Service dog

A service dog, as the term is used in the United States, refers to any dog trained to help a person who has a disability, such as visual impairment, hearing impairment, mental disorder (like posttraumatic stress disorder), seizures, mobility impairment, and diabetes. The right of service dogs in the US to accompany their owners all places that their owners go is protected under the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) and parallel state and city laws, and significant monetary penalties have been assessed by courts against those who have sought to abridge those rights. Outside the US, the term service dog refers to a dog that works for police, military, or search and rescue services, while the term 'assistance dog' is the legal term for a dog that is trained to provide assistance and support for a disabled person. Desirable character traits in service animals typically include good temperament or psychological make-up (including biddability and trainability) and good health (including physical structure and stamina). Some service dogs are bred and trained by service dog organizations, while others are bred by breeders and trained by private trainers, or trained by the individuals with disabilities who become their partners. Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers, Labrador Retriever/Golden Retriever crossbred dogs, and German Shepherd Dogs are among the most common dog breeds working as service dogs today in the United States. The term 'seeing eye dog' is sometimes used as a generic label referring to any dog assisting an individual who has a visual impairment. During the First World War, the German army relied heavily on the use of German Shepherds as ambulance and messenger dogs. Schools helped train the dogs. German doctor Gerhard Stalling opened the world’s first guide dog school in 1916. World War II saw a major increase in the number of guide dog schools in the United States. The guide dogs that were used by veterans in the United States are linked to the original training schools set up in Germany to care for World War I veterans. Hearing Dogs for Deaf People, launched in 1982, train dogs to alert their hearing-impaired or deaf owners to a number of specific sounds by touching their owner’s foot with a paw, or nudging them with their nose.Dogs For the Disabled, founded in 1988, were the first charity in the UK to train mobility assistance dogs for physically disabled adults. Organizations within Assistance Dogs UK, which collaborate to train dogs in multiple assistance roles for individuals with more than one disability, began in 2003. Mobility assistance dogs are defined as ‘Service dogs’ by Assistance Dogs International as of 2013. In the United States, the applicable law covering places of public accommodation is Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). On September 15, 2010, the United States Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Disability Rights Section, issued new and updated regulations regarding Service Animals, as summarized in its official guidance document, which states: The revised definition of service animal specifically excludes animals whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support, and states that, 'beginning on March 15, 2011, only dogs are recognized as service animals under titles II and III of the ADA.' There may be state laws giving broader protections to individuals with disabilities in places of public access (eg: criminal fines or penalties for injury of a service animal); if a situation arises in which one law gives lesser or greater protections to applicable individuals, the law giving the most protection to those individuals is applicable.