Ella gives a hug
Pictured is trainer Mark Mathis of Ry-Con Service Dogs with registered service animal Ella, a Briard. Ella has been trained to assist Mark’s son, who has autism, and here has responded to Mark’s signal to stand and place her paws on his shoulders. A service animal trained for a person who has autism can calm or “ground” the person when experiencing sensory overload and help initiate social interaction.
Did you know that the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services administers a service animal registration program? But did you also know registration is voluntary, and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) states a public entity must allow a service animal into areas open to the general public while not asking to see documentation of a service animal? Do you know all of the different work or tasks a service animal can be trained to do?
These are some of the many service animal questions and issues that a new workgroup is tasked with tackling. The Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services (DVRS) has established a workgroup that is developing public education materials to distribute to businesses, service animal users and the general public to educate them on service animal rights and responsibilities. These responsibilities include the responsibility of the service animal user to ensure that the animal is properly trained and acts appropriately and the responsibility of the business to provide an accommodation by allowing a service animal into the business.
The workgroup held its first meeting on Dec. 17, and members include DHHS staff (DVRS, the Division of Services for the Blind and the Division of Services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing) service animal users, service animal trainers and advocates for people with disabilities.
DVRS has proposed amending North Carolina General Statute 168 to bring its service animal provisions more in line with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), eliminate the registration program and instead distribute the tools the workgroup develops. This tool could take the form of a brochure or several brochures intended for different audiences and even a video to be posted on DHHS’s website. The proposal also includes limiting service animals to dogs and miniature horses, consistent with the ADA’s revised definition of a service animal.
Many people do not know how to properly interact with a service animal if they see one. Some people think only certain breeds of dogs can become service animals. Some public places do not understand that certain people with disabilities may need the assistance of a service animal to access their facilities, programs and services. The public education tool will help everyone better understand the importance of service animals and how to properly interact with a person with a disability using one.
The ADA defines a service animal as “any dog individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability.” A service animal is not a pet. A dog that merely provides comfort or emotional support does not qualify as a service animal. Service animals undergo extensive training to learn how to perform work or tasks to assist people with disabilities and learn how to behave appropriately in public places. Work or tasks can include (but are not limited to) pulling a wheelchair, opening doors, retrieving dropped items, guiding a person who is blind, alerting a person who is deaf or hard of hearing to the presence of sounds, alerting a person with diabetes to changes in the person’s blood sugar level, assisting an individual during a seizure, and interrupting impulsive or destructive behaviors in a person with a psychiatric disability.