What are assistance dogs?
"A dog providing assistance to a person with a disability".
While most of us have heard the term "guide dog" or "seeing eye dog", there are many more types of assistance
for which a dog can be will be trained.
- Guide dogs for the blind or visually impaired.
- Hearing dogs (sometimes refered to as "signal" dogs) for deaf or hearing impaired persons detect everyday
sounds such as door bells, alarm clocks, smoke alarms, timers, telephone or a crying baby.
- Social or Therapy dogs, whose work is to effect a change in the person's emotional or psychological
state.
- Seizure dogs who detect when a person is going to have a seizure (yes, even before a seizure actually
occurs).
- Service dogs performing physical tasks such as pulling a wheelchair, retrieving dropped items, turning on a
light switch or opening a cabinet door.
Public Access Information
- Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA),
businesses and organizations that serve the public must allow people with disabilities to bring their service
animals into all areas of the facility where customers are normally allowed to go.
from the U.S. Department of Justice.
- Assistance Dog Laws and Legal Resources
International Association of Assistance Dog Partners(IAADP)
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