They greet you at the door with an enthusiastic bark and a wagging tail. When you’re feeling down, they snuggle next to you with a wet nose and a warm cuddle. And when the doorbell rings … watch out, their protective side comes out full swinging.
Who is this creature of devotion?
Why, It’s a dog, of course.
To many, their dog is a beloved member of the family. But to others, their dog is a literal lifeline.
This month is National Service Dog month, a time to raise awareness and show appreciation to the over 500,000 service dogs in our communities.
More Than Just Man’s Best Friend
For centuries dogs were used for work and to perform chores, such as hunting, herding, pulling carts, and for security. Eventually, dogs became companions, providing comfort and friendship.
Although there is some evidence that dogs were used in ancient times to aid the blind, it wasn’t until the 1920s that seeing-eye dogs began to appear in the United States and were offered some legal protections.
Passed in 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) legally recognized service animals “as any guide dog, signal dog or other animals individually trained to provide assistance to a person with a disability.”
What can service dogs do? And how can a service dog improve the quality of your life?
Service Dog, Therapy Dog, or Emotional Support Dog?
You may have heard several different terms used for dogs who provide assistive services. Here’s a breakdown of the terms used and the what each dog does:
Service Dog
Service Dogs are trained to help people with disabilities, such as visual impairments, mental illnesses, seizure disorders, diabetes, etc., and are protected under the ADA (Americans With Disabilities Act).
A service dog is not a pet. They must be specifically trained to perform tasks related to the disabled person’s specific disabilities. For example, if you are diabetic, you may have a dog who can detect when your blood sugar level is too low or high.
Service Dogs have to be allowed into businesses, and it is illegal for someone to ask about your disability. However, someone can ask if the pet is required due to a disability or what tasks your service dog is able to perform.
Therapy Dog
Therapy Dogs are trained to provide comfort and affection to people in hospice, disaster areas, retirement homes, hospitals, nursing homes, schools, and more.
An example of how therapy dogs help us get through traumatic experiences is with the recent Uvalde school shooting. These dogs provided unconditional affection to the children and other victims in the community through the vigil services and visits to the hospital.
Spending time with a therapy dog has been shown to lower blood pressure and heart rate, and reduce anxiety. Therapy dogs do not have to be trained to perform specific tasks like service dogs.
Emotional Support Dog
An Emotional Support Animal (ESA) provides comfort, a calming presence, and companionship to their owners.
Emotional Support Animals do not have the training required of Service Dogs, nor do they perform specific tasks to aid with disabilities, so they do not have the legal protections given to a Service Dog nor do they have access to all public areas.
However, Emotional Support Dogs do qualify for no-pet housing with the proper letter from a physician.
How Service Dogs Help the Veteran Community
For the past two decades, service dogs have been an integral part of assisting our wounded veterans to overcome combat disabilities, including PTSD. Service dogs are matched to the veteran’s capability, lifestyle, mobility, personality, and psychological needs.
Here are just some examples of what a Service Dog Can Do:
- Guide the blind and visually impaired
- Alert and protect a person having a seizure
- Alert people who are deaf
- Pull a wheelchair
- Nudge open doors and cabinets
- Remind a person with mental illness to take a medication
- Carry a backpack
- Retrieved a dropped object
- Comfort and relieve anxiety during a panic attack
If you think you could benefit from a service dog, America’s VetDogs is a good place to find out more information.
Tucker Disability Law is proud to have served our military veterans for over 30 years, fighting to get them benefits they deserve. If you have been denied VA benefits or if your service-connected rating is less than 100%, we can file your appeal or help you increase your benefits.
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