring their badly trained pets into stores and restaurants. His suggestion for fixing this issue would be to have some kind of card issued to owners of service animals…something militarism to a handicap tag for a car. This way the store owner isn’t tempted to ask invasive questions…you just flash your card and the matter is settled. This would also allow owners to still train their own service animals if they wished…the card would be given by a doctor or medical professional, perhaps after demonstrating the need and the dog’s training, not a service dog training program.
To the person who earlier asked why should service dog owners get to train their own dogs but not choose other equipment…well, for one most people DO get to choose their own equipment. You might not get to choose a stent, but you do get to choose your own walker/wheelchair/braces/etc. When the equipment in question is something that assists in mobility, you not only get to choose it but often also choose various modifications. Secondly, service dogs ARE equipment, but they are also a living being with its own personality. The person and the dog have to have some level of bond for it to work, and a bond isn’t something that can be forced. You don’t need a bond with your wheelchair for it to function effectively. It’s just a completely different scenario
Addressing PTSD being transitional…saying a person will come to relay on the dog and stop improving has to be balanced against the risks of PTSD on other aspects of mental health. Do we deny a person a dog so they don’t become dependent, only for that person to become depressed and suicidal, which is a very real risk? Before Bento, my friend very rarely left the house and was unemployed. He now has a job and a thriving social life, and that is directly due to the dog. Even if he is dependent on the dog…is that really so awful? His life now and his life then are so different by such a level of magnitude that it’s difficult to imagine anyone believing he shouldn’t have the dog simply because the dog actually helps him and he’s dependent on that help.
All of that said, I absolutely do think the dog’s needs MUST be factored in. I HAVE seen children with autism hitting their service dogs and the parents failing to step in. Maybe part of the certification program needs to be proving that the dog will be handled humanely and the handler (or parent) should need to re-certify every so often so the dog’s emotional state can be monitored. The parent of a child with autism who does not understand canine behavior won’t suddenly do so just because they get a service dog for the child…and that can be a real recipe for disaster if the dog eventually gets pushed past the limit.
triangle says
To add (I know that first post was already REALLY long and I apologize), I’ve seen hitting of service dogs justified because the child doesn’t understand or doesn’t mean it. Abuse is abuse regardless of the intent behind it, and no dog should be expected to endure it no matter how patient the animal might be. I’ve heard it justified BECAUSE the dog is so patient and well-mannered…”see, he understand Bobby doesn’t mean it!”
Emily says
@Rebecca Rice, I don’t disagree. In an ideal world, a professional would be involved, but it’s not required by law and I’m not sure how it fairly could be. If a disabled person could only obtain a service dog through a professional or government agency, there would have to be a professional or government agency available to work with them. There is no such thing where I live: we don’t even have a psychiatrist at our hospital. So I’ve come down to two criteria: 1) the person has a disability recognized by the ADA, and 2) if it walks like a service dog and talks like a service dog, it’s a service dog. And that’s the bit that so many folks don’t understand: the ADA is about equal access, it’s not about special privilege: if the dog is badly behaved, tearing up the restaurant or growling at the kids, the dog, however disabled the owner may be, can be summarily booted off the premises. The dog has to make scratch in public, period. The irony is, if the dog is well-behaved and beautiful in public, people rarely get into the rest–what tasks, what disability, whether psychiatric service dogs “count” if their tasks are more subjective, etc. I think if we focus on behavior–no matter where the dog came from, professionally trained, home trained, untrained–if the dog makes scratch, the dog makes scratch; if not, not.
Robin Jackson says
@RebeccaRice,
There’s no right of public access with an ESA like there is with a service dog, so it’s not possible to argue one ESA is for at home and one is for going out and have that count as a reasonable accommodation for housing. Well, it’s possible to argue that, but you’ll lose.
Housing is always handled on a case by case, prior landlord approval basis. And landlords tend to have lawyers and insurance companies advising them. While tenants have the FHA Fair Housing office, with their lawyers. And usually an FHA mediator in the middle. So expert advice on both sides, and pretty hard for someone to game that system because of the prior approval step. Tenants who don’t understand the law/process quite often try to make an after-the-fact claim (“Oh, those 6 dogs under the bed? They’re my service dogs.”) but they lose. Under the FHAct, the tenant must get permission from the landlord BEFORE any reasonable accommodation is made, including moving in an ESA or service dog or multiples thereof.
Changing the terms of a lease because of a reasonable accommodation for a disability is a negotiation process which can be quite lengthy. And tiny details may matter. With regard to dogs in no pets housing, the landlord may want to see the dog demonstrate good manners, negotiate which elevator will be used, toileting areas, parking areas, common area access, etc. All valid in housing discussions. So most of the crazier hypotheticals get dealt with in that negotiation process before the dog is ever moved in.
http://www.hud.gov/offices/fheo/library/huddojstatement.pdf
Again, the ADA infoline can answer most questions, or refer you on to the Fair Housing office if necessary.
Robin Jackson says
@Emily,
I so agree with you on keeping the dogs not just safe but FEELING safe. Not everyone agrees, but I believe a child who hits a dog shouldn’t be allowed within 5 feet of him. When I was growing up my mother always said “Protect the dog from the child, and everyone stays safe.”
@Triangle,
Wonderful post! I really like your point about the beneficial effects of the dog maybe being enough. One tiny aspect of certification that we’ve seen from the countries that do it: doctors are generally clueless about the dog itself. Instead, the doctor certifies that the person is disabled, a dog expert certifies the dog.
Most doctors don’t select the appropriate wheelchair model for a nonambulatory patient. The doctor certifies the general need, another expert helps select the specific solution. My neurologist, for example, has no clue how the fact that i live in an old house with narrow hallways impacts the model selected. A wheelchair technician came out to my house, measured everything, interviewed me, and ended up recommending a drive type, armrest type, and swapping out the footrests with a different model to save a crucial half inch.
A similar process occurs today with the large service dog programs. A doctor verifies the disability. But it’s dog experts who train the dogs and match them to the person.
In several countries public access is restricted to dogs who can pass a “public access test” (PAT), usually modeled on ADI’s standard. In Japan, teams must pass this every month! In the US, most ADI member programs retest every year or two. This test is administered by a dog expert, not a doctor.
http://www.assistancedogsinternational.org/standards/public-access-test/
So a doctor evaluates the person for need and a dog expert evaluates the team for skill to meet that need.
The problem with the US is that we’re just so big! There’s not even a DMV for every area. (Rural Alaska allows residents of some areas to get special off highway driving licenses and licenses without photos because they have to do everything by mail.) so setting up enough dog testing stations is problematic, particularly for something which is legally considered a civil right.
As it happens, on June 1st New Hampshire became the first state to mandate testing for owner trained service dogs IF the person wants to take advantage of a new option of one time tag registration. It’s really important to note that states cannot take away rights granted under federal law, but they can grant additional ones and set their own qualifying rules for those. So with or without the new tag, anyone who meets the ADA guidelines can still take a service dog into a restaurant in New Hampshire. The only difference is that those who get the tags save some fees. But this is the first time testing has been written into law in the US. A lot of other states will be watching to see how it works out in practice.
The main issue is that most ADI member programs won’t even test dogs they didn’t train, for liability reasons. So it’s really unclear how much this will inconvenience owner trainers. For example, will NH restaurant owners start turning away dogs without the tags even though they shouldn’t? The next year in New Hampshire should bring several court cases.
http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130602/GJCOMMUNITY_01/130609963/-1/ROCNEWS03
Many valid arguments on both sides over whether IDs should be required for voting. Service dog certification runs into all of those and more because of the scarcity of qualified dog experts to evaluate the teams. But I don’t think we can just leave it up to doctors. Verify the disability, yes. Approve the individual dog? That’s way outside their expertise. So even those who agree with the principle of testing haven’t been able to come up with a US model that addresses the logistics.
Laura says
Hi all,
Just a couple of thoughts regarding Tricia’s comments. As to a dog helping a person with PTSD, regardless if this is a permanent or temporary condition, I’d argue that if the dog is helping to midigate the symptoms, it should be used for as long as the person needs it. I know several blind people who have used a guide once in their lives, decided it wasn’t for them and have used a white cane ever since their dog retired. I personally, love dogs and won’t ever go back to using my cane unless I have to. As for asking the questions which are legally allowed to be asked of Service dog handlers in public places and such, I think the idea of handing over a card with written task information on it is a great idea, especially if someone has a panick attack. I’ve had those myself and they are not fun at all.
