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Dogs Who Earn Their Keep - August 16, 2006
A woman walking through the convention hall where I was helping to staff an exhibit had a cute poodle on a leash. It wore one of the little vests marking him as a service dog. I thought, a poodle can be a working dog? The woman also looked like any other 40-ish working woman: definitely not blind or with any visible disability.
And that's exactly the reaction this woman, Sharon J. Cunningham, frequently gets when she goes somewhere new with her service dog (the charming poodle). So she founded a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization which educates people about how useful service animals (and yes, they can be almost any breed) are for those with unseen disabilities. This includes persons with a diagnosed brain disorder, including mental illnesses. The business is called Minds and K9s, Inc. (www.MindsAndK9s.org), and it focuses on providing resources on mental health issues. Service dogs are just one resource. She provided much of the input for this column. I think it is fascinating how part of God's creations - animals - are being put to use to actually help human beings. But there are pitfalls.
Ms. Cunningham related how, that very week, when visiting a large grocery store chain in Washington, D.C., she was mortified when a clerk addressed her over the store's loudspeaker, "Lady with the dog, take it out of the store." Ms. Cunningham told the clerk her dog was a working service dog and refused to leave. No, she was not blind; yes, medical alert dogs have the same access rights as those that assist the blind and visually impaired. Eventually she talked to management and was allowed to shop.
Once when she was boarding an airplane, she was snidely told by the ticket agent, "You know, anyone can buy one of those service vests and put them on their dog."
But well informed staff and service personnel know about access rules put in place by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which relate to publicly accessed areas. The U.S. Department of Transportation has its own definition of service animals and has the legal right to enforce regulations in its space (such as on airplanes), as does the U.S. Department of Housing. Service animals do not have to be registered although some are by the school where they were trained.
There are different rules for service animals, emotional support service animals, and therapy animals (usually just brought into a nursing home or hospital for a brief time by a handler for occupants to enjoy). A person that requires a service animal is not required to give proof of a disability, but someone with an "emotional support service animal" does need a letter (especially when traveling) from a doctor stating the animal is needed as a part of care.
The animal need not be specially trained, but must somehow mitigate the effects of a disability. And it must be obedient. They cannot be obnoxious (such as make noise in a theater) or interfere with others (block their access, which is why you see service animals trained to lay under the table at restaurants). A service animal must be in a harness or on a leash but need not be muzzled.
People with psychiatric and emotional disabilities may have a companion animal. These are just as important as a service animal is to a person with any other type of physical disability. "The brain needs to be thought of as just another organ of the human body, so psychiatric illnesses and other disabling conditions are physical disabilities," Ms. Cunningham points out.
A service dog is not a pet. Unknowing but well-intentioned strangers (or friends) try to pet, talk to, or socialize with a working dog. The best approach to a working dog is to keep hands off and talk to the dog's owner. It may be helpful to think of the animal as a living, breathing medical assistive device like a wheelchair or oxygen tank.
I was curious as to what a service dog will do for a person with a diagnosed brain disorder. Another man at this convention, Phillip Kirschner, was accompanied by a large white/beige Labrador, so I asked him. In addition to the obvious emotional therapeutic value of "he pulls me out of depression," the dog also specifically alerts him when he is nearing a manic episode by "getting all over me. I then know to get some medication, or to change my activity, or get help," said Mr. Kirschner.
I hope this is helpful if your job requires being knowledgeable about service dogs, and for more understanding in the general public.
Contributed by Melodie Davis: MelodieD@MennoMedia.org Melodie is the author of eight books and writes a syndicated newspaper column, Another Way
A woman walking through the convention hall where I was helping to staff an exhibit had a cute poodle on a leash. It wore one of the little vests marking him as a service dog. I thought, a poodle can be a working dog? The woman also looked like any other 40-ish working woman: definitely not blind or with any visible disability.
And that's exactly the reaction this woman, Sharon J. Cunningham, frequently gets when she goes somewhere new with her service dog (the charming poodle). So she founded a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization which educates people about how useful service animals (and yes, they can be almost any breed) are for those with unseen disabilities. This includes persons with a diagnosed brain disorder, including mental illnesses. The business is called Minds and K9s, Inc. (www.MindsAndK9s.org), and it focuses on providing resources on mental health issues. Service dogs are just one resource. She provided much of the input for this column. I think it is fascinating how part of God's creations - animals - are being put to use to actually help human beings. But there are pitfalls.
Ms. Cunningham related how, that very week, when visiting a large grocery store chain in Washington, D.C., she was mortified when a clerk addressed her over the store's loudspeaker, "Lady with the dog, take it out of the store." Ms. Cunningham told the clerk her dog was a working service dog and refused to leave. No, she was not blind; yes, medical alert dogs have the same access rights as those that assist the blind and visually impaired. Eventually she talked to management and was allowed to shop.
Once when she was boarding an airplane, she was snidely told by the ticket agent, "You know, anyone can buy one of those service vests and put them on their dog."
But well informed staff and service personnel know about access rules put in place by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which relate to publicly accessed areas. The U.S. Department of Transportation has its own definition of service animals and has the legal right to enforce regulations in its space (such as on airplanes), as does the U.S. Department of Housing. Service animals do not have to be registered although some are by the school where they were trained.
There are different rules for service animals, emotional support service animals, and therapy animals (usually just brought into a nursing home or hospital for a brief time by a handler for occupants to enjoy). A person that requires a service animal is not required to give proof of a disability, but someone with an "emotional support service animal" does need a letter (especially when traveling) from a doctor stating the animal is needed as a part of care.
The animal need not be specially trained, but must somehow mitigate the effects of a disability. And it must be obedient. They cannot be obnoxious (such as make noise in a theater) or interfere with others (block their access, which is why you see service animals trained to lay under the table at restaurants). A service animal must be in a harness or on a leash but need not be muzzled.
People with psychiatric and emotional disabilities may have a companion animal. These are just as important as a service animal is to a person with any other type of physical disability. "The brain needs to be thought of as just another organ of the human body, so psychiatric illnesses and other disabling conditions are physical disabilities," Ms. Cunningham points out.
A service dog is not a pet. Unknowing but well-intentioned strangers (or friends) try to pet, talk to, or socialize with a working dog. The best approach to a working dog is to keep hands off and talk to the dog's owner. It may be helpful to think of the animal as a living, breathing medical assistive device like a wheelchair or oxygen tank.
I was curious as to what a service dog will do for a person with a diagnosed brain disorder. Another man at this convention, Phillip Kirschner, was accompanied by a large white/beige Labrador, so I asked him. In addition to the obvious emotional therapeutic value of "he pulls me out of depression," the dog also specifically alerts him when he is nearing a manic episode by "getting all over me. I then know to get some medication, or to change my activity, or get help," said Mr. Kirschner.
I hope this is helpful if your job requires being knowledgeable about service dogs, and for more understanding in the general public.
Contributed by Melodie Davis: MelodieD@MennoMedia.org Melodie is the author of eight books and writes a syndicated newspaper column, Another Way
