In my circles, people tend to think I know everything about animals just because my whole life revolves around them. A reasonable assumption, but not true. One of the questions a friend posed recently was, “What do I need to do to qualify my dog as a service dog?”
I didn’t know. It seems the process isn’t very well defined. A Court ruling and the ADA definition of service dogs may rule out some dogs with innate abilities to alert owners about impending health problems. Phyllis DeGioia recently wrote an interesting article on the use of service dogs in the public on the The Pet Connection blog. Here is an excerpt:
Is Justice a service dog? Court says no
A complex can of worms was opened in Wisconsin over a lawsuit filed by a man named Steven Bottila, who has seizures, and his untrained service dog named Justice. At the heart of the matter is whether or not Justice, who learned by his own instinct to alert his owner that a seizure is about to begin, is a service dog who can be protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). ADA’s definition of a service animal is:
The ADA defines a service animal as any guide dog, signal dog, or other animal individually trained to provide assistance to an individual with a disability. If they meet this definition, animals are considered service animals under the ADA regardless of whether they have been licensed or certified by a state or local government.
Apparently the dog’s owner has clouded the issue by first, being confrontational with restaurants and police about using his dog as a service dog. Second, he acted as his own lawyer and lost the court case, which could have implications for other people with disabilities.
You can see the full article and several thought-provoking comments at
http://www.petconnection.com/blog/2009/09/04/is-justice-a-service-dog-court-says-no/
Technorati Tags: service dogs, ADA, Americans with Disabilities Act, Justice
