What Are Service Dogs?

The month of September was National Service Dog Month. Dogs are integral to our lives. They act as lifelong companions and best friends to their owners. Studies show that dogs provide serious health benefits, like lowering stress and improving levels happiness for their owner. These abilities, combined with special training, make service dogs one of the most useful tools an individual with disabilities can take advantage of. During the last decade, that is just what people have been doing. The number of registered service dogs in the United States has skyrocketed over the last 10 years. With the number of service dogs increasing, however, the problems that come with lack of understanding about service dogs have also increased. Read on to learn a few key facts about service dogs so we can close the knowledge gap and begin to truly understand the need for service animals.

A service dog is an animal who has had professional training to help a person with disabilities lead a more independent life. According to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a service dog is “a dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for a person with a disability.” The ADA prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in employment, state and local government, commercial facilities, transportation, and telecommunications.

The tasks a service dog performs vary according to its owners disabilities. For example, a guide dog helps his blind owner navigate through his environment. A hearing dog helps alert his deaf owner to important sounds. Mobility dogs assist their owners who have walking devices, wheelchairs, or balance issues. Medical alert dogs have been trained to signal the onset of a medical issue such as a seizure or low blood sugar episode. Psychiatric service dogs assist their owners with disabilities such as obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia, and other conditions. Ways they help these individuals include entering a dark room and turning on a light to mitigate stress-inducing condition, interrupting repetitive behaviors, and reminding a person to take medication.

Federal laws provide special accommodations to disabled persons and limit the questions that may be asked about their disabilities. Sadly, these laws are often taken advantage of by those who misrepresent their dogs as service animals. This creates problems for those who are truly disabled and affects the reputation of legitimate service dog owners. To help mitigate this misrepresentation of service animals, some state and local governments have made it an offense to misrepresent service animals.

It is important to show respect and never misrepresent a service dog. These companions have important work that they have trained tirelessly to complete. Not to mention, their owners have conditions which they truly require help to navigate. Another important note is to refrain from touching or calling a service animal, as that could distract them from their important job.