Service Dog, can they all be?

The U.S. Department of Justice Americans with Disabilities Act says and I quote: 

“The ADA defines a service animal as any guide dog, signal dog, or other animal individually trained to provide assistance to an individual with a disability. If they meet this definition, animals are considered service animals under the ADA regardless of whether they have been licensed or certified by a state or local government.”

Some day we may be required to have a certification, license, or registration for our service dogs just to be able to move around in our states or in the United States.

There are groups trying to make that happen as we speak. I hope they don’t get it done. I understand why they want to do it and it’s a legitimate reason, dogs who aren’t mannerly can make it harder for people with service dogs to gain entry into businesses. And of course, there is a lot of money to be had in the training of service dogs, I don’t want to let that slide by.

But let’s look at it from a different direction, maybe there is a better way to go about solving the problem of dogs in public. Why not help people train their dogs with more education on training so those dogs are accepted everywhere instead of making it illegal to have a dog out in public?

Why should any person who didn’t ask life to give them a physical or mental challenge have to pay to register a dog to help them move about their life with the most comfort and quality of life that they can? I don’t know either.

There are thousands and thousands of dogs waiting to be rescued right now. Many of those dogs will become service and therapy dogs. It seems to me that giving a new and better life to a dog who will in turn give a new and better life to a person shouldn’t have to be registered to offer that service. That would be like saying that people who want to volunteer their time have to be registered on the books in some legal office to be able to help another person or a dog out of the goodness of their heart. Ludicrous, isn’t it?

I would love a world where all dogs can come and go with their people no matter where we travel. If everyone would do these things with their dogs, maybe some day it will happen:

A. Potty your dog in a appropriate place, pick up the poop and dispose of it.

B. Manners, manners. Dogs must not lick people or things unless they have permission.

C. The same manners we expect of small children in a store full of glass dishes. Quiet, don’t touch, and don’t break anything.

D. Dogs must not greet people unless they have permission. Sit to greet or at least all four feet on the floor.

If every dog, not just service dogs, would follow those few things, our dogs would be welcome just about anywhere.

Vote with your wallet. Give your money to the business that lets you bring your dog in. (Please support only those businesses who don’t sell things that will hurt a dog, like electric shock and metal collars, bleached white rawhides, and low quality foods that can give a dog cancer or otherwise compromise their health.) If we do this, maybe things will change in our lifetime.

In the meantime, people with service dogs and therapy dogs do have an easier time of it with a Service Dog vest and patches to identify their dog as a working dog. SitStay.com has high quality vests and patches that will last for years. And we have ADA information cards to help you with access to businesses. We’re here to help.

For more information on how a service dog can help you, get Working Like Dogs, the guidebook.

If you have a life challenge and a service dog now, your dog is making your life better. If you don’t have a challenge now, you don’t have to wait until life throws it at you to have your dog working with you.

All dogs, yes even those dogs who run around and snuggle and love us at home, should be trained to help as service dogs. Anything can happen to any of us at any time. If you train your dog to get the phone, listen for the doorbell, pick up your socks, get the laundry out of the dryer, help you do your shopping, and help you across a busy street, you’re ready if life should ever give you something that you didn’t ask for. Clicker training will make the training fun and easy for you and your dog. See the books and DVDs at SitStay.com

(The ADA info above can change at any time as legal things tend to do. Make sure to search for any new info at www.ada.gov search for ‘service dog’. Stay informed of your state and US laws that apply to service dogs.)