Dog's status

[Linda,Yankee & Finn]

Hi everyone,

Does anyone know if you can get special status for your autistic child's dog even if he isn't a "trained therapy dog"? I would like to be able to bring Yankee places with my grandson that dogs normally aren't allowed to go.
At one point, Cody's school banned dogs from their property and he wouldn't go to school.

Does anyone have any info on this? Thanks

[Linda,Yankee & Finn]

I live in Canada so the ADA doesn't apply to me. The school does allow Yankee on the property now as they realized that it was important for Cody. There are also a couple of stores nearby that allow my dog inside.

I have seen service dogs in training in public places here in Ottawa. Yankee is more of a companion than anything else. I may have to put him in specialized training to get anywhere.

Thanks for the info anyways.

[Adina P]

What training has he had so far? Is he generally very well behaved and trustworthy in public? Those would be my only concerns...to ensure that nobody will be scared by him if he jumps on them or lacks some other type of training he'd need.

In the USA I don't think anyone is allowed to ask for "proof" of training or registration, but for the sake of public relations I would encourage anyone to get some minimal training so that the dog in question is never questioned due to bad behavior.

[Linda,Yankee & Finn]

He only had a puppy training class. Overall, he is pretty well behaved. I do walk him without a leash in the neighbourhood which is fine unless he sees a bird. Since we walk Cody to school everyday, he has tons of contact with children and they love him. He doesn't jump on kids, just licks their face. He occasionally jumps up on adults. There is a small park across from my house & he goes there and plays with any kids he sees. When we walk, everyone seems to know his name. People I don't know say Hi to him all the time.
I do think I will look into more training just for peace of mind.

[Kathy Wilson]

I wonder if schools would be more amenable to the dog's presence if we carried our own liability insurance? As a teacher, I'd LOVE to be able to take my dog to school with me daily.

[Linda,Yankee & Finn]

Cody's school said there were some kids who are afraid of dogs and I guess some of them freak out at the sight of a dog. I don't think liability insurance is the only issue at schools.

There are a lot of adults who are frightened as well. They back away when I walk by. Maybe I'm insensitive, but shouldn't they do something to get over it. They are adults and must realize that it's not OK to be afraid of ALL dogs. My 7 yr old granddaughter was bitten in the face last year by a dog and she isn't afraid of dogs. I don't get it.

[Adina P]

I agree that is an issue. When I've visited classrooms with my HUGE doodle Rosco, there has always been one child who preferred to sit far away because he/she was very afraid of dogs. So bringing a dog into a class as a regular part of class would be difficult unless that dog was incredibly obedient or was crated most of the time. The dog would have to have a solid STAY and not cause allergic reactions in any children. Lots of variables.