Want a Service Dog of Your Very Own?

A service dog, as defined by the U.S. Government, is a dog that is trained to perform tasks for people with disabilities. For those of us with cancer, the tasks we ask our service dogs to perform will vary--in Jill's case, it was to help her become more mobile, and to help with her depression. (See Cancer Dog.)

I got Constant because he makes me happy, gets me out for exercise, and helps keep depression at bay.

If you want a service dog, just follow these five steps:

1. Get a Prescription
Ask your oncologist or therapist to write you a prescription for a service dog. Carry this with you in case anyone challenges your right to have the dog with you in public places. (Chances are you won't need to show it very often, if at all, especially if your dog is wearing a vest and behaving appropriately.) Jill says people ask her about Pumpkin because they're curious, not because they object to his presence.

I asked Dr. Livingston to write me a prescription for a service dog back when Connie was a puppy for "mental health reasons," i.e., to help with my depression. I tucked the prescription away, and now, when I want to quote what it says, I can't find it.

Here's what Jill's prescription for her service dog says: A Dog By Prescription. Ask your doctor to write one that says something similar.

2. Choose a Dog
Don't just grab the cutest puppy in the litter and decide that it's going to be your service dog.

If you have a dog that you think would be a good service dog, consider having it evaluated by a professional--typically a dog trainer who works with therapy dogs and service animals. Not all good pets make good service dogs.

At a minimum, the dog needs to have the right temperament (calm, not easily startled, not overly protective or aggressive), be the right size (hard to imagine a St. Bernard as a service dog, despite their fame for alpine rescue work), and be well trained.

If you are going to get a new dog to be your service dog, have it evaluated by a dog trainer before you commit (or fall in love).

I think my wannabe service dog, Constant, is going to be an excellent service dog eventually, because he is bonded to me (I've had him since he was six weeks of age), smart, responsive, and he wants to please.

3. Train Your Dog
Decide how you are going to train your dog. Are you going to do it yourself? Take a class with the dog? Work with a dog trainer one-on-one? Or turn the animal over to a trainer to teach?

At a minimum, your dog needs to be able to pass the "canine good citizen" test, which means the dog will ALWAYS, on command, come, sit, stay, and lie down. It should also walk on a loose leash, and stay with someone else while you walk away.

When Jill takes Pumpkin into a restaurant or other public place, Pumpkin goes under the table and falls asleep.

There are a couple of reasons that Constant is not yet a service dog. The first is that he is still very young and full of energy. He is just two years old. The second is that I've been pretty tired because of treatment for the past year (up until my break from treatment started three months ago) and I haven't been able to give him enough exercise or work hard enough on his training.

Constant dominates GB, our golden retriever, and he was dominating me, according to the dog trainer I consulted a couple of months ago. She taught me how to show Connie that I'm the boss, and things are much better, but he still has a long way to go. I'm spending a lot of time with him this summer, and I expect that by the time he is three years old he'll be going with me as my service animal.

Don't kid yourself about your dog's behavior: Have the dog tested or evaluated by a professional before you start taking it with you as a service animal.

Of course, as part of the dog's training, you need to take it into public places and into stores. When I start doing this with Connie I'll make sure he's wearing a vest that identifies him as a service dog "in training," and I'll let the supermarket or store management know what I'm up to in advance.

4. Get a Vest
Jill's dog Pumpkin wears a service dog vest with patches from SitStay.com.

I'm going to measure Constant and order his vest today. The vests come in four colors: red, blue, green, and orange. I'd like to get orange, but blue is probably a better choice, psychologically.

5. Know the Rules
According to the Americans with Disabilities Act, "businesses and organizations that serve the public must allow people with disabilities to bring their service animals into all areas of the facility where customers are normally allowed to go. This federal law applies to all businesses open to the public, including restaurants, hotels, taxis and shuttles, grocery and department stores, hospitals and medical offices, theaters, health clubs, parks, and zoos."

In addition, businesses may ask if the animal is a service animal, but cannot require any kind of ID card. Nor can they ask about your disability.

Businesses such as restaurants are not allowed to isolate you from other patrons, or charge you extra fees, unless your dog causes damage, in a hotel room, for example.

Also note that "businesses that sell or prepare food must allow service animals in public areas even if state or local health codes prohibit animals on the premises."

I recommend printing out this page and carrying copies with you to give to business owners who question you. I also recommend a cheerful attitude: assume that people who question you are curious, or don't know the rules, not that they are hostile to you or to your dog.

If you have cancer and have a service dog, please write and tell me your story: jeanne.sather@gmail.com

Read more:

Cancer Dog

A Dog By Prescription

Animals at the Office

My friend Lisa’s post on her blog, The Tale of My Left Foot:
Sadie

Jennifer's post, on Inner Mayhem:
Puppy (and Kitty) Love

From Teresa, The Cheeky Librarian, AKA Ninja Librarian:
Best to face cancer with a dog at your side

Need more information? Contact the Delta Society.

Support this blog:

@ Jeanne Sather 2007.

Comments

[Lisa]

I'm not sure if Sadie is really well enough trained. Plus, she unfortunately only really behaves for me. However, I may have to try. Thanks for the HowTo

[jeanne]

Well, she really only has to behave for you.

