{"id":22872,"date":"2025-10-15T01:24:21","date_gmt":"2025-10-15T07:24:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/?p=22872"},"modified":"2025-10-14T18:27:50","modified_gmt":"2025-10-15T00:27:50","slug":"just-what-is-a-service-dog","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/2025\/10\/15\/just-what-is-a-service-dog\/","title":{"rendered":"Just What IS a Service Dog?"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Fran Jewell<\/em><\/p>\n

I was at the airport picking up a friend and there was a tiny little white dog, all decked out with multicolored ribbons in her ears, and a pink vest on that said, \u201cService Dog.\u201d I admit I was impressed with how quiet she was. However, she was at the end of her 6-foot leash in the aisle. Her handler\/owner was on her phone, but at least her hand was on the leash. My thought was, \u201cWhat if I had a vision issue and did not see her pretty pink leash stretched out across the aisle or this tiny dog and I fell?\u201d
\nReally, who am I to judge this dog as to whether or not this dog was a \u201cservice dog\u201d? We simply cannot judge someone\u2019s disability. Many disabilities are hidden. However, after training service dogs for 20-plus years, I do know appropriate service dog behaviors and tasks. When I train a service dog, I also train the owner about responsible and protective handling skills. What I can tell you what a service dog is NOT:
\nIf you do NOT have a recognized disability, your dog IS NOT ABLE TO BE YOUR SERVICE DOG. A service dog is specially trained directly to assist with SOMONE\u2019S DISABILITY.
\nIt is not a dog that is someone\u2019s pet, regardless of size, just because the person adores their dog and wants to take it with them everywhere.
\nIt is not a dog where the owner bought a vest and a \u201ccertification\u201d online saying the dog is a service dog.
\nIt is not a dog who supports someone\u2019s emotions. Emotional Support Dogs or Therapy Dogs (even certified Pet Therapy Dogs) are NOT service dogs or afforded the right of public access.
\nIt is not a dog that begs for attention from passersby. It is not a dog that barks at other dogs, pulls its handler down the hall or walk. It is NOT a dog that creates any kind of disturbance in public. This is considered a dog \u201cout of control.\u201d The handler does not allow the dog off leash (unless to pick up something it is trained to do) or the dog is on an extended flexi-leash.
\nIt is not a dog that has been trained as a personal protection dog even though this dog might be well trained. Protection is not related to a disability.
\nThere is NO official ADA Service Dog Registry that gives your dog the right to public access.
\nIt is NOT legal to ask someone what their disability is or demand \u201cpapers\u201d or a certification for a service dog.
\nWe ALL need to read the ADA, Americans with Disabilities Act, to understand<\/p>\n

I will quote the ADA:<\/strong>
\n\u201cService animals are:
\n\u2022 Dogs
\n\u2022 Any breed and any size of dog
\n\u2022 Trained to perform a task directly related to a person\u2019s
\ndisability
\nService animals are not:<\/strong>
\n\u2022 Required to be certified or go through a professional training
\nprogram
\n\u2022 Required to wear a vest or other ID that indicates they are a service dog (although, personally, I do just to help stop confusion about my diabetes as a disability)
\n\u2022 Emotional support or comfort dogs, because providing emotional support or comfort is not a task related to a person\u2019s disability
\nGenerally, service animals are allowed to be with their
\nperson, even in places that don\u2019t allow pets. For example,
\nservice dogs can go into:
\n\u2022 Restaurants
\n\u2022 Shops
\n\u2022 Hospitals
\n\u2022 Schools
\n\u2022 Hotels
\nEXAMPLE:<\/strong> A restaurant offers indoor and outdoor seating. A woman arrives at the restaurant with her service dog and asks to sit inside. The restaurant cannot require the woman to dine outside because of her service dog.
\nYou may ask:
\nIs the dog a service animal required because of a disability?
\nWhat work or task has the dog been trained to perform?
\nYou are not allowed to:
\nRequest any documentation that the dog is registered,
\nlicensed, or certified as a service animal
\nRequire that the dog demonstrate its task, or inquire about
\nthe nature of the person\u2019s disability
\nBecause service animals are not required to wear vests, a dog that is wearing a vest is not necessarily a service animal. The dog still needs to be trained to perform a task for a person with a disability to be a service animal.\u201d\\
\nThe ADA in its entirety is very easy to find. Please understand that when you handle a service dog YOU are responsible for any acts your dog does with regard to biting or other harmful behaviors. If you are faking your dog as a service dog and a dangerous or harmful situation arises, this can put you in a very serious legal situation. As someone with a disability and a trained service dog, my dog is insured for liability. Is yours?<\/p>\n

Fran Jewell is a dog behavior consultant, NADOI-certified instructor and vice president.\u00a0She owns Positive Puppy Dog Training\u00a0LLC and can be reached at (208) 721-7221.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Fran Jewell I was at the airport picking up a friend and there was a tiny little white dog, all decked out with multicolored ribbons in her ears, and a pink vest on that said, \u201cService Dog.\u201d I admit I was impressed with how quiet she was. However, she was at the end of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":479,"featured_media":22698,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","_pvb_checkbox_block_on_post":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,19],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-22872","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-commentary","8":"category-no-bones-about-it"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22872","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/479"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22872"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22872\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22873,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22872\/revisions\/22873"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22698"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22872"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22872"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22872"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}