At robin,
thanks for the info about housing and service dogs. I was always told that service dogs were allowed in housing in the US such as apartments and the like, without the handler having to pay a pet deposit because the dog isn’t considered a pet. This is what I told my land-lord when I applied for my apartment a few weeks ago. I really think, showing him my ID with a picture of me and Seamus on it, as well as Seamus’s information, helped in my favor. He said he wouldn’t charge me a deposit, even though I offered to check on the laws in Minnesota for him. I didn’t realize housing could be so tricky.
Finally, as for people trying to skirt around the system with their pet dogs out in public places, I’d only say, that I don’t have a problem with the fact that they have their dog with them, especially if the dog is well behaived and socialized, but the danger an unsocialized dog can pose to me and my dog is very real. Once, in a book store, my friend and I were lundged and snapped at by a little tarior mix who’s owner then claimed he was being trained as her service dog. Both my dog and my friend’s guide were fine, and handled the incident well and neither dog was hurt, but it was frightening and made us angry that she took her dog out in public without considering it’s appropriate social behavior around other dogs. It made us even more upset when she told us, “Oh, I’m working on his snapping issues with other dogs.” My friend told her that if one of our dogs demonstrated that kind of behavior in public, they would be dropped from the program immediately. In fact, that’s why so many guide dog canidates don’t make it through the program in the first place, behavioral issues like that. These are the situations I am most conserned about. If the world was full of Tricia’s, Beth’s Kat’s and all the other commenters here on this blog, who are aware of their dog’s social behavior out in public, I’d never have a problem and everyone could bring their dog anywhere if it were up to me.
Kat says
Found this in my newsfeed this morning and thought it worth sharing. http://dogsinthepark-suenestnature.blogspot.com/2013/05/fake-service-dogs-really.html I was struck especially by the question “why would you want to fake a disability?” especially when this is an illegal act; and struck by the point that a Service Dog team can be kicked out for creating a disturbance if the dog is not exhibiting proper Service Dog manners. Perhaps if those who are trying to pass their ill-trained pet off as a Service Dog realized that in doing so they were claiming to be disabled when in fact they are not and more store employees understood that the determining factor is not whether the dog is certified but whether or not the dog is creating a disturbance there would be fewer people trying to cheat the system.
LB Hodge says
Great discussions here.
Thanks for all the kind words about Freedom and Gander.
Freedom trains the digs for mobility tasks as well as PTSD needs. In my case it’s varying mobility issues that stymie me. Some days are great whole others require Gander to provide a little muscle.
I’m often asked what function Gander serves. My answer is always
That he is a medical service dog. Most folks don’t query beyond that.
If the airline agent asks what tasks he performs I always say mobility related help as needed. Any emotional support answer, as Robin indicated, flags him strictly as a ESD and they get no special consideration.. I’m sure the airlines, like the VA, fears opening the flood gates if they accede to PTSD only dogs. Thankfully they are getting a lot of pressure to rethink their current ban.
Gander and I are doing everything we can to push that agenda. The Hero Dog Awards are part and parcel of that effort.
What a fantastic post. I feel humbled and honored to be part of the conversation.
Margaret McLaughlin says
@Robin Jackson, thanks for all the great answers & links. Another (but related) is access for puppy raisers, which varies wildly from state to state. We do need to get them out there, especially before the critical socialization period closes, & they may still have housebreaking “accidents” at that age. Very large places, i.e. shopping malls or big box stores may not seem like “indoors” to a young puppy. They can also be bouncy & silly, & try to jump on people or snatch food from young children.
The problem is that dogs don’t generalize behaviors all that well, so the only way to have them behave in public is to teach them to behave, in public. I am fortunate because I’ve been doing this for a while, & because I live in a relatively small city of 30,00, & am known to most of the local businesses. I’ve had some proud moments, like the grocery store manager who stepped up when another customer was shrieking about a dog in a food store, “And you can see there’s nothing wrong with her”, or a server in a restaurant who explained why I was clicking & treating a dog lying quietly on her mat while other patrons walked by.
In short, we also need access, & with dogs who are not yet perfectly behaved.
Robin Jackson says
@MargaretMcLaughlin,
Very good point! The ADA regulations only cover fully trained service dogs. The issues of training access for service dogs in training (SDITs) in no pet areas is left up to each state, and the rules vary widely. However, I know many people (including the previously mentioned Jeanne Hampl) who have successfully trained SDITs in states which do not allow special access for SDIT teams. So it can be done, it just takes some creativity.
BTW, you can find the relevant SDIT training laws for each state at the Service Dog Central site:
http://www.servicedogcentral.org/content/node/59
@Laura,
As a physically frail person with or without my own service dog my own feeling is the same as yours: if the dog is so well behaved that one can’t tell she’s not a service dog, I don’t worry about things. But just like you, I have been harassed on more than one occasion by a dog whose owner said he was in training. One person told me, as her “service dog” was lunging and growling, “He’s never seen a power wheelchair before, you must have scared him.” At times like that, I will admit the thought of a mandatory PAT does have some appeal!
@Kat,
I don’t understand why ablebodied people park in blue zone spaces, either! BTW, the laws on misrepresentation vary by jurisdiction. Of course anytime someone knowingly misrepresents a pet as a service dog to gain a financial advantage, like not paying an extra cleaning fee, that’s straight up fraud.
Anytime a person knowingly misrepresents a pet dog as a service dog to bring the dog into a no pets area, it’s trespass, the same as it would be if they brought the dog in without misrepresentation.
There are a few states, like California, which do make it a misdemeanor to intentionally misrepresent a pet as a service dog even without trespass or intended financial gain.
But unfortunately some people still do it.
Beth with the Corgis says
It may not need saying here, but I suppose it’s worth reminding people never to interrupt a service dog who is working, since we don’t know what work they are doing. I know my husband so lights up whenever he sees “dog!” (especially Golden Retrievers, very often chosen as service dogs) that he wants to run over and pet them; I have had to remind him once or twice to keep away from the service dogs!
While the dogs are likely to handle being approached, it takes them away from their work. My understanding (and someone please correct me if I’m wrong) is that we should not bother handlers by asking them if it’s ok to pet the dog and should only do so if actively invited by the handler. If the dog is, say, a seizure alert dog, even distracting it for a few minutes can cause a huge problem…..
Robin Jackson says
@LB Hodge,
Under the ACAA, in the US, airlines that fly interstate DO have to allow cabin access for both ESAs and service dogs for those with DSM IV diagnoses. However, the big difference is that they can, and do, require both a doctor’s letter stating the dog is a medical necessity and 48 hours prior notice so they can verify the letter for someone with a menal health disability, including PTSD. There is no similar prenotification or letter requirement for service dogs for someone with a physical disability. So they aren’t “banned,” but it’s much less convenient.
People did used to game that system a lot–there were even Social work clinics who would write a “needs ESA” letter for a fee without ever having seen the “patient.” But there was a major update of the ACAA regulations in 2008 and after that the airlines started cracking down and refusing to accept letters from those offices.
The International Association of Assistance Dog Partners (IAADP) has a very good section of reference links on US air travel:
http://www.iaadp.org/airline.html
BTW, it is a quirk of US law that airports are covered by the ADA but the airline flights are covered by the ACAA. So while just walking around the airport, an ESA is legally treated like a pet. But once on board, they get one big advantage: the right to travel in cabin (rather than in cargo) without an extra charge. This is the main reason people are tempted to lie about it: but of course lying to save money is fraud. And now with the airlines checking the doctor letters, ESA fraud succeeds much less often.
Robin Jackson says
@BethwithCorgis,
What a thoughtful approach! Our program actually had us practice saying No to people who wanted to pet the dog. That was really hard for me. Our trainer emphasised that the service dog is there so we can get our stuff done, whether it’s shopping, errands, or work. We should be polite, but we have no social obligation to interact with others, whether it’s for entertainment or education. I like chatting with people, so I just had a really hard time with this in training, but in daily life, yes–I don’t want to miss my bus because a stranger wants to tell my dog how cute he is! (And trust me, he already knows. 😉 )
So, yes, always ask before engaging with a service dog, even if it’s just talking to him. But even before asking, observe the handler! Is she smiling, making eye contact with you, even saying hello first? If she’s eyes focused on her goal, moving quickly, or even just studying the bus schedule, don’t bother asking. And don’t bother asking someone with a guide handle–since they can’t see how a stranger is interacting with their dog, that answer is almost always No.
