The Americans With Disabilities Act defines a service dog as "trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability"and asserts that "businesses serving the public must allow service animals on the premises."
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Training
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Training schools for service and therapy dogs match dogs to patient needs. Another option is to train the dog yourself in conjunction with a bona-fide training school in your state (or country).
Types Of Disabilities
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There are 28 named disabilities that service and therapy dogs are trained for and include: blindness and deafness, mobility impairment, autism, diabetes, seizure disorders and even psychiatric problems. Some medical conditions, such as heart disease, also qualify for service dog assistance.
Duties
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Sympathetic ears Service and therapy dogs are flexible in what they can be trained to do for their partner's disability. A service dog may act as a person's eyes and ears. They can be trained to pull a wheelchair or retrieve medicine. They can warn a person of an impending heart attack or seizure.
Scope
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The first service dogs were "seeing-eye dogs" for the blind, and the first American school to train them was established in 1929. Since then, the valuable role of service dogs has broadened to nursing homes and hospitals, prisons, physical therapy centers and special schools--and continues to grow.
Breeds
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All shapes and sizes The most popular service and therapy dogs are the retriever breeds because of their temperaments, but any trainable dog with an affinity toward humans can be one, including those as small as a Chihuahua or as large as a Great Dane. What matters most, however, is the suitability of the dog for the tasks it needs to perform.
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