Is every pet a "therapy" pet?

[Adina P]

I'm sure we all agree that pets, especially our doodles, are very therapeutic. But it seems I'm hearing of more and more people abusing the term "therapy" and using it as an excuse to get their pets privileges.

A few months ago a tenant in a property that Clark manages claimed the cat he had acquired (which came after the no-pet rental contract was signed) was a 'therapy' cat.

Recently a prospective tenant for a different property asked about pets. When she heard there was a no-pets rule, she also claimed her cat was a therapy cat because she was bipolar.

To me that's taking it too far and taking advantage of the system. Of course neither of these individuals claimed 'service dog' status and didn't seem to know the correct terminology, but SHOULD any pet owner be allowed to rent or enter a no-pets allowed property for any reason as long as they claim their dog is a service/therapy dog?

Shouldn't some certification be required? Should the dog actually serve a purpose (perform a service or needed task) beyond making the person feel good?

[HANNAH 8/2/07 & HONEY 7/2/08]

When I got my letter for my dog, she was there in the Doctor's Office with me, she also attends my Doctor Visits, he can see she does what is needed of her from my needs. Again if a Service Dog displays bad behavior in any way, it can be removed. Your answer's to your questions have been clearly answered with ADA rulings...perhaps you may need to read up on them all.

[HANNAH 8/2/07 & HONEY 7/2/08]

Leash laws are a different story in every State and local government, and also pertaining to the ADA...there are no real leash law guidelines that I am aware of with the ADA...so I think again they go by what your local laws are...

[Adina P]

Right...I didn't think ADA gave any off-leash freedom. And therapy dog organizations also do not...so (in response to having a dog off leash on the playground) any therapy/service status would not grant off leash freedom to a dog where leash laws are applicable. That was my point along with my opnion that it would be cool to grant off leash freedom and other privileges to dogs and owners who can earn it (whether service or not) via demonstrable obedience and manners on a structured exam similar to a combo of CGC and the Companion Dog title of obedience. It sucks to have laws