But I know what you mean. Connie and I are still working on it. He's helping me paint outside today--you can imagine: Bringing me his ball to throw every 30 seconds while I'm trying to scrape and touch up paint! But I love the little mutt.

A toast: Here's to the dogs we love, and who love us back.

Jeanne

[Marianne]

I am trying to figure out if I can use my dog as a service dog. Can you get a prescription for it- just for depression and anxiety?

[jeanne]

Marianne--ask your doctor to write you a prescription that specifies a service dog. See this link for an example:

http://www.assertivepatient.com/2007/08/a-dog-by-prescr.html

Jeanne

[Shidash]

Excuse me, but this is not true. The CGC test is a prerequisite to public access training. This gives a false impression of what a service dog is and who can get them. What you are talking about would be considered illegal. Please look at these links for correct information that falls within ADA standards.

http://www.adionline.org/Standards/ServiceDogStandards.htm
http://iaadp.org/iaadp-minimum-training-standards-for-public-access.html
http://www.deltasociety.org/download/sd_min_stds_rev2a.pdf
http://servicedogcentral.org/content/node/51

Please don't break the law and make life harder for those that use properly trained service dogs for legitimate disabilities.

[jeanne]

These are the standards suggested by ADI (Assistance Dogs International). They are not the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

It's fine for you to want to raise the standards for training and so on, but don't start talking to me about "legitimate disabilities."

A person with stage IV cancer who is legally disabled and whose oncologist writes him or her a prescription for a service animal should not have someone like you claiming they don't have a "legitimate disability."

Jeanne

[Shidash]

True, but your dog does not seem to be task trained at all and that is required by the ADA. A prescription does not mean that a dog is a service dog, you must be legitimatly disabled, and if you are I would suggest training your dog tasks so you do not run into trouble at court. What do you mean by 'someone like me'? I am only speaking the truth.

[Cait]

Unfortunately, just a prescription and having depression and anxiety is enough. While a HUGE number of people suffer from anxiety and depression, most people aren't disabled by the condition- they're impaired but not sufficently to meet the legal definition.

Public access manners are well and good. A CGC is a good starting place, although most dogs can pass a CGC, including those which do not have appropriate temperament for SD work. But legally, it's also imperative to have trained tasks- things the dog has been TRAINED (not just does naturally, although you can and should refine natural behaviors) to do that mitigate your specific disability. For example, my disability is psychiatric- turning on light switches wouldn't be a task since there's nothign that prevents me from doing it myself. But for someone with mobility problems (for whom getting across a room to turn off alight is a huge deal) or someone with PTSD Task trainingis who triggers in the dark, turning on a light might be a great task!

Additionally, I'd like to see you add a mention of health testing to this article. Dogs will work their hearts out for people they love. But it's NOT fair to ask a dog who has a chronic painful condition- such as even mild hip dysplasia, luxating patella, degenerative disk disease, etc- to work. Even a SD in a physically non-demanding role does a LOT of walking and moving every day- much more than the average pet. It's important to make sure your partner is comfortable too. And some health conditions (thyroid problems, particularly, but pain can contribute too) can cause a dog to act erractically and possibly be a bite risk if someone startles or bumps him or steps on him. Health is really important.

If you're getting a dog to train on your own, have a plan ahead of time of what you will do if the dog doesn't work out. Even the best trainers and programs have failures and for someone with minimal training experience training their first dog? There will be mistakes. And sometimes dogs just don't enjoy the work. Will you keep the dog as a pet? Rehome it? Return it to the breeder or shelter? Figure it out ahead of time- and be committed to NOT working a dog who isn't suitable.

Owner-training is a great privilege. We in the US are one of the only countries that allows this on a large scale, and it's under threat from people who don't live up to the responsibility to owner-train their dogs sufficiently.

[TJ]

I am a CGC Evaluator and no way do I or the American Kennel Club (AKC) consider the CGC a minimum for an Assistance Dog. It should be the minimum for any pet dog that is taken out around crowds of people.

http://www.akc.org/events/cgc/index.cfm A quote from the AKC site: The Canine Good Citizen Program is a two-part program that stresses responsible pet ownership for owners and basic good manners for dogs.

An Assistance Dog also known as a Service Dog must be trained to help mitigate the handler’s disability. And contrary to what many seem to believe the owner or employee of a store do not have to just allow someone inside because they say they are disabled. The business owner or employee also has the right to ask if the dog is a Service Dog and what task is the dog trained to do for your disability. Read this Business Brief on Service Animals by the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Disability Rights Section -- http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/svcanimb.htm .

What you are describing sounds more like an Emotional Support Animal which is also a valuable animal with a very worthwhile job. ESA owners have some priviledges that are not normally given to a pet dog. To read more about this you can go to http://servicedogcentral.org/content/ .

I hope that you and those that read your blog take the time to look further into the qualifications of what makes a true Service Dog. The intent here is not to be critical but to help educate on a sometimes very misunderstood topic.

[jeanne]

Cait--good points. Thanks very much for adding these.

And TJ, I will read this over. Thanks also.