Norwegian Association of the Blind has a cute television commercial called “Don’t Dsturb the Ones who are Working”
http://youtu.be/9_Vb7y8Omf8
@Kat
Forgot to mention that Dogs in the Park is in Canada, so all the legal stuff in the column about riding the train refer to Canadian law, not US. There are some differences in the details, although the main point is still the same.
Rebecca Rice says
By the way, I just want to make it clear that I don’t agree with people trying to game the system or have any particular issue with self-trained service dogs, in case that wasn’t clear in my earlier comments. Just mentioning why some people would.
I do think that some of the issues with PSDs and ESAs is the bias against mental illness in the US. It’s invisible, most of the time, so you can’t really tell if someone has it or is lying. And most of us have had mild symptoms, especially of depression, at some point in our life, so it is easy to dismiss another person’s claims that they are disabled by it. For example, in that other forum I read, I ran across this: “I suffer from depression and I have panic attacks when under a lot of stress and pressure. I have a therapist for it, but I only see her once every two to three weeks. My little Chi is always right by my side when I break down and lets me hold him when I’m freaking out and won’t leave me until I’m done crying.” This person wants to get her Chi classified as an ESA, so that she can take her with on a bus trip that she is making. (We all know that won’t work, but she doesn’t.) The response from someone who describes himself as the husband of a guide dog user? After telling the person to “learn some coping skills”, “take her meds” and “leave her ill-mannered, untrained mongrel home”, he adds this: “[My wife] does not have her guide with her because she is depressed that she cannot see, nor does she have panic attacks because she cannot see. She has a real, scientifically verifiable disability, and she has her guide with her to mitigate her real, scientifically verifiable disability.” Which seems to imply that depression is not a real disability, but something that can be fixed easily by just popping the right pill and wanting to hard enough. And that is a bias that people with psychological disabilities have to deal with.
And Robin put in her comment above that she doesn’t understand why “physically able people want to park in blue spaces.” I will assume charitably that she means liars, not just people who park there that don’t appear to be disabled when they get out. Because some people are disabled in ways that aren’t readily apparent to outsiders, I give grace to whoever parks there, as long as they have the tag/plates that let them. (Although I will admit to being deeply tempted to park in them at work, where we have 8 designated places, as required by law, which NO ONE has ever parked in, and limited parking for the rest of us. That’s something that I think the law should consider… if you have a parking lot for your company, and know that you have X people who need handicapped parking, why be forced to have extra? But I digress.)
Oh, and while I did say previously that I don’t have an issue with owner-trained service dogs, I do think that the danger there is that people who want to do that are people who already have a pet dog, and that the tendency is to take that pet and try to make them a service dog. And the dog that they start with may not have the right temperament to make a good service dog. So there is that to consider. But, if they make a good choice and do the appropriate training, then no, I don’t have an issue with it. I do think there is a happy medium that can be found between “You get Buster” and “I want to self-train my Chihuahua to be a mobility support dog”. When I was adopting my greyhound, I told the rescue the kind of dog I was looking for, and they showed me the three or four dogs that they thought would be good matches for that. That way I could choose, but had some guidance from people who had been living with the dogs for a while. Could something like that be done with service dogs? I don’t know how the guide dog schools do the assigning. Do the students work with different dogs, so the teachers can look and see which are the best together? Or do you show up and get assigned to a dog?
em says
So many wonderful and thought-provoking posts.
Re: pets on airlines and the temptation to lie- I confess that the one and only moment in time (and it was only a moment, I swear!) I have ever wondered about what it would take to pass off one of my pet dogs as a service animal was when I found out that for most if not all commercial airlines, Otis is considered too tall/heavy to travel in CARGO, much less the cabin. If I ever needed to bring him somewhere by air, he’d have to be shipped, like a horse. To me, the idea of my dogs in the cargo hold is awful enough- this information tipped me right into a moment of temporary insanity, and I wondered, ‘gee, maybe I should see about getting him certified as a service dog’.
Lest anyone think I’m THAT bad, I fully intended, in my split second of pondering, to work with a trainer and ensure that he passed any and all relevant tests, not just faked some paperwork and waltzed onto a plane. Added to that was the lure of probable success. Otis is extremely well-behaved in public and like Kat, I’ve done some basic work with him on the moves necessary to provide balance and mobility assistance. He didn’t seem to enjoy doing most typical tricks when we first adopted, but he has a natural aptitude for providing balance support, so we focused on bracing and pacing (matching his walking speed and direction exactly to mine as I lean on him) just as something to do once we’d mastered the basics. Otis doesn’t have the makings of a service dog for a variety of reasons (laziness chief among them- he doesn’t have the stamina for a full, active day of work), but I knew he could pass for one. If I had an actual disability, he could even serve as one, provided I didn’t need him full-time.
But there’s the rub. I don’t have a disability, and people with disabilities requiring service animals have it hard enough without selfish pet owners mucking things up for them. Even if no one ever found out, it only took me half a second to realize that I could never be a big enough jerk to try to game the system that so many people rely on for their quality of life.
There is also almost no reason I can think of that I would ever need to transport Otis by air, so it most likely will never be an issue in our lives, but I know I’d be willing to pay handsomely for the opportunity to travel with my pet dogs in the cabin with me if I had the option. I’ve have since wondered whether airlines have ever considered this untapped market. I can see why airlines wouldn’t want a bunch of loose pets packed beside one another, but I’d be thrilled to pay a premium to take a “pet flight” that allowed crated pets in the cabin. The logistics are probably too complicated…sigh…
Laura says
At Beth and Robin,
Regarding a guide dog team, I would say, that if you see a team actively moving down the street, don’t even bother asking, but if we’re just hanging out and sitting down, you can then approach to ask about the dog. I might still tell you no, he’s working, but I might, and often do, say yes to a brief petting session. The thing about people deliberately stepping in front of Seamus and I while we’re working creates a very big, two-fold problem. First, um… hello? I’m going somewhere and you just stopped me and disrupted my schedule. What if I have to catch a bus or make a light at an intersection? Also, excuse me, I am not a zoo exabit and treating me like your own personal inspirational piece isn’t making me like you or want to talk to you. Would I jump on your car hood and gush about how lovely and amazing your car is while you’re driving? Ok, snark over, 🙂
The other, and more serious problem is, a person who is standing in front of my dog and blocking his path is what is called a “clearance,” at the school I train with. The dog sees that person as something to guide me around and is confused by constantly being blocked by a moving clearance. It confuses and frustrates me, but confuses the poor dog even more and I can feel it right through the harness handle. To end this story on a hilarious note, this very situation happened to another handler I know. She and her guid and her 14-year-old daughter were in the mall. a man kept stepping in front of the handler’s guide dog and asking about her. After numerous attempts to get passed the man, he, offendedly asked, “Why is your dog ignoring me? Why is she so unfriendly?”
The daughter then spoke up and replied, “Maybe it’s because you keep shoving your d*ck in her face?”
Sorry if that was too off-color for this blog, but that, has to be one of the funniest responses to an over-zellus person I’ve ever heard. tricia, just let me know if that wasn’t appropriate and I’ll not bring those things up anymore.
All joking aside regarding petting and asking, my view, for me, is never be afraid to ask me about my dog if I’m at rest with him, I.g, sitting down. If I’m at a street corner, don’t approach because I’m concentrating and will ignore you. Also, at Robin, I used to be the same way in my reluctance to confront people about my dog and the hands-off rule. Fortunately, after a decade of working dogs, I’ve become less caring about what someone thinks on the street.
