ADA Service Dog Question

[kis2533]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Utah

A lady comes into the restaurant that I manage with a Dog. When ever she is asked about the dog she says it is a "service animal" then describes its duties as visiting hospitals and schools to make sick people feel better. This describes a "therapy dog". I asked her flat out.."Is this a service animal?" she said yes. THen I asked "What tasks does it do for you"?. She would only talk about how it goes to hospitals and stuff.

This lady is crazy! (Like for Real). Based on the info she gave me, the "therapy" dog has no public access rights. I fear that the dog may also be a Emotional support Animal because it is very "pet like". Perhaps it may be a Psychotic Support Animal for her own lunacy but she may be too embarrassed to tell me that it performs services for her.

Emotional support animals do not have public access rights (I think) but Psychotic support animals do. (I think) How can I decide if she is legit or not?

She has threatend me with a 25K fine but I feel she needs to do a better job describing the tasks the dog performs for HER! SHe has never told me that!

Please help.

 

[cyjeff]

A service animal would be a seeing eye dog... an animal the person has to use to function.

A dog that visits hospitals is nice, but certainly not applicable.

 

[kis2533]

I'm scared that it is really a Psychiatric service dog - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I think these kinda animals have public access rights? But doesn't this lady need to tell me what services it provides? What if she doesn't? Can I refuse her entrance?

(This lady squats at my establishment for several hours a day)

 

[cyjeff]

This lady is not the one receiving the dog's services.

If she wants to bring the dog into your restaurant, she can provide you with the documentation from the state that identifies her animal as a service dog.

 

[kis2533]

I'm sorry for not being clear.

Because I believe this lady may be crazy, I fear that she may have a prescription from her doctor for this type of animal to support her emotionally and/or psychologically. If this is true, then it is providing her a service to her.

My issue is, I cannot get her to tell me that. Therefore I am not sure. Her story just doesn't add up. She insists she is protected by the ADA but she refuses to tell me what services her dog performs for HER. She describes its duties to me as a therapy dog.

 

[cyjeff]

If she wants to bring the dog into your restaurant, she can provide you with the documentation from the state that identifies her animal as a service dog.

 

[kis2533]

The ADA does not require the disabled person to show ID or certification of DOG or disability.

 

[kis2533]

I'm not sure you know too much about this topic Jeff.

 

[kis2533]

Second opinion?

 

[cyjeff]

And therapy dogs ARE NOT provided the same status as service dogs.

A therapy dog is NOT a service dog under ADA.

This assumes, of course, that the lady's condition qualifies under ADA.

Commonly Asked Questions About Service Animals in Places of Business

. Q: What is a service animal?

The ADA defines a service animal as any guide dog, signal dog, or other animal individually trained to provide assistance to an indivA:idual 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.

http://www.ada.gov/svcabrpt.pdf

The newest ADA poster.

Notice that a service animal performs tasks for the person. A therapy animal... I.E. one that calms a person just by his/her presence... is NOT, repeat NOT, a service dog.

Therefore, you CAN ask what tasks the dog performs for the person.

 

[kis2533]

thats a voluntary service. Not required by ADA.

 

[las365]

Is your problem that she brings the dog into the establishment or that she is loitering there and she is strange and you don't want her there, with or without the dog?

I understand that she is threatening that if you ban her, she will claim illegal discrimination against her service animal. But of you are banning her and not the dog, that's kind of moot.

 

[kis2533]

The ADA protects disabled people. She claims the dog services others (like in hospitals) and therefore is a service dog. If the dog does not perform a specific task for HER then the dog is not an accommodation for a disability she may have and therefore the ADA would not apply. Right?

 

[cyjeff]

Okay... Maybe if I print it again...

from ADA.gov

Q: What is a service animal?

A: 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.

Service animals perform some of the functions and tasks that the individual with a disability cannot perform for him or herself. "Seeing eye dogs" are one type of service animal, used by some individuals who are blind. This is the type of service animal with which most people are familiar. But there are service animals that assist persons with other kinds of disabilities in their day-to-day activities. Some examples include:

_____Alerting persons with hearing impairments to sounds.

_____ Pulling wheelchairs or carrying and picking up things for persons with mobility impairments.

_____Assisting persons with mobility impairments with balance.

A service dog must be accompanied by the person being serviced by that animal. I have sight. Therefore, I cannot bring my mother's seeing eye dog into a restaurant. She can, I cannot.

A service dog does not have carte blanche. The animal MUST be there with the person requiring his/her services.

I cannot find, despite scouring the ADA site, any listing of a therapy dog as a service dog.

I have found this definition over and over, however...

http://www.ada.gov/pcatoolkit/chap7emergencymgmt.pdf

Only two questions maybe asked to determine if an animal is a service animal. (1) Is this animal a service animal because of a disability? and (2) What tasks or work has this animal been trained to perform?

That is from the ADA's pamphlet on emergency preparedness for natural disasters when housing will be provided.

Therapy animals, as of now, are not identified as service animals. They may be in the future, but not now.

 

[Otis2008]

Service Dogs

There is a lot of questions regarding "service animals" versus "assistant dogs"

1. There is no Federal law regarding service animals
2. Each individual state is required to list what they will accept as a service dog and an assistant dog.
3. In the state of Washington a business owner is only allowed to ask if the dog is a service animal. They are not allowed to ask what type of disability a person has nor are they allowed to ask what type of "support" a service dog offers to the person.
4. It is required that each person carries a little id card for the dog which basically states that the company that trained the dog has the means to do the training and that it is all legal with the state.

Check your state laws before taking your animal into public and claiming it is a service animal. It is legal for a "restaurant" to ask you to leave if you don't have the "trained card" but they can not ask you to leave because they are a service animal or a "support animal".