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Alyssa Waggoner

Dr. Adrienne Cassel

ENG 1201 217

30 November 2017

The Use and Purpose of Service Animals

Have you ever been in a restaurant or other public area, and you saw an animal wearing

some kind of vest? This happens to me pretty often and I used to wonder, why are these animals

allowed in here?. These animals are called service dogs, or sometimes emotional support

animals. They are used to assist people in many different ways. A couple of years ago, I

actually found out that I may need a guide dog in the future due to my bad eyesight. This caused

me to wonder what service animals are actually used for and how they help their handlers on a

day to day basis.

I should start this essay off by clarifying some definitions. According to the Department

of Justice regulations, a service animal is any dog or other domesticated animal that is trained to

perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability (Ensminger). Service animals are

often distinguishable through the use of a vest that the dog wears, although this is very common,

it is not mandatory. Emotional Support Animals (ESA), are considered different than service

animals. ESAs are animals owned by people with mental or emotional disabilities, and are

sometimes just considered pets (Ensminger). Although sometimes just considered pets, these

animals can be trained to help with several things. For example, ESAs can help with children

who have autism, people who suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and they can

remind handlers to take their medication. For an emotional support animal to be considered a
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service animal, the animal must do more than provide emotional support and comfort

(Ensminger).

Emotional support animals, that have not been trained to become a service animal, are not

protected under the Americans with Disabilities act. This is because these animals have not yet

been trained to assist their handler with a specific task or job (US Department of Justice).

Although ESAs are not protected under the ADA, some local or state governments do have laws

that allow them in public areas. Although ESAs cant go everywhere that service animals can,

they are allowed to fly with their handlers and they can qualify for no-pet housing (US

Department of Justice).

It is also important to know that there are several different kinds of service animals and

they all have a different purpose. Some of these include guide dogs, signal dogs, mobility

impairment dogs, and seizure alert dogs. Guide dogs, which are dogs typically used by blind

people, have been around since after the first world war (Ensminger). Signal dogs alert their

handler to certain sounds. These sounds can include a doorbell, a siren, or an alarm (Ensminger).

Signal dogs are normally used by deaf or hard-of-hearing people. Mobility impairment dogs are

used to help handlers with physical support, balance, or stability (Ensminger). Seizure alert, or

seizure response dogs, are used to warn handlers of an oncoming seizure and respond by either

arousing the unconscious handler, making sure the handler doesnt walk into obstacles, or by

carrying the medication that could help the handler during a seizure (Ensminger).

Service animals have to go through very specific training before they are able to start

working with their handler. According to Service Dog Central, service dogs have to go through

three basic areas of training. These areas include manners, obedience, and task training (Kirsten).

Typically, this training can last from 18-24 months. Service animals must be able to use the
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restroom on command, and ignore everyone and everything (including food), besides their owner

(Kirsten). Three important parts of the training includes teaching the dog heeling, proofing,

and task training (Kirsten). Heeling is the most difficult task to teach a dog. Heeling is when

the dog maintains a relative position to the handler, regardless of how the handler might move

(Kirsten). Proofing is the most time-consuming part of training a dog. Proofing is when a dog

is trained to slowly get used to distractions (Kirsten). This is the most time-consuming part of

training because you must train the dog one distraction at a time. Task training is the easiest

part of training and comes after the dog has learned all of the above things, and includes using

their new skills to perform specific tasks. (Kirsten).

According to April Childers, who has had a mobility assistance and medical alert service

dog since 2013, it is very important that people do not pet service animals. Any kind of attempt

to distract a service dog is frowned upon, this includes petting the dog, talking to the dog, or

even making eye contact with the dog (Childers). When a service animal is helping their handler,

it is considered working. Distracting a service animal while it is working could cause the

handler to get hurt, or have a panic/anxiety attack (Childers).

