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What is a service animal? How are they different from emotional support animals?
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Six years ago, at an Abilities Expo in Boston, I first talked with a service dog group about a support dog for my daughter. She has a number of medical, physical and cognitive issues that could be supported by a service animal. For example, there are service dogs that can be trained to alert about an oncoming seizure. They will make sure the person can breathe freely by correcting their position, get help, and/or remain in place to guard the person, should safety be a concern. Unfortunately, the wait for such dogs can be long (years), the cost expensive (up to $40,000!) and there is no insurance coverage. Most service dogs have a working life of only 8 years. As my daughter gets older and needs more independence, service dogs are again a topic in our house. I am sharing here what I have learned so far.
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Broadly there are 4 categories of animals:
Service Animals: legally defined and protected by the ADA, service dogs are individually trained to perform specific tasks and to work with people with disabilities. Only trained and certified dogs or miniature horses are recognized as eligible.
Emotional Support Animals: help individuals with emotional disabilities such as anxiety or depression by providing comfort and support. They are pets and not granted the same access to public spaces that service animals are allowed.
Working Dogs: specifically trained to do certain job functions: police dogs, guard dogs, tracking dogs, cadaver dogs, bomb and drug sniffing and dogs, etc.
Therapy Animals: often visit places with vulnerable populations of people such as nursing homes, hospitals, and college campuses to soothe stressed patients and students.
See the American Kennel Club's full article explanation here.
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Wally the alligator was approved by his owner’s doctor in York, Pa., as an alternative to taking medication for depression. Emotional support animals are not protected under the law. The recent explosion of emotional support animals has left some people confused as to the law. Read about the 30 craziest emotional support animals here and the backlash against them here.
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Where may a service animal go?
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Under the ADA, State and local governments, businesses, and nonprofit organizations that serve the public generally must allow service animals to accompany people with disabilities in all areas of the facility where the public is allowed to go. For example, in a hospital it usually would be inappropriate to exclude a service animal from areas such as patient rooms, clinics, cafeterias, or examination rooms. However, it may be appropriate to exclude a service animal from operating rooms or burn units where the animal’s presence may compromise a sterile environment.
As of December 2020, the US Department of Transportation has standardized rules regarding service dogs (NOT emotional support animals) on planes. Read the regulations here.
As mentioned, service dogs are permitted in most hospital and healthcare settings. Watch the International Association of Assistive Dog Partners (IAADP) Training on Access to hospitals and other healthcare facilities for service dogs here.
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In the United States, approximately 500,000 service dogs are helping people.
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What can a service dog do?
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Service dogs generally come in three types:
Guide dogs: assist sight impaired individuals.
Hearing dogs: assist hearing impaired individuals
(General) Service dogs: (everything else) includes mobility service dog, seizure service dog, autism service dog, diabetic alert service dog, psychiatric service dog, service dogs for Veterans with military-related PTSD and medical alert service dog.
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No joke: read about the Canadian service dogs who watched live stage performances as part of their training.
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Where can I find an appropriate service dog?
Assistance Dogs International is a good place to start. You can search for their member organizations by country and state here. The results include geography covered, types of service dogs available, and populations served (children, veterans, adults, etc).
How can I afford a service dog?
As mentioned, Medicaid and private insurance do not provide financial assistance for procuring or maintaining service dogs. I found a number of crowdfunding fundraisers for service animals. Go Fund Me even has a tutorial to help. In addition, there are some non-profits and foundations that help cover the costs. I know, it's daunting!
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Every organization has different specialties (types of services and populations covered). Cost varies by organization, also. Here are some well-regarded groups that I have found:
- Canine Companions for Independence: no fee, so the waiting list is long. Dogs take 2 years to train. Locations across the US providing hearing dogs, service dogs, therapy dogs and more.
- Paws with a Cause: covering the US and Canada. No fee to participants. They provide service dogs, Hearing dogs, seizure response dogs and dogs for children with Autism.
- Guide Dogs of America providing Guide dogs and dogs for Veterans and children with Autism, based in Los Angeles.
- Canine Partners for Life serves individuals within 250 miles of Cochranville, PA. Their mission is to increase the independence and quality of life of individuals with physical, developmental, and cognitive disabilities. Right now their wait lists are closed.
- NEADS has a broad range of service dogs and community it serves. NEADS requires every client to fundraise at least $8,000 toward the price of their service dog.
- Service Dogs for America is a North Dakota-based organization with dogs for mobility assistance and emergency medical response. Currently they report no wait list, but a fee of $25,000 and a process than takes 3-12 months.
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Don't Miss This Week's
Free PunkinFutz Programming:
Wednesdays at Noon for adults
Friday Recess at 4 pm for kids!
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Join us this Wednesday as we chat with Tracy Vollbrecht, Designer for Global Brands group and working to design fashionable pieces for our community for Yarrow!
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Our fan favorite is BACK! Bring your kiddos to "Move, groove, and learn through music with Miss Nina this Friday, for Recess with PunkinFutz!
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The ads on YouTube annoy me, but this video is worth waiting through the first 5 seconds to SKIP the ad. In fact, you will want to check out Michael Shainblum's entire website: https://www.shainblumphoto.com/ for amazing time-lapse films of New York, San Francisco, Shanghai, Doha, and more!
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Michael Shainblum
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Please note, PunkinFutz is in no way affiliated with any of the organizations covered in this newsletter. PunkinFutz receives no compensation, directly or indirectly, from any organization or entity mentioned.
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