Laura says
At M,
Regarding the matching process at GDB where I got my dogs, a new applicant will start with what is called a Home Interview. An instructor, usually, will come to the person’s home and go over their application. They’ll talk about what the potential handler’s life style is like, the area they live and work in and lastly, about what kind of dog they want. In my case, I described myself, at the time, as a college student attending the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus. for those of you who don’t know, the U of M TC campus is enormous and very busy. My dog would need to be able to handle that invironment and now that I work there, I need my current guide to handle it as well. I need a dog that is tall, about 24-26 inches at the shoulder because I have a hard time bending over because of back surgery I had when I was young. A tall dog usually means a bigger dog which usually means a male dog. I don’t mind, because I prefer male dogs and will always ask for one. This is where criteria becomes very important. I think most handlers who’ve worked several dogs in their life, will tell you that personality is more important than sex, color or breed preferences and that is true for me. I want a dog that is calm and very laid back, meaning he isn’t bothered by much of anything. I want a steady nerved dog and one that is serious about their work. I don’t mind if they’re silly out of harness, which was actually a question I was asked last time around, but those are the qualities I’m looking for in a guide. Lastly, it comes down to what I prefer regarding color and breed. My dream guide would be a male, black lab or black cross with the personality traits I’ve mentioned above, but all of my dogs have been yellow, so if I have a great dog who is everything I want except color, I’ll be ok. I hope that answers your question about matching M, at least from what I’ve experienced. I’d love to know, from other service dog handlers here, what the matching process is like for them?
Jen says
What great news, about the new additions to your farm. When looking at Spot’s adorable triplets, any insights on why some have tails, and others don’t?
Trisha says
Jen: Easy answer! The wooly lambs had their tails docked (with anesthetic) because they can get fly strike, while the lambs with hairy coats don’t need tail docking because the hair doesn’t hold moisture like wool does. Make sense?
Laceyh says
I don’t see that anyone here is just now reading _Possibility Dogs_ by Susannah Charleson. It’s just out, and is largely an exploration of rescue dogs that become psychiatric service dogs. There is discussion of owner-trained vs. agency-trained dogs, and the sound suggestion that owner-trained dogs should be tested and carded (where possible).
JJ says
Laura:
Thanks for sharing your personal story. I was wondering what you think of this situation:
I have a seeing impaired co-worker with a (wonderful) service dog. I sometimes help my co-worker with business concerns. Sometimes when I’m done helping, I will ask if I can pet her dog. The dog is lying down about 4 feet away on a little mat. The dog is not in a harness or any type of vest. He’s just waiting patiently for my co-worker. I’ve known this person for several years. The dog really likes me.
Occasionally, my co-worker says, “yes”. Most of the time, she says, “no”. I never take offense when she says, “no”. I hope she doesn’t take offense when I ask. She doesn’t seem to. I just am curious what you think. Is it rude of me to ask in this type of situation? I should probably ask her if she thinks the question is an imposition. It just never occurred to me to do so before now, and now I want to know what you think. 🙂
Trisha says
LaceyH: I’m just finishing a review of Possibility Dogs along with an interview with the author to post in a few days. Stay tuned!
Robin Jackson says
@RebeccaRice,
Matching is pretty similar to how the best greyhound rescues run, as you described. Programs interview clients and dogs separately, then bring together several possible matches and look for chemistry. Sometimes they make trial matches.
One of the largest service dog programs in the US, Canine Assistants, was the subject of a PBS documentary, THROUGH A DOG’S EYES. The program looked at one graduating class of about two dozen dogs. As is typical of many large programs, the candidate people are brought to a two week training camp with the full class of dogs. During the first few days the people begin doing classroom work, the dogs are mostly free to wander around, and the trainers start slowly matching up pairs on a trial basis. For this reason it is often said that the dog helps choose his partner. The documentary goes into depth on how matches are made, and you’ll see that some succeed–and some don’t. It’s 60 minutes, and the full documentary is available free online at the PBS site.
http://m.video.pbs.org/video/1475527358/
More about the documentary is available here, but it’s not speech reader friendly.
http://www.pbs.org/dogs-eyes/#2
There is a full text transcript here:
http://www.pbs.org/dogs-eyes/show-transcript
Anyway, fascinating look at the typical matching process for big programs. It should answer most questions. Guide dog matching is fairly similar as Laura mentioned, except that their training camp usually takes longer and covers a lot of specific skills.
p.s. on the blue space parking, thanks for clarifying. Yes, I meant not disabled (liars). I know there are many people who don’t appear disabled but still qualify for blue space parking, most commonly those with COPD
or cystic fibrosis who can walk fine but only for a limited distance. Or it could be someone like my son coming to pick me up. He’s ablebodied, I’m in a wheelchair. If he needs to go inside the store to get packages for me, he might legally drive up, park in the blue space, and go inside–but when he comes out, i’ll be with him, so the space was chosen for my convenience, not his.
@JJ,
At this point, I would tell your coworker you’ve been following this discussion and ask her if it bothers her when you ask about petting the guide. Then just follow her lead. Remember it’s not about either the person or the dog liking you or not–it’s about the disruption to their work routine.
@Laura,
One day I was at a nearby recreation center, signing the kids up for some classes, so I had to go to several buildings, past the park and the pool. A young man in his late twenties holding a baby starts following us around, barking at my dog! “woof, woof, woof” like the deep growly bark Trisha’s described to chase off coyotes. My dog is a little startled, but he’s handling it well. I duck into one building, go through to the other end–and the guy starts following us and barking again! I turn the wheelchair around, put my dog behind me, and say, “He’s a service dog. You shouldn’t bark at him–he needs to focus on his work.”
And the guy gives me a deer in the headlights stare, stunned. Then says, “I know he’s a service dog. I thought service dogs were supposed to be able to handle anything.” :O
Sigh. I swear it’s like tourists messing with the Queen’s Guard in London. I don’t understand that either.
Laura says
At JJ,
I wouldn’t think it was rude of you to ask your coworker whether you can pet the dog in that situation. Clearly, the dog isn’t working and is just lying there. My best guess is, the coworker wants to have people maintain their distance from the dog when in the office so that the dog doesn’t become too selisetus towards people. Seamus was becoming too engaging to people in the office and so now, even though he isn’t usually in harness at my desk and is just curled up on his blanket, I always have people ask before they say hi to him. It’s cut down on his attention seeking behavior a lot and that’s a good thing. I hope that helped answer your question.
At Tricia,
I can’t wait to read Possibility Dogs. I loved Scent Of The Missing. Also, what’s the difference in how a wooly coat, versus a hairy cote feels on a lamb?
Kerry says
I would like to enter this discussion as a person who has a psychiatric service dog. My story, in as brief as I can make it, is that I experienced my first major depression in the year before I started veterinary school. My cousin died as a result of suicide. He was about my age, a kind and gentle person who was known for his affection for animals, and his suicide note addressed the care of his cat after he was gone. I made my first donation to Guide Dogs for the Blind in his honor.
This episode of depression lasted about three months, and I didn’t recognize it until it lifted, and then thought “what in the world was that?”. It definitely was not grief, which remained. Life went on, I attended veterinary school, worked, married, had children. There was a long period without depression, especially veterinary school and my first few years of working. This is to point out a misconception that people with depression need to “just snap out of it” or work harder. I knew how to work hard. But depression returned.
The turning point in my life was when I raised a puppy for Guide Dogs for the Blind with my daughters. I joke that there is no lab test for depression, like A1C or measuring blood pressure. I did have one test called TDO – Teenage Daughters Opinion. My daughters said “Mom, you are doing great when you are with Bouquet”. So when Bouquet, the GDB puppy, was career changed early in her formal training for allergies, the puppy raiser is asked if they want to keep the puppy. I said yes as I wiped my tears and grabbed my keys.
I thought what I needed was a dog in my life, so when Bouquet came back as a pet dog I enthusiastically got involved in dog activities (rally, obedience, buying my light bulbs at Home Depot because that’s where pet dogs are welcome). Well, the TDO test came back – “Mom, you are not doing great anymore”.
At that time, a newsletter came out from GDB that profiled three new graduates. All three people were blind and were very successful in their lives, and for a long time did not think a guide dog would be part of their lives. But they did decide to get a guide dog, and the newsletter described how much more fulfilling their lives were and how barriers were removed. When I read those profiles, I realized that I could substitute “depression” for “blindness”, and it would be my story.
I discussed this with my psychiatrist (actually brought in a lot of studies supporting this), but he waved it away and smiled and said many psychiatrists understand this, and that he had prescribed a psychiatric service dog for several patients, some of who would probably not be alive today if it were not for their dog. So he wrote a letter stating his support and my medical need, and that was the start of a new life for me. My second psychiatrist is also fully supportive, and likewise has a few patients who indeed would probably not be alive today if it were not for their service dog.
My dog wears a vest that says “Medical Service Dog”, which I believe accurately describes her. When I first started using her, I would protect my privacy and state that there are a number of invisible disabilities that dog ameliorate. But stigma is one of the most significant barriers for mental health, and I wanted to fight that in my own way. So if I am busy and need to get from one place to another, I say medical service dog. But when I have time, and mostly I do, I say she is a medical service dog for depression. I do believe Bouquet and I have helped fight stigma.
