understanding-the-importantance-of-service-animals-petworks-veterinary-hospital

Expert Advice

Petworks Veterinary Hospital Understands The Important Role of Service Dogs

Our dogs act as loving and faithful companions. They are an extremely important part of our daily lives. They follow our commands and work with us in various capacities. Service dogs help a person with a disability to lead a more independent life.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) states that a service dog is “a dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for a person with a disability.” The ADA defines “Disability” as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities.

Service dogs are trained to perform specific actions that help keep individuals with disabilities safe and allow them to accomplish their daily routines.

The ADA considers service dogs to be primarily working animals and does not consider them pets. Service dogs are typically small to large working breeds, but the size and breed of the dog are usually dictated by the needs of the individual they are serving.

For example, smaller breeds can alert individuals about blood sugar variations, while large breeds have the height and strength needed for mobility assistance.

understanding-the-important-roles-of-service-dogs-petworks-veterinary-hospital

What Types of Disabilities do Service Dogs Help With?

Service dogs are trained to perform a variety of different everyday tasks directly related to the person’s disability.

Blind Seeing Guide Dogs

This service dog assists blind and visually impaired individuals in safely navigating the home and public spaces.

Hearing Service Dogs

This service dog helps alert deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals to important sounds.

Mobility Service Dogs

These service dogs help disabled individuals who utilize wheelchairs or walking devices or have trouble maintaining balance.

Medical Alert Dogs

This unique type of service dog can signal the onset of a medical issue, such as a seizure, low blood sugar, or the presence of allergens, among many other functions.

Psychiatric Service Dogs

Another specialized type of service dog, these amazing animals, are able to assist people with disabilities such as obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia, and other conditions.

Psychiatric service dogs can perform tasks such as entering a dark room and turning on lights, interrupting an individual’s repetitive behaviors, or reminding an individual to take medication.

Not Every Dog is Capable of Performing as a Certified Service Dog

Service dogs are invaluable. A highly trained service dog is focused on assisting an individual with a disability. They are desensitized to distractions and reliable to perform specific tasks. They are attentive and responsive to their owners while working at home or in public.

Unfortunately, some people may fraudulently misrepresent their dogs as service animals. This harms the truly disabled, confuses the public, and affects the reputation of legitimate service dog users.

An unregistered or certified service dog may be poorly trained and can be a danger to the public and real service dogs. The American Kennel Club issued a policy position statement called “Misuse of Service Dogs.”

Many state and local governments share this concern and have laws that make it an offense to misrepresent a service animal.

For more information about KCA service dog guidelines and misuse of service dogs please follow this link: KCA Service Dog Guidelines

At Petworks Veterinary Hospital, we proudly offer various care options and services to Johnson County, Kansas pet owners.

Include Boarding, Grooming, and even Cay Care. We also offer a full line of veterinary services, including Dentistry, Laser Surgery, Radiology, and in-house laboratory services. So, you can be sure that your best friend is going to be receiving great care here at Petworks.

We will treat your pet with caring hearts and caring hands.

If you have questions about getting a new furry family member, Call Us today or Schedule an Appointment Online.