Vests and harnesses are expensive, by the way – as mentioned above can sometimes cost upwards of $200 to $250.

Besides, who wants to be “identified” as disabled? It may be obvious when entering an establishment with a service dog there is a disability, but now, one would be able to, for instance, walk down a street without advertising the fact.

Perhaps a tatoo would be more permanent solution? Now, would that go on the owner or the dog or both??

There is, however, a difference between a service dog and a a therapy dog, as I believe was pointed out earlier. The author of this post is correct – a person with a Therapy dog would likely know the difference between a Service dog and a Therapy dog and would (one would hope) NOT attempt to bring a Therapy dog into a store!

Therapy dogs do not operate under the laws made for service dogs, and are not allowed in grocery/food establishments. Other establishments have the right to allow or refuse Therapy dogs, provided there are no specific laws banning dogs in the type of establishment.

Some people confuse Psychiatric Service Dogs with Therapy dogs. A psychiatric service dog has to do more than just provide comfort to the owner – they are required to perform at least two tasks that help that person function. Things like getting medication, alerting, etc.

A Therapy dog’s function is to provide comfort to others, generally in situations where there is some impairment of the person or people being visited: Hospitals, nursing homes, hospices, schools, libraries (READ dogs are Therapy dogs,) victims of crimes, disasters, etc. (The famous Lutheran Services Golden Retrievers are examples of “Comfort” dogs who are actually therapy dogs.) Emotional Support dogs generally fall into the rough category of Therapy dogs.

There are therapy dogs who actually work with professionals (either their own or as a dog/owner team in conjunction with a professional) to assist in Animal Assisted Therapy. An example of this would be the many Therapy dogs who have assisted veterans with post traumatic stress disorder.

A puppy generally will not qualify as a Therapy dog by any of the companies who certify and insure Therapy dogs – because they cannot pass the rigourous testing/training and certification process. As a matter of fact, most companies have a minimum age requirement. Of course, there are animals who operate as Therapy dogs who are not certified, but regardless, they still do not have the same rights as Service dogs, and aren’t allowed in grocery stores.

To identify a service dog, a business is allowed to ask if a person has a disability, but NOT what the disability is = straight from the US Department of Justice, Civil Rights division: “Some, but not all, service animals wear special collars and harnesses. Some, but not all, are licensed or certified and have identification papers. If you are not certain that an animal is a service animal, you may ask the person who has the animal if it is a service animal required because of a disability. However, an individual who is going to a restaurant or theater is not likely to be carrying documentation of his or her medical condition or disability. Therefore, such documentation generally may not be required as a condition for providing service to an individual accompanied by a service animal. Although a number of states have programs to certify service animals, you may not insist on proof of state certification before permitting the service animal to accompany the person with a disability.”

In addition, to further evaluate whether or not the dog is a service dog, one may ask what tasks the dog performs.

Even if a state or local law provides for differing actions/questions about a service law, the Federal law overides.

It seems to me that sometimes a business, despairing of being able to train their employees on these two questions, simply tell them NOT to question, ever, for fear of being opened up to lawsuits.

A service dog may be ejected from a facility if it is disruptive. The owner may not be banned.

As a disabled person, I dread the day when the ignorance of others causes Service dogs to have to be identified by special leashes, harnesses, etc., certification processes, training, or special liscences, or any other such “Identification” that may cause increased cost, time, or hardships on those who own and use them.