I hope this will help to understand my follow-up postings. I actually took a few days to enter this discussion, as two new suicides were made known to me, and I was pulled into a depression for a couple days. I’m better now, and entering the discussion that I have looked forward to for some time.
Kerry says
I would like to add that no matter what the disability, I believe there is a triad that must be fulfilled with service dogs:
There must be an established disability. The physical and mental health needs of the service dog must be met. And the handler should be well educated in public access rules and etiquette.
One of the requirements for obtaining a guide dog, as I understand it, is that the handler must be able to provide for the needs of the dog. Home visits may sometimes point out that the person is not yet ready for a dog, and goals are given for the person to meet in order to receive a dog. This would apply in concept to a psychiatric service dog, in that the person must be healthy enough and stable enough to provide for the dog’s physical and emotional needs.
Robin Jackson says
From the ADI ethics standards:
http://www.assistancedogsinternational.org/standards/assistance-dogs/ethics-for-dogs/
“8.An Assistance Dog must be placed with a client able to provide for the dog’s emotional, physical and financial needs.
9.An Assistance Dog must be placed with a client able to provide a stable and secure living environment.”
Of course if a member organization wants to provide a scholarship to the client to cover the cost of veterinary care or even food they can do so and still meet the standard.
Beth with the Corgis says
JJ, speaking strictly from the human viewpoint (since I don’t have service dogs), it is at some level uncomfortable for most people to say “no”, especially to the same repeated request.
Might I suggest that you could find a solution by making a one-time statement to her, something like “I just love your dog, but I know he has a job to do. If I’m ever here and he’s off-duty and I can say hi, just let me know!” and then leave the subject alone.
That way it’s up to her if she wants to let you pet her dog, and she doesn’t find herself in the position of saying “no” on an ongoing basis. It would seem at this point that she knows you like to pet the dog, so if it were something she wanted to allow she would probably invite you.
Rebecca Rice says
@Trisha: Knowing next to nothing about sheep, is it common to have wooly and hairy lambs from the same breeding?
Somebody mentioned up there somewhere about dogs for children being expected to be “on” most of the day. I’m curious: what is a reasonable amount of time to expect a service dog to work? For example, my job runs anywhere from 8 to 19 hour days, depending project deadlines and fires that need fighting. It’s a lot of desk work, so if I had a service dog, I would expect that a lot of that time it would be doing the “resting quietly” thing. But that’s not the same as being free to just be a dog. Does that get taken into consideration when deciding to get or not get a service dog?
And I also found it somewhat interesting, in light of the comment also made way up there about having to get a dog from an organization being limiting of disabled people’s independence, that the ADA limits service animals to dogs for titles II and III. I’m just trying to think of the reasoning for why it is acceptable for someone with a seeing eye dog to waltz into a store, but the same person with a seeing eye horse can’t go in.
And the larger implications of the ADA, and how it gets implemented, and the needs of the individual versus society. For example, many schools have implemented peanut bans, due to the number of kids with peanut allergies now. There are some parents of autistic kids who are pushing back on that, because their kids will only eat peanut butter sandwiches for lunch and have a complete meltdown if they can’t. They claim that being able to have peanut butter sandwiches is a reasonable accommodation (especially if the kid with the allergy isn’t in their class), while the parents of the peanut kids tend to think it is unreasonable to put their kids at risk, even remotely, and the autistic kids need to just learn to deal with it. It gets interesting to see the arguments for and against those sides.
And finally… what does the ADA say about requiring certain gear at a venue? There was another case I ran across where someone with a service dog at an AKC event was asked to remove her dog’s prong collar, because the event rules strictly prohibit dogs from wearing prongs at the event. Didn’t specify “competing in the event”, just being there. She refused to do so, they refused to allow the dog to stay with the collar. I assume that the law would come down on the side that the dog is not a pet, and thus doesn’t need to change the collar, but I am not sure, because they weren’t saying that she couldn’t have the dog there, just that she couldn’t have the collar, and I am not sure if that is a “reasonable accommodation” issue or not.
Frances says
I’ve only just realised that officially PSD (or PAD – Psychiatric Assistance Dogs – as they are known here) are not recognised in the UK. For a Service dog to have access rights, it has to be certified by an authorised organisation, and while there are several PAD organisations working on it, none are yet recognised to certify Service dogs. Perhaps the greater access all dogs have here means there has been less pressure to gain recognition – all dogs are allowed on public transport (two pets per passenger travel for free on trains, for example), many smaller shops welcome dogs, as do most pubs and increasing numbers of cafes.
Laura says
At Rebecca,
so many good questions get asked, the comment thread just keeps growing. Anyway, for my dogs, you’re right when you suspect that the dog resting quietly isn’t necessarily free to ust be a dog. I’m at work right now and as I write this, Seamus is curled up on his blanket, presumably asleep. He’s out of harness, but I still have his leash on him and his leash is usually tucked under my foot so he can’t get up and walk away. He’s not expected to perform any tasks he would in harness, but he isn’t free either. At my home, he has free reign to walk around, lie on the couch or my bed, get his toys ect, so it’s different and he knows it. I would say, he’s at the mid-point of expected behavior right now. He knows he should maintain more control than he needs to in the house, but he doesn’t have to have the higher level of control he needs while on the job in harness. I think this helps him get through a long day at work much better than if I were to keep him in harness all day.
Just like our brains tend to get tired and punchy after working hard at something for a long period of time, so too, do our dogs’ brains. After a day, and by that I mean, at least a few hours of straight work in harness, I find my dogs get silly and punchy. They sniff more, become much more easily distracted by little things and are just… off somehow. That means, it’s time to go home, take off the harness and let them do what ever they need to so that they can unwind. I give them their pick of toys if that’s their thing, or if they crate themselves and sleep, that’s fine too. My last guide did that.Anyway, I hope that answers your question Rebecca.
At Kerry,
Thank you for helping to raise puppies for GDb, our dogs are so well behaived because of the raisers dedication and hard work. I was wondering, what kinds of tasks does Bouquet perform for you to help with your depression? Thanks again and I hope you have many years with her.
ABandMM says
@ Rebecca Rice. I’m surprised (and disturbed) to hear that a service dog (presumably one that was trained but even one that was “in training”) needs a prong collar!
I would expect that a dog certified to work in public environments as an assistance dog would be able to “walk under control” thus be able to do its job in a flat buckle collar or job specific harness. I would seriously wonder about a dog’s ability to work in public if it needed to wear a prong collar.
If the handler has strength issues with respect to handling a dog, there are other harnesses that would allow him/her to have better control than a prong collar.
Actually, a lot of dog training organizations and clubs (including those that are hosting trials) have limitations on the type of collars allowed (and NOT allowed) on their premises. These are usually very clearly stated in the trial premium and/or on their website. Language I have seen includes “No prong collars are allowed on the trial grounds” thus covering both dogs involved in the competition, and those not. If this trial was being held on private property, I’m not sure what recourses would be in this case.
Robin Jackson says
@RebeccaRice,
OK, the question about guide horses is one of those government process things. Under the revised 2010 ADA regulations only a dog is considered a “service animal” for the ADA–but access also has to be allowed for trained miniature horses in some cases. Most cases, really, the biggest difference being that miniature horses can be heavier and businesses can bar them on a weight basis.
Since biblical times at least, some blind people have used donkeys and ponies as guide animals outdoors, say to get from home to the market and back. Not riding them, but walking alongside. These days in the US it’s miniature horses, who are small enough to fit onto a bus as well.
Why a horse instead of a dog? 3 typical reasons. Horses live to 25 or 30 typically. The much longer lifespan means you don’t have to get a new partner so often, which some people value. Second, it’s an alternative to those with a severe dog allergy. Third, it’s an acceptable traditional alternative in some communities where dogs are considered dirty and horses are considered noble.
Why horses as well as dogs from a public policy standpoint? They are well accepted by the general public as working animals, even if they haven’t seen one get on a bus before. And with an individual with the right temperament, they are quiet and patient. Dogs and horses also work well together if both are properly socialised, important if there was already a service dog team on that bus.
