WHAT IS A SERVICE ANIMAL
The Americans with Disabilities Act defines a service animal as any dog trained to perform a physical task for the person with the disability. Such animals are classified as guide dogs whose task is to physically navigate for the blind, hearing or signal dogs whose task is to physically alert the handler to sounds in the environment and service dogs such as mobility or seizure dogs whose task would be to physically pull wheel chairs, alert handler to an oncoming seizure, and a whole lot more.
Service animals such as therapy dogs that provide emotional support or companionship as prescribed by a physician are not service animals as defined under ADA and therefore, not eligible to access public places. These service animals, however, are eligible under the Fair Housing act to reside with their owners in residential properties.
To learn more about our state law, the Americans with disabilities Act or Fair Housing Act and how these laws may apply to you, links are provided on our Links page.
If you would like to learn more about service dog training visit Hawaii Canines for independence located in Maui, Hawaii.
Other helpful resources about service animals
ABOUT GUIDE DOGS
For most dog owners, the expression "work like a dog" doesn't make much sense. While the typical canine companion certainly gives his owner immeasurable happiness, it's obvious that he lives a life of remarkable leisure. Our pets gracefully go from the carefree days of childhood directly to the rest and relaxation of retirement, skipping the working part of life entirely. But some dogs happily perform very demanding jobs for much of their life, putting in a full day's work just like the rest of us. Guide dogs, one of the most familiar sorts of working dogs, provide an invaluable service to humans. Every day, they help their handlers get from place to place more safely.
- - Keep on a direct route, ignoring distractions such as smells, other animals and people
- - Maintain a steady pace to the left and just ahead of the handler
- - Stop at all curbs until told to proceed
- - Turn left and right, move forward and stop on command
- - Recognize and avoid obstacles that the handler won't be able to fit through (narrow passages, low overheads, etc.)
- - Stop at the bottom and top of stairs until told to proceed
- - Bring the handler to elevator buttons
- - Lie quietly when the handler is sitting down
- - Help the handler to board and move around buses, subways and other forms of public transportation
- - Obey a number of verbal commands
Additionally, a guide dog must know to disobey any command that would put the handler in danger. This ability, called selective disobedience, is perhaps the most amazing thing about guide dogs -- that they can balance obedience with their own assessment of the situation. This capacity is extremely important at crosswalks, where the handler and dog must work very closely together to navigate the situation safely. The dog stops when the team reaches the curb. This signals to the handler that they have reached a crosswalk. Dogs cannot distinguish the color of traffic lights, so the handler must make the decision of when it is safe to proceed across the road.
The handler listens to the flow of traffic to figure out when the light has changed and then gives the command "forward." If there is no danger, the dog proceeds across the road in a straight line. If there are cars approaching, the dog waits until the danger is gone and then follows the forward command. In a handler-guide dog team, the guide dog doesn't lead the handler and the handler doesn't completely control the guide dog; the two work together to get from place to place. The guide dog doesn't know where the destination is, so it must follow the handler's instructions of how far to go and when to turn. The handler can't see the obstacles along the way, so the guide dog must make its own decisions as to how to navigate the team's pathway. Each half of the team relies on the other to accomplish the tasks at hand.
ON THE JOB AND AFTER HOURS
Guide dogs enjoy their work immensely, and they get a lot of satisfaction from a job well done, but there is no room for typical dog fun during the work day. Games, treats, petting and praise distract the dog from helping its handler navigate the course. Even when the handler doesn't need assistance, a guide dog on the job is trained to ignore distractions and keep still. This is because a guide dog must be able to come to the handler's workplace or be in public places without creating a disturbance.
When you see a guide dog on the job, it is extremely important that you recognize that it is at work. People are very impressed with guide dogs and so we have a natural inclination to praise them, but the best thing you can do to help a guide dog is to leave it alone so that it can pay attention to its surroundings and maintain its focus on its handler. When a guide dog gets home at the end of the day, however, it will play and soak up praise just like an ordinary pet. Guide dogs make the distinction between work and play based on their harness. When the harness is on, they must stay completely focused -- when it comes off, it's play time. Guide dogs work very hard every day, but they lead extremely happy lives, full of lots of attention and stimulation. Dogs only end up working as guide dogs if they absolutely love the work. In fact, many handlers report that their dogs leap enthusiastically into the harness every morning!
ABOUT HEARING DOGS (also called Signal Dogs)
Hearing Dogs are trained to assist a deaf or hard-of-hearing person by alerting them to sounds or environmental cues that are not heard by the person. Hearing Dogs are required to wear an orange lead and jacket labeled Hearing Dog.
Hearing Dogs learn to respond to verbal and hand signals and are taught to work for toys and affection. They are trained to make physical contact and lead their handler to the source of the sound.
A fire breaks out during the night and the fire alarms, placed to save lives, are useless to the person with a hearing impairment. Most likely they would not wake up in time to escape the flames. Now, picture the same scene above, only this time the person with a hearing impairment has a Hearing Dog. The alarm sounds and the dog springs into action. Quickly the dog awakes the person, pulling at their night clothes. The person wakes up, smells the smoke, and the dog leads them to the door as they escape safely!
Hearing Dogs are trained to alert their owners to a variety of different sounds. When the dog hears any of the noises they are trained to recognize, they get their handler's attention and lead them to the sound.
Some of the sounds these dogs can be trained to respond to include but are not limited to:
- - Someone knocking at the door and doorbells
- - Alarm clock
- - Telephone/TDD/TTY
- - Smoke detectors
- - Someone calling their handler's name
- - Intruders
- - A baby crying
- - Police and emergency vehicle sirens
- - Car horns
ABOUT SERVICE DOGS
Dogs that perform physical tasks other than guide or signal are called Service Dogs. This group has dogs that are trained to perform a variety of tasks specific to the handler's needs and do not have a universal dress code.
Mobility Assist Dog: Pulls a person's wheelchair, carries things in a backpack, picks up things a person drops, opens/closes doors, and helps the handler get dressed or undressed, pushes elevator buttons.
Walker Dog: Helps the handler walk by balancing or acting as a counter balance. It performs many of the tasks that the Mobility Assist Dog does.
Seizure Alert/Response Dog: This dog is trained to respond to the handler's seizures and either stay with the handler, or go get help.
Some dogs are trained to hit a button on a console to automatically dial 911. When the dog hears the voice over the speaker, the dog starts barking. The handler would have arranged that the system is dog activated.
Ssig Dog: A dog trained to assist a person with autism. The dog alerts the handler to distracting repetitive movements common among those with autism, allowing the handler to stop the movement (e.g. hand flapping). A person with autism may have problems with sensory input and need the same support services from a dog that a dog might give to a person who is blind or deaf.