Service Animal Guidelines

How “Service Animal” is Defined

Service animals are defined as dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities. Examples of such work or tasks include guiding people who are blind, alerting people who are deaf, pulling a wheelchair, alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure, reminding a person with mental illness to take prescribed medications, calming a person with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) during an anxiety attack, or performing other duties. Service animals are working animals, not pets. The work or task a dog has been trained to provide must be directly related to the person’s disability. Dogs whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support do not qualify as service animals under the ADA.

Service Animals Must Be Under Control

Under the ADA, service animals must be harnessed, leashed, or tethered, unless these devices interfere with the service animal’s work or the individual’s disability prevents using these devices. In that case, the individual must maintain control of the animal through voice, signal, or other effective controls.

Did You Know?

• It is REQUIRED under State and Federal Laws that Service Dogs be allowed to go anywhere their handler goes including restaurants, schools, stores, theatres, concerts, sporting events, doctor’s offices, on buses, taxis, airplanes and any other public place or mode of transportation – at no additional cost.
• It is ILLEGAL for anyone to request the details regarding your disability. Under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) of 1996, an individual is not required to disclose any information about their health status or medical history. Any business or organization that makes an inquiry is in violation of federal statute and may be subject to criminal and civil charges.
• Air Travel Made Easy! The US Dept. of Transportation states, “Air Carriers MUST permit dog guides or other service animals with appropriate identification to accompany an individual with a disability on a flight.” In addition, you will PRE-BOARD with your Service Dog. And, Service Dogs are permitted to lie at your feet. They are NOT required to remain in kennels while on board the aircraft.

Be sure to visit the Service Dog FAQ which outlines common questions and answers ~ including several important links we encourage you to view. If you would like further information, please don’t hesitate to Contact Us.
Also, please check out our Facebook and Service Dog Blog for current articles & news, and/or to post your own pictures and stories!

Rules Related to Service Animals

• When it is not obvious what service an animal provides, only limited inquiries are allowed. Staff may ask two questions: (1) is the dog a service animal required because of a disability, and (2) what work or task has the dog been trained to perform. Staff cannot ask about the person’s disability, require medical documentation, require a special identification card or training documentation for the dog, or ask that the dog demonstrate its ability to perform the work or task.
• Allergies and fear of dogs are not valid reasons for denying access or refusing service to people using service animals. When a person who is allergic to dog dander and a person who uses a service animal must spend time in the same room or facility, for example, in a school classroom or at a homeless shelter, they both should be accommodated by assigning them, if possible, to different locations within the room or different rooms in the facility.
• A person with a disability cannot be asked to remove his service animal from the premises unless: (1) the dog is out of control and the handler does not take effective action to control it or (2) the dog is not housebroken. When there is a legitimate reason to ask that a service animal be removed, staff must offer the person with the disability the opportunity to obtain goods or services without the animal’s presence.
• Establishments that sell or prepare food must allow service animals in public areas even if state or local health codes prohibit animals on the premises.
• People with disabilities who use service animals cannot be isolated from other patrons, treated less favorably than other patrons, or charged fees that are not charged to other patrons without animals. In addition, if a business requires a deposit or fee to be paid by patrons with pets, it must waive the charge for service animals.
• If a business such as a hotel normally charges guests for damage that they cause, a customer with a disability may also be charged for damage caused by himself or his service animal.

For more information about the ADA, please visit www.ADA.gov or call the ADA Information Line 800-514-0301 (Voice) and 800-514-0383 (TTY). All calls are confidential.