There is a long, long discussion of how the Department of Justice came to this decision in Appendix A to the 2010 ADA regs. Start about halfway down. It’s right after the section on wheelchairs and other mobility devices.
http://www.ada.gov/regs2010/titleII_2010/titleII_2010_regulations.htm#a2010guidance
And here’s the Guide Horse Foundation:
http://www.guidehorse.org/
Robin Jackson says
@RebeccaRice,
Your instinct on the prong collar issue is correct: IF it’s part of a service dog’s working gear, the ADA overrides and the team can use it inside the venue of an AKC event. But the dog cannot wear it while competing in an AKC event, including during benching. But expect to get challenged about every 10 feet, including by other spectators. AKC Wants to show the public that a dog of any breed can maintain good manners without correction collars if properly trained. That’s part of their “brand message.” But although they have tried, they have not been able to show that overrides the right of a person with a disability to attend as a spectator. Call the ADA infoline for more information.
Many service dog programs agree with the AKC’s idea of training over equipment. I myself am proof. I’m a partial quad with a grip strength of less than 2 pounds and unreliable hand control. My service dog is a big strong guy over 70 pounds. He wears a regular flat collar and a regular flat harness. Not a no pull harness. His leash may be hooked to either–or removed for some tasks. Control is maintained by voice cue and training history. Not physical force, however light, on my part.
However, in jurisdictions where prong collars are legal, some assistance dog programs do issue prong collars in the belief that it’s necessary for a person of limited strength who would be injured if the dog lunged away. But more and more are changing as people like me demonstrate they’re not needed for that purpose.
Physically frail owner trainers sometimes choose them because they can’t figure out how to train the dog without them. But there are many ways. Indeed, my dog started his wheelchair O&M (orientation and mobility) training indoors with no leash at all. He learned the heel position “naked” before any leash was introduced, so collar style was irrelevant.
So this is one of those legally you can, but don’t except others to know that or accept it easily.
JJ says
Laura: Thanks for your reply. Much appreciated to hear from someone who lives these issues every day.
Others who also responded: All good points. I have had those thoughts too. I try to keep in mind that every person and situation is different. So, while there can be general rules of thumb (many nicely laid out in this conversation), some situations will simply have to be on a case-by-case basis.
Robin Jackson says
As to the working day, it’s the minutes rather than the hours that matter. Think of working herding and hunting dogs. They both will work from dawn to dusk, but the minutes in between can be quite a different pace. And an inditarod dog is different yet again.
A typical office workday is very similar to duck hunting pace for the dog. Sleep a lot. Occasionally get up and do something simple on cue, go back to sleep. Most border collies would go mad with boredom. Most labs would be very comfortable.
Now consider a young man who lives on a working farm and has only one arm. A border collie might be a perfect service dog for him, and a lab might have trouble keeping up.
So just as with people, different individual dogs are comfortable in different jobs. And all individuals need some time off. But remember that working with people HAS been part of “being a dog” for thousands of years. Medical alert is a similar pace to guard dog work. Office work is similar to hunting dog work. Farm work is still farmwork. Put the right dog with the right person in the right setting, and the dog will thrive.
Kerry says
Writing is not one of my strengths, and when I re-read my post, I realized that it may have sounded like I just casually decided to use Bouquet as my service dog. The post does not reflect decades of very hard work to treat depression/anxiety, with usually limited or temporary success.
The frustration level was similar to when I tried to bring my father, who was in a wheelchair at the end of his life, to an appointment in a building that had no ramp. Standing there with my father at the foot of the stairs, wanting and needing to get into the building, but no amount of willpower would let me push his wheelchair up those stairs – that’s how I felt about wanting to overcome the depression that was limiting my life. Sometimes I have joked that Bouquet is my ramp into the life I deserve!
Robin Jackson says
@RebeccaRice,
The short answer on the peanut butter sandwich question is that legally the school/store/office cannot favour one ADA qualified disability over another, they have to try to accommodate both. Which isn’t always easy. The ADA infoline will be happy to discuss this one, it comes up quite often. JAN (the Job Accommodation Network) also has good tips for when this comes up in the workplace.
http://askjan.org/media/servanim.html
The long answer would be pages and pages, so I hope the short answer will do.
triangle says
In response to Robin:
On that note, I think people presume that if the dog were at home they would be a whirlwind of canine energy playing all day, which for most dogs is not the case. I’ve seen studies that suggests dogs left alone at home sleep for much of the day…and why not? With such highly social animals, being alone is probably very boring.
So a service dog sleeping in an office is at least still with their person, and getting some social interaction throughout the day. I would wager that for many dogs, that would be preferred over being left alone at home, even if they had more freedom of movement at home. Though you’re right that the temperament and energy needs to the dogs have to be taken into account.
I think many dogs are also pretty clear that they do enjoy working…I know Bento perks up when the harness comes out, and will wiggle butt all over the place. If he found working stressful I would expect a very different reaction. As you describe, he spends part of the day in an office with relatively little to do, but he still seems eager to get there.
Kat says
A thought on Service Dogs for young children, young children are exhausting, they have poor to non-existent impulse control, and a severe lack of judgement. Anyone that has ever spent time with a child ages 3-7 knows that it is physically exhausting to keep up with them and that you can’t take your eyes off them for more than a second. If the child needs a Service Dog it’s crucial for the adults to make sure the dog gets regular breaks.
My dog Ranger is a registered Therapy Dog. He loves kids and delights in being a “Tail Waggin’ Tutor” at the library listening to kids read. He also visits a nursing home on a regular basis. He needs a lot more frequent breaks when listening to the kids read than he does visiting older adult residents at the nursing home. Granted it’s probably harder for him having to adjust to a variety of different kids and their individual needs than if he spent the entire time with just one kid but, I’d argue, the fact that he’s adjusting to each kid is a comparable level of being “on duty” to being a Service Dog responsible for one kid. Expecting a Service Dog to be on duty continuously with a young child would be abusing the dog’s good nature and training.
Amy says
@Karry (& everyone else!)
Hi! I’ve been following all the comments as I’m fascinated by this topic. What a great, detailed, and respectful discussion!
What prompted me to contribute to the discussion was Karry’s story about her medical service dog for depression. I’ve also struggled with depression & anxiety throughout my life, and recently got a puppy. I love her so much, she makes me feel happier just being around her! (The oxycotin discussion from the next post feels accurate!) What I’m most curious about, if you don’t mind sharing Karry, is how does the dog help as a service dog vs. as a pet? No pressure though 🙂
JJ says
Robin Jackson: Thanks for sharing your personal story.
What caught my attention was your comments about training, type of collar, and strength of the trainer. Strong dogs easily overwhelm perfectly strong people–**even with** special devices such as say a gentle leader (or prongs, etc.). I personally learned that the hard way right away.
The flip side being what you said: with really good training, the needles and choking aren’t needed even when the human doesn’t have a lot of strength.
Here’s where I went with this in my head: Most pet dogs don’t have that really, really good training, but I would think that service dogs do.??? So, it seems reasonable that a prong collar would not be required gear of a service dog, and thus it would be reasonable for a group to request that it be removed if “no-prongs” is a rule of the group. In other words, if a dog does not have enough training so that it still needs a device like a prong collar, then it should not yet be considered (or licensed if such a thing existed) a service dog. (Disclaimer: I am biased in this opinion, because I consider prong and choke collars to be inhumane.)
Put another way: Maybe there should be a certain set of behaviors that all service dogs should have rock-solid outside of the specific duties performed to help a particular human function. I’m talking about behaviors such as toileting in appropriate places only, no biting people or furniture etc., ability to tolerate other well-behaved dogs, no pulling on the leash, etc. I doubt the current legal definition of a service dog includes this bit, but the idea appeals to me.
Then I had flip-flip thoughts:
…..[a] Sometimes training devices are security blankets, and that’s not always bad. I still walk my Great Dane in a gentle leader most times because it makes me feel more secure. 99.5% of the time, I don’t need it. (It’s also a safety measure for my dog who has a very sensitive throat. If there is any tension on his leash at all whether from him or me, it can’t be on his throat.)
…..[b] It is possible that a dog can perform certain required duties perfectly well for a human and yet not have trust-worthy leash manners. Does that really mean that the dog isn’t a perfectly good service dog? No one’s perfect.
Just thinking out loud.
