Q & A Regarding Service Animals

The summer season in Cape May always brings an increase in inquiries, both from individuals with disabilities and from business owners, about ADA rights and responsibilities regarding Service Animals in the community. The following information is adapted from information provided by the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.
A. Service animals, as defined by the most recent ADA legislation, are dogs (or miniature horses) that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities. The work or task a service animal has been trained to provide must be directly related to the person’s disability. Dogs whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support DO NOT qualify as service animals under the amended ADA.
Q. Service animal. . . Therapy dog. . . Family pet . . . What’s the difference?
A. The individualized working role that service animals perform differentiates them from family pets. It also differentiates them from therapy dogs which are trained to interact with a variety of people in places such as nursing homes and hospitals. There is no national system or policy for registering service animals. Some states do have programs to certify and license service animals; New Jersey does not. The owner of a service animal doesn’t need to produce a card or certificate as verification of the animal’s special role. But he/she can be asked what work or task the dog has been trained to perform.
Q. What are some examples of the work or tasks service animals may perform?
A. Examples include alerting people who are deaf, guiding people who are blind, pulling a wheelchair, assisting individuals with mobility disabilities by carrying and retrieving, reminding a person with mental illness to take prescribed medications, alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure, and other tasks that enable individuals with disabilities to live independently in the community.
Q. Where are Service Animals allowed?
A. Under the ADA, State and local governments, businesses and nonprofit organizations that serve the public generally 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.
Q. When it is not obvious what service a Service Animal provides, what questions may be asked?
A. There are only two questions that may be asked: Is the dog a Service Animal required because of a disability? What work or task has the dog been trained to perform for you? It is NOT acceptable to ask about the person’s disability, to require medical documentation, to require a special identification card or training documentation for the dog, or ask that the dog demonstrate its ability to perform the work or task.
Q. Are allergies or fear of dogs valid reasons for denying access or refusing service to people using Service Animals?
A. No. When a person who is allergic to dog dander and a person who uses a service animal must spend time in the same room or facility, they both should be accommodated by assigning them, if possible, to different locations within the room or different rooms in the facility.
Q. Is there ever any justification for excluding a Service Animal from a public space?
A. Under the ADA, an individual with a Service Animal must maintain control of the animal at all times with devices such as a harness, leash or tether, or through voice, signal, or other effective controls. There are only two acceptable reasons for asking a person with a disability to remove his/her Service Animal from the premises: if the dog is out of control and the handler doesn’t regain control, or if the dog is not housebroken.
If there is a legitimate reason to ask that a Service Animal be removed, the owner must be given the opportunity to obtain goods or services without the animal’s presence.
By providing reasonable accommodation for legitimate Service Animals, the business community recognizes that individuals with disabilities are valuable customers, and all benefit from that awareness. This common sense contract seems to work reasonably well in most communities and is vital in a community such as Cape May. “Accommodation” and “accessibility” are not just compliance issues but “the right thing to do,” and good for business as well.
DID YOU KNOW?
• There is a national voluntary registry, Service Animals Registry of America (SARA), which provides registration and certification for service animals, therapy animals and their trainers. Their website address is http://affluent.net/sara or you can contact them by phone: 206-376-8931.
• Easter Seals Project ACTION provides more information on the topic of Service Animals. Contact them at 800-659-6428 or visit http://projectaction.org. The Clearinghouse page on their website allows you to order or download a copy of the document, “Frequently Asked Questions About Service Animals.”
• The U.S. Department of Justice website (www.usdoj.gov) which links to the ADA website (www.ada.gov) also has a publication on the subject, “ADA Business Brief: Service Animals.” It can be downloaded directly from the site in PDF or text-only form.
• For information regarding Service Animals and air travel, contact the Department of Transportation Disability Hotline at 800-778-4838 (voice) and 800-455-9880 (TTY).
Pierson writes from the Cape May County Department of Aging and Disability Services