Your dog doesn't need therapy
I know what you’re thinking, “This jerk is gonna make disparaging comments about therapy dogs?!?!”
No, just some of the owners.
It’s sad/crazy how much material I have for this article.
But first I will have to spell out my immense hypocrisy with this issue. I have owned dogs my whole life. Many times in the past I have obligated others to watch and take care of them. Adopting a pet always sounds great, but you don’t always think through all the contingencies like work or travel.
The new culture of pets seems to be taking them with us everywhere.
My wife and I don’t take our dog in restaurants or businesses (except the dog store which encourages it). It just feels rude. There are now many signs saying that pets are not welcome, unless it is a certified service dog. You can now be fined up to $1000 in our state for lying about a service dog certification.
Of course everyone else’s reaction to a dog is like seeing a baby, “how cute!”
Dogs in medical clinics
There are absolutely well trained and legitimately needed therapy dogs in medicine. Maybe the people who will agree with me on this issue have the real deal, and have put the time and money into properly trained dogs.
One of the patients I knew had a service dog out in their backyard, 50 feet away with the door closed. All of a sudden, the dog tears ass to the door, freaking out and barking to come in. The owner had a massive seizure a minute later. That dog was always able to tell when a seizure was coming. We don’t know if it’s smell, or some sort of telekinesis.
Many years ago I worked for a very large therapy clinic. A woman in a wheelchair had a dog tied to the wheelchair for propulsion. It was pretty sketchy. This was a black haired shaggy dog in the desert, so it must have been very hot. We all felt bad for both the patient and the dog.
The dog was clearly not trained, and took a dump on the carpet in the front lobby. The manager cleaned it up, as much as you can on carpet. Mind you, this is all in front of 10 other patient/customers.
The manager handled it as discreetly as possible, and with the blessing of the owner, informed the patient that she was welcome at therapy, however the dog could not come in the building. Reasonable, considering what happened.
The business got sued, of course, and luckily they won the case in arbitration.
Our business
When I owned my own clinic, we had some people who wanted to bring their pets in for no other reason than just because. I explained to them that we were a medical clinic and had to keep things clean. We also couldn’t have the dogs be a trip hazard with other patients. It was a liability for me in so many different directions. When I spoke to them for 10 minutes and explained the whole situation, they reluctantly agreed, but didn’t sue (now as I’m writing this, i’m thinking, why did I have to deal with all that in the first place? We were trying to run a business).
The law
Here is the states’ definitions of service animals and expectations.
Service animals have different legal protections in different settings. Housing and air transportation have their own definitions of, and protections for, service animals, separate from those under the ADA. Please see below for links to information about the Fair Housing Act and the Air Carrier Access Act.
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), only dogs (and miniature horses where reasonable) qualify as service animals. The ADA applies to public businesses and state and local entities. Dogs or miniature horses only qualify if they are trained to perform a task or tasks directly related to an individual’s disability, such as guiding people who are blind, pulling a wheelchair, or alerting someone of an imminent seizure.
Pets, emotional support animals (ESAs), comfort animals and therapy animals are not service animals under the ADA because they are not trained to perform a task or tasks directly related to an individual’s disability. However, Emotional Support Animals are covered under the Fair Housing Act (FHA). Please see below for a link to more information on the FHA.
Service animals must be allowed to accompany the handler (‘handler’ means owner or, in New Mexico and some other states, a trainer) to any place in a building or facility where members of the public, program participants, customers, or clients are allowed. Even if a business or public program has a “no pets” policy, they may not deny entry to a person with a service animal.
If it is not obvious what task or tasks an animal has been trained to perform, only two questions may be asked:
Is this a service animal required due to a disability?
What task or work is the animal trained to perform?
Asking the handler to have the animal perform the task is not allowed. It’s also important to note that service animals are not required to be certified or wear identification of any kind, though some handlers may present a certification and some service animals may wear a vest or other identification.
An entity may deny access to a service animal whose behavior is unacceptable or in situations in which the person with a disability is not in control of the animal. Uncontrolled barking, sniffing food at a restaurant table, jumping on other people, or running away from the handler are examples of unacceptable behavior for a service animal. The handler must be given the opportunity to control the animal and if they are unable to do so, they must be allowed back on the premises without the animal. In addition, it may be appropriate to exclude a service animal from places such as operating rooms or burn units where the animal’s presence may compromise a sterile environment.
The 2013 New Mexico State Legislature passed a bill (SB320) that updated the Service Animal Act, 28-11-1.1 NMSA 1978. Sponsored by Senator Nancy Rodriguez, Santa Fe, the Service Animal Act aligns New Mexico’s statute with the 2011 updates to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADAAA). Unlike the ADA and ADAAA, New Mexico’s Service Animal Act also prohibits a person from misrepresenting a dog as a service animal and provides penalties, including a $1,000 fine and/or jail time. Additionally, in New Mexico service animals in training are allowed the same access as a fully trained service animal. The law became effective June 14, 2013.
Made me laugh about the dog crapping on the carpet. People sue for not letting their pets in ? crazy.