Margaret McLaughlin says
@ABandMM & others–
Re the prong collar–the guide dog school that I puppy-raise for, Leader Dogs for the Blind, is now permitting puppy raisers with impairments to use front-clip harnesses. I had a shoulder replacement in 2011, & have used one for the last 3 puppies. I fasten one end of the leash to the martingale collar & the other end to the harness, so that I always have an ’emergency brake’ available even when I am working the puppy off the collar. Since some makes of front-clips have both front & top clips available I find it hard to imagine a scenario where some variation on this would not be possible for a working dog, which would eliminate the need for a prong collar altogether.
My Flat-Coat, Lia, pulls like a train in her tracking harness, & reverts instantly to perfect leash manners if I clip the line above her sternum rather than to the back, so I think it would work even for a dog who needs to pull some of the time, as some wheelchair assistance dogs do.
This has been a fascinating thread–I keep coming back to see what good new stuff has been posted.
Robin Jackson says
@Triangle,
Absolutely! We have two dogs in our household. I’m home all day. There’s a dog door into a fenced yard. My son’s pet dog spends most of the day outdoors, guarding the yard against squirrels, crows, and for all I know, orcs. She’s very serious out there. 🙂
On the other hand, if I’m looking for my service dog, I just have to look down. Wherever I am, 99% of the time he’s sleeping within 4 feet of me. No leash, no working gear, no stay cues. His choice. He and Tulip have very different lifestyles, but they both seem happy.
Robin Jackson says
@Kat,
What a fascinating observation about Ranger’s Therapy Dog work! Thank you for sharing it.
Robin Jackson says
@JJ,
It can also help to remember that many people with service dogs don’t train their own dog. In fact, for some, it’s the first dog they’ve ever had. They rely on the advice of the trainer. And some programs require that they use only program-issued equipment. In an area where the prong collar is not illegal, DoJ is very strong that it’s not fair (or legal) to ask them to change the equipment that was used to train the dog.
Again, I personally don’t use prong collars, and do try to encourage people to consider other options. But I undertand the legal reasoning.
BTW, you may not know this, but about 25% of programs retain legal ownership of the dog. Legally the dog is always on loan to the client. So the client may have very limited choices in what they can change.
Nicola says
A brief point about PTSD & its ‘temporary’ nature. I have depression. Until 3 years ago I regularly cut myself to handle stressful situations. With much help from an excellent psychologist, I stopped & considered it gone. While recently in hospital, without the coping mechanisms we had developed (including my dogs), I started cutting again. I don’t think any mental health disorder is ever cured. We learn coping strategies, better skills at handling emotions and situations, but a relapse is always a real possibility – and one we are trained to identify, hopefully early enough to get effective help. PTSD is not temporary, it cannot be cured, only managed. After a lifetime of depression, I had my first and thankfully brief, episode of PTSD diagnosed independently by two psychiatrists. I have never had so much trouble coping, not when suicidal, not when friends abandoned me because I wouldn’t “buck up”. When everything is a huge struggle, I can imagine having a dog there to warn you things are about to become too much, or turn on the light, could make a huge difference between a functional, independent adult, and one requiring continual care. To question the usefulness of these dogs shows short sightedness both in human compassion and financial returns.
By the way, in New South Wales, Australia, anyone can train their own service dog, but limited organisations have the right to certify that dog a service dog. It is rather like driving a car – whoever trains you, you still have to pass the test. I’ve only known a couple of people who have done so – one a dog trainer with 40 years of experience behind her, including in helping training service dogs for others, and another a wheelchair bound man who had been waiting for 5 years for a suitable dog, and whose current german shepherd was 12 and no longer capable. I believe he succeeded, the other dog is still in training.
JJ says
Robin Jackson,
That’s very interesting info. I did not know that the training organization could retain ownership. Also, I think you are absolutely right that it can be scary to change gear, especially when one is told that one has to use such gear.
I hope that more training organizations will soon wake up to the value of humane training devices.
Thanks for your comments in this thread. You are a great source of information!
Kerry says
Laura and Amy:
Regarding the difference between Bouquet as a pet and as a service dog – that was the question I asked myself a lot! In fact, in the early days I would wonder if there really was a difference and do some experiments, where I would stop using her as a service dog for a while. I did this quite a few times, and it became obvious to me that there was a difference, and then my interest became why and how. (Of course it is not a double-blind, placebo controlled study, and the n=1.) More recently, when I read medical journal articles or see studies on brain function, I will think maybe that helps explain the difference.
I’d like to give a thoughtful answer and maybe refer to some studies, but have some deadlines to meet, so will post a better reply later. I understand that I approach this subject more from the medical model -making an observation, trying to verify and understand the observation, and searching for another modality of effective treatment for illnesses that are challenging to treat.
In the meantime, I’ll mention two books by Kay Redfield Jamison that made a difference in my understanding and approach toward mental health. Dr Jamison is one of the foremost authorities on manic-depressive illness, and in her book An Unquiet Mind she discloses that she also has the same illness. There are so many levels to the book, but for this discussion what caught my attention was her description of tutoring a blind student for many months, feeling like she understood what life was like for him, and then at one point “It was one of those still, clear moments when you realize you haven’t understood anything at all, that you have had no real comprehension of the other person’s world”. Even though Dr. Jamison’s book is about manic-depressive illness, most of her comments and insights are relevant to the world of mental illnesses in general. Her second book, Nothing Was the Same, again has many levels, one of which is treating an illness involving the brain with the same approach as any other illness of the body, and the other of differentiating between grief and depression (which could also generalize to other emotions and illnesses).
I enjoy how so many people bring different experiences and insight to the table of this discussion!
Trisha says
I continue to soak in information from this remarkable discussion we are all having. Nicola, I wanted to thank you for your forthright honesty about the challenges you, and everyone with mental illnesses, face everyday. It is truly a tragedy that there is so little understanding of the physical nature of the brain, and how its function and physiology affects how we behave and who we are (or how we are perceived).
And em, I love your honest admittance that you actually considered at one point bringing Otis on a plane as a PSD, and rejecting that in a millisecond for ethical reasons. Who of us hasn’t briefly considered pushing the boundaries, but then allow our value system and a social conscience to squelch the thought?
To Kerry, thank you too for giving us a window on your own challenges, I so appreciate your adding to our conversation. The books you mention sound fascinating, and important too. I couldn’t agree more how often we “think we understand” and then something happens in life to remind us: Not even close.
There are so many posts that deserve a call out, thank you all so much–JJ, Robin, Kat, Laura plus so many others–for your contributions. Please know that I read each and every comment and learn so very much from them. I’m working on a blog post about Susannah Charleson’s new book about PSDs, will post it first thing tomorrow morning. Perhaps we can continue more of this discussion here and on it…
Robin Jackson says
A dog is a service dog in the US if three conditions three conditions are met:
A) the person has a qualifying disability
B) the dog has been individually trained to perform a task/work that ameliorates that disability
C) the task rises above the level of ordinary pet dog training
Judges have been consistent about applying C. It seems complicated at first, but it’s pretty straightforward.
So, four examples.
1) A person has a diagnosed anxiety disorder severe enough to qualify as a disability under the ADA. They feel better when they pet their dog. The dog is not a service dog because she has not been individually trained.
2) A person has heart disease. Their doctor has advised them to exercise more, “Take your dog for a walk after dinner.” They train their dog to do regular loose leash walking and take the dog out. Even though a doctor recommended the activity and the dog was individually trained after the doctor’s recommendation, the dog is not a service dog because the training does not rise above that of an ordinary pet.
3) A person has MS and one of their symptoms is proprioception, the inability to walk in a straight line. They train their dog to wear a special harness and guide them. The dog walks at the person’s pace and leans slightly away from them if the person starts to veer off course while still moving forward, a technique called “counterbalance.” The dog is a service dog because all three conditions are met.
4) A person has PTSD. They train their dog for a behavior called Bug Out. When they arrive at someplace new, like an unfamiliar shopping center, the person chooses an entry point, and indicates to the dog that “This is Bug Out.” They then go shopping. During the shopping trip, if the person recognizes an impending PTSD disorientation attack, they cue the dog, “Bug Out.” The dog guides the person back to the original Bug Out point and on outside. This way when the person recovers themselves, they are in a known location and likely close to their transit, pickup, or parking spot. The dog is a service dog because all three conditions are met.
Judges tend to be much more receptive to cases where the three conditions are easy to understand. A dog who goes into a dark room and turns on the light makes sense to a judge. A dog whose only task is to “provide deep pressure for calming effect” by lying on the person’s chest or back may be a much harder sell. Judges like to be able to look at a video and see a clear distinction between what the service dog is doing and what a typical pet do would do. They also really strongly prefer tasks that obviously required training.