Some people may also wonder, Where are service animals allowed? Are there any

restrictions to where they may go?. According to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA),

state and local governments, businesses, and nonprofit organizations that serve the public

generally must allow service animals to accompany their handler wherever the public is normally

allowed to go (US Department of Justice). This means that service animals are allowed to go to

work with their handler, allowed to stay in hotels with their handler, and allowed to reside in

hospitals with their handler (US Department of Justice). People with service animals do not have

to stay in pet-friendly hotel rooms and hotels are not allowed to charge a cleaning fee unless
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the service animal damages something (US Department of Justice). There are some exceptions to

this though, if a service animals behavior poses a direct threat to the safety or health of others,

then the service animal can be asked to leave the property (US Department of Justice). Churches

and other religious institutions and organizations are exempt from the ADA, which means they

do not have to allow service animals onto their premises, unless there is a different state law

regarding the issue.

According to the Americans with Disabilities Act, there are no restrictions on what type

of dog can be a service animal, meaning any breed can be a service animal, even if the place

where the handler lives has a ban on certain breeds of dogs (US Department of Justice). There

are also no restrictions on what age a service animal can be. According to Service Dog Central,

dogs should not start to be formally trained until they reach the age of eighteen months (Brown).

This way, the dog is mature enough to learn but also still young enough to absorb new

information with ease. According to Kea Grace, it is up to the handler to know when it is time

for the service dog to retire (Grace). If someone thinks that it is almost time to retire their dog,

there are some signs that they can watch for. Some of these signs include; the dog is noticeably

not as happy, the dog is slowing down and cant keep up with their handlers pace, the dogs

sleep needs have increased, the dog is having health issues, or the dog just isnt as responsive

(Grace).

Finding out that my eyesight is so bad that I may one day need a service dog was scary.

But, because of this information I learned new information about what a service animal actually

is. A service animal is any dog or other domesticated animal that is trained to perform tasks for

the benefit of an individual with a disability (Ensminger). A service animal is different than an

emotional support animal. There are more than just guide dogs for the blind, there are several
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different types of service animals for all different purposes. There are a lot of laws surrounding

service dogs and its important that handlers know these. It is also important that people know

not to pet or distract service animals. Training a service animal takes quite a lot of time and

effort, and it is necessary that the handler knows when it is time for the dog to retire. Overall,

there are a lot of uses for service animals and they assist their handlers in many day-to-day tasks.
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Works Cited

Ensminger, John, and Breitkopf, Frances. Evolving Functions of Service and Therapy Animals

and the Implications for Public Accommodation Access Rules. Animal Law Legal

Center, Michigan State University College of Law, 1 Jan. 2009,

www.animallaw.info/article/evolving-functioservice-and-therapy-animals-and-

implications-public-accommodation-access.

US Department of Justice. Frequently Asked Questions about Service Animals and the ADA.

Frequently Asked Questions about Service Animal and the ADA, US Department of

Justice, Civil Rights Division, 1 July 2015.

www.ada.gov/regs2010/service_animals_qa.html.

Childers, April. Why You Can't Pet Service Dogs. Anythingpawsable.com, Aug. 2014,

www.anythingpawsable.com/cant-pet-service-dogs/.

Kirsten. What Kind of Training Does a Dog Need to Become a Service Animal? Service Dog

Central, 27 Nov. 2007, servicedogcentral.org/content/node/154.

Brown, Elle. Tips for Owner Training . Service Dog Central, Jan. 2016,

servicedogcentral.org/content/owner-training-tips.

Grace, Kea. Retiring a Service Dogs: Signs It Is Time. Anythingpawsable.com, Sept. 2014,

www.anythingpawsable.com/retiring-a-service-dog-faq/.

Therapetic, Inc. Service Animal? Emotional Support Animal (ESA)? Therapy

Animal?Medicare Insurance Portal for TheraPetic, 20 Sept. 2017,

medicare.therapetic.org/2017/09/15/whats-difference-service-animal-emotional-support-

animal-assistance-animal-therapy-animal/.