The History of Service Dogs
Service dogs can go anywhere their owners go. They are allowed to travel in the passenger area of airplanes, hang out in restaurants, retail stores and banks. Service dogs are working dogs providing a service to their owner. By law service dogs cannot be refused entry to any location or building their owners have a right to be in. Charging an owner fees for having a service dog with them is prohibited.
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Definition of Service Dog
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A service dog is one of three types of assistant dogs as outlined by the organization Assistance Dog International (ADI). Service dogs are trained to work with persons having disabilities other than hearing or seeing. Guide dogs are trained for vision-impaired persons and hearing dogs are trained for those with hearing impairment. Service dogs are trained to perform tasks for persons that are wheelchair bound, who need seizure assistance, have balance issues, a psychiatric disability or have a medical issue (such as diabetes) that requires outside help to manage.
Origin of U.S. Service Dogs
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Service dogs are a recent addition to the disabled community and the general public. Seeing eye dogs became part of the U.S. landscape in 1929 when the Seeing Eye Guide Dog organization was established. Most of the dogs in service at that time were trained through groups that also trained dogs to work with the hearing impaired. Hearing dog training programs came about in the mid-1970s with the establishment of The Hearing Dog Program (now called NEADS) and Canine Companions for Independence.
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ADA
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ADA, the Americans With Disabilities Act, was first implemented in 1990 by President George H.W. Bush. Its introduction to the public began in 1986 when the National Council on Disability recommended a comprehensive law supporting an equal opportunity for those with disabilities. A further report delivered in 1988 became the outline for the Americans With Disabilities Act. This law reveals the first official definition of a service dog.
Official Definition of Service Dog
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According to the ADA, a service dog is described as any guide dog, signal dog, or other animal individually trained to provide assistance to an individual with a disability. If the animal meets this definition, it is considered a service animal under the ADA regardless of whether it has been licensed or certified by a state or local government. Until the ADA was placed into federal law, each state created and enforced its own laws pertaining to service dogs.
Supporting Service Dogs
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Support for the use and training of service dogs has continued to build since 1990. The recognition that dogs might be capable of assisting other types of disabilities has grown to include those with mental and psychiatric disorders. National Service Dogs (NSD) has been training service dogs to assist people with autism since 1996. The Psychiatric Service Dog Society (PSDS) was founded in 2002 to support the education, training facilitation, advocacy and research of dogs being used to help manage the symptoms of those dealing with mental illness.
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