An illustrative example is a shift in the last few years in the type of alert a dog who recognizes low blood sugar for diabetics does. Originally, these dogs were most trained to just nose punch their handler. It was quiet, but the problem it was really hard to convince a judge or landlord that this was a service dog behavior, because the dog just looked like a regular pet dog. In fact, she looked like a poorly behaved pet dog!
So these days most professional trainers instead train the dog to do a bringsel alert, a method adopted from search and rescue. The dog wears a bit of leash, usually about 6″ long, hanging down from his collar. To do the alert, he takes the bringsel in his mouth. It has several advantages over a nose punch. It’s still quiet. But it’s also visible to someone else across the room, it can’t be mistaken for normal untrained dog behavior, and it prevents any bruising to the person or danger if the person is doing something like ironing or stovetop cooking.
http://www.dogs4diabetics.com/programs/d4d-training/
ADI standards require that a dog have 3 trained behaviours, but US law only requires one. But the team still has to meet all three conditions.
Kendra says
What an interesting topic!
As someone who is studying psychology, I think this is fascinating. Personally, I got my dog because I’d been in a string of bad relationships, and I had finally reached the point where I realized I wanted to be loved but that the relationships I was choosing weren’t working for me. So I adopted my border collie Bojangles, and he’s been an absolute joy in my life. He’s not a service dog, but he’s provided so much therapy and love for me. I couldn’t imagine my life without him in it. I do believe that dogs can be powerful tools for helping people!
I think that certification would be a good thing from personal experience. My last boyfriend had seizures, and after he adopted a Cattle Dog/Corgi he decided he would make her his seizure alert dog. I think he had good intentions, but he began taking her with him everywhere immediately after ordering a vest for her online (which anyone could order – regardless of whether or not their dog is actually a service dog). He does have a disability, but she wasn’t trained, and she didn’t perform any functions for him. She didn’t warn him when a seizure was coming on or do anything when he was having a seizure, because she hadn’t been trained to. I’m not sure if it could be argued that her presence helped to relieve stress, which triggered his seizures, but she certainly wasn’t trained to perform any official behaviors in response to his seizures in the few months he had her. Tragically, she died after eating a bottle of pain medication that had been left out. The last I heard was that he had purchased a doodle puppy to be his next service dog, and that she was highly varied in her behavior around other people. I hope that’s not the case, but it would not surprise me if it was. In this case, more strict regulations could help ensure that untrained dogs/dogs not cut out for service work weren’t taken into public to be bad ambassadors for the dogs that are trained and do provide support.
Rebecca Rice says
I was poking around servicedogcentral.com, and ran across the following interesting comment. Essentially, most service dogs are around 60 pounds, because that is a good size for what they are intended to do. You can, of course, pick a dog that is smaller or larger. But, as they said, any limitations from doing so are the handler’s problem, not the public’s. If your small dog can’t walk as long as you want it to, the store doesn’t have to allow you to put it in the shopping cart. If your Great Dane doesn’t fit in the space you want to sit at in the theater, they do not have to make the space bigger. So you need to carefully consider that when you decide on what dog to train as a service dog. I just thought that was an interesting comment, and one I hadn’t thought of before.
Robin Jackson says
@RebeccaRice,
The 60 pound size typically means “small Labrador or Golden” and applies to most dogs used for guide work and wheelchair work. Many programs refer to max size as “comfortably fitting under a bus seat.”
However, hearing dogs for the deaf have most commonly been small dogs. In the past, these dogs have usually worked at home and smaller dogs are cheaper to maintain and may be easier to manage for the elderly. Even Cavalier King Spaniels can be good at home hearing dogs. You still can’t put them in a grocery cart, though!
These days several programs train hearing dogs for the deaf in two sizes. The traditional small dogs, under 20 pounds, are matched with those who need a dog mostly at home. Labs and Goldens are trained for those who need a dog to take with them to the office for all the reasons you gave, primarily safety of the dog in crowd situations.
Movie theaters and restaurants don’t have to accommodate a larger dog. But an employee asking for the right to bring a service dog to work as a reasonable accommodation can request that space be made for a Great Dane. For example it would probably be a reasonable accommodation to ask that a company-provided decorative plant be removed from an office to make space for a Great Dane service dog who didn’t fit under the desk.
Robin Jackson says
@Kendra,
Thank you so much for your thoughtful post. I especially liked your last line: “that untrained dogs/dogs not cut out for service work weren’t taken into public to be bad ambassadors for dogs that are trained and do provide support.”
This is such a huge issue! The growling, snarling chihuahua in the homemade “ServicecDog” vest at the grocery store may just have snapped at the HR manager who will be making a decision next week on the “reasonable accommodation” request by an employee to bring her service dog to work. There is a ripple effect from every poorly behaved dog in a no pets area that can affect many other teams.
Rebecca Rice says
@Robin… got another question for you, and I really don’t know how this one would go. Apparently someone who lives in an HOA (not sure if this is an owner or renter) with a service dog has been told that they can’t have the dog at the HOA pool. Now, part of me says that this isn’t public property, so they can in fact restrict the dog. But, if he is an owner, then he is part owner of the pool, and surely has a right to have the dog on his own property. On the other hand, dogs in pools can be a legitimate health/sanitation concern, so a possible compromise would be to allow the dog in the pool area, but not the pool itself. But, if that is ok with the owner, then why would that be any different than having the dog stay outside the pool fence? Which got me thinking… what would be the purpose of having a service dog at the pool, but not IN the pool? And this one I can’t find any web hits on, so I was wondering how you think it would play out. Does he get to have the dog in the pool area (I’m pretty sure that they can restrict the dog from actually being in the pool), or can they entirely ban the dog from the area?
Robin Jackson says
@RebeccaRice,
Housing issues are always individually negotiated. There’s no one answer. The local Fair Housing office are the people to talk to.
As to why you’d have a dog in a pool area, it depends on what the dog does. If the dog is needed on the trip from the apartment to the pool, such as a guide dog for a blind person or a dog who opens doors for a person in a heel chair, then, yes, the person may want the dog there.
For public pools, service dogs are allowed up to the water’s edge, but not in the pool itself. Many people bring a lightweight popup crate for the dog to rest in, mostly for the dog’s safety.
To be honest, it’s really rare for a person to come with just their dog and no other people, because of the danger of someone harassing or stealing the dog. But if the person comes with an attendant or another family member, you do see them occasionally.
Rose C says
I am just reading the comments today (right now only but halfway through) and am really fascinated by the things that I have read so far. I am especially thrilled to hear from individuals who actually have service dogs — thank you for sharing your experiences on your work partnerships and relationships. I have zero knowledge on the process of selection for service dogs, team pairing, what entails the term ‘service dogs’, how they perform the task they are trained for, what happens to them when they retire, and zero knowledge on the existing laws and provisions given to handlers of service dogs. It didn’t occur to me too that people actually try to pass their pets as service dogs. This is a very interesting blogpost and discussion and I am enjoying reading it as well as learning so much from it.
Ana Rudolf says
Thank you Laura for sharing your valuable experience expressingit in this topic. It is a great, detailed, and respectful discussion!
My personal belief is almost any dog can be trained to sense any changes such as anxiety, panic or flash atack or any other psychiatric condition in a person’s body, taking into account that is possible for a dog to be trained to alert for different medical conditions. A dog can be trained to paw at the leg, to put the pressure of their body weight on their handler’s lap and abdomen, to gain more personal space for him, to take care of corners… of their disabled recipient and interrupt a potential destructive and debilitating behaviour for repsective individual. To not mention the healing effect at the mental level and the emotional support they can offer just by the their presence.
Ever puppies lover,
Ana
Robin Jackson says
Quick update: Gander is the recipient of a 2014 AKC Humane Fund award in recognition of the work Lon and Gander are doing to help others:
http://parade.condenast.com/325178/michelechollow/gander-the-service-dog-to-receive-hero-award/
Trisha says
Isn’t that fantastic about Lon and Gander? Such a perfect choice!
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Josaph Lara says
Such an amazing post! I can relate to it. Last year when I recently relocated to California to study, it became difficult to handle different circumstances on campus. I got severe depression. One of my batchmates suggested I go for a psychiatric service dog, so I got one for myself. Within 3 months I started going back to my normal mental health state.