There are therapy dogs and Therapy Dogs

My last post discussed Service Dogs. This is an area of many subcategories and, after receiving a few phone calls yesterday, it seems I need to clear up some confusion. I will try to break this down so that it may be understood easily by the layman.

The Difference between Service Animals, Therapy Animals, Companion Animals and "Social/therapy" Animals

Service animals are legally defined (Americans With Disabilities Act, 1990)

28 CFR 36.104 - Definition of Service Animal Revised February 18, 2001, to read:

Assistance animal means an assistance dog, and may include other animals specifically trained to perform physical tasks to mitigate an individual's disability. Assistance dogs include: guide dogs that guide individuals who are legally blind; hearing dogs that alert individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing to specific sounds; and, service dogs for individuals with disabilities other than blindness or deafness. Service dogs are trained to perform a variety of physical tasks including but not limited to pulling a wheelchair, lending balance support, picking up dropped objects or providing assistance in a medical crisis. The presence of an animal for comfort, protection or personal defense does not qualify an animal as being trained to mitigate an individual's disability and therefore does not qualify said animal as an assistance animal.

A service dog is a type of assistance dog specifically trained to help people who have disabilities other than visual or hearing impairment. Examples of these include psychiatric service dogs, mobility assistance dogs, and seizure response dogs.

In the case of the Cavalier I mentioned yesterday, this dog has passed an Assistance Dog Test and qualifies, due to appropriate responses to specific clinically diagnosed disorders in patients, in both the office and public setting as a (psychiatric) service dog. This dog also is clearly identified by her Service Dog vest and patch.

Service dogs and their handlers enjoy special protection under the U.S. Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, which gives them equal access to anywhere the general public is allowed, such as restaurants, public schools, parks, taxis, and aircraft.

Therapy animals are not legally defined by federal law, but some states have laws defining therapy animals. They provide people with contact to animals, but are not limited to working with people who have disabilities. They are usually the personal pets of their handlers, and work with their handlers to provide services to others. Federal laws have no provisions for people to be accompanied by therapy animals in places of public accommodation that have "no pets" policies. Therapy animals usually are not service animals.

There has been some confusion and some heated debate about psychiatric service dogs (PSDs). First let's clarify the difference between a therapy dog and a psychiatric service dog. A therapy dog is an individual's pet which has been trained, tested, certified and insured to work in hospital, nursing home, school, and other institutional settings. The therapy dog and his partner visit to cheer patients, to educate the community, to counter grief and stress, and generally be good canine ambassadors within the community. Most therapy dog partners are volunteers, but some states recognize professional therapy dogs partnered with therapists and other mental health professionals. Therapy dogs are not service dogs.

Under U.S. law, persons with therapy dogs are NOT granted the right to enter businesses with their dogs which do not permit pets. They do not get to fly in the cabins of aircraft because they are therapy dogs, nor do they get to live in "no pets" housing because they are therapy dogs.

Companion animal is not legally defined, but is accepted as another term for pet.

"Social/therapy" animals likewise have no legal definition. They often are animals that did not complete service animal or service dog training due to health, disposition, trainability, or other factors, and are made available as pets for people who have disabilities. These animals might or might not meet the definition of service animals.

I had a nice chat with Billie Smith of Therapy Dogs, Inc., the group which tests, utilizing a local trainer, and registers the dogs in Great Falls for use in our hospital, school and nursing home settings. She said:

"It is a goal of Therapy Dogs Inc. to provide registration, support, and insurance for members who are involved in volunteer animal assisted activities. These activities include, but are not limited to, visits to hospitals, special needs centers, schools, and nursing homes. Our objective is to form a network of caring individuals who are willing to share their special animals in order to bring happiness and cheer to people, young and old alike. Our dogs and their handlers are not trained to be Assistance Dogs. They are nowhere near that level of training. Neither the dog or their owner/handler is covered by our insurance to enter public places other than those with whom we've made arrangements. They do not have public access rights under the ADA law. If one - or any - of these dogs is being promoted as being able to have public access this is wrong and it shouldn't be happening. "

So, for those of you who own businesses which have the "no pets" sign, you must allow service dogs and service dogs in training into your establishments and they will be clearly and easily identified by their equipment, vest & patch, identification tag or a combination of these. You may require any other dog to leave.

I hope this makes it easier for those of you with businesses that have "no pets" posted. Any other business may make the personal choice of admitting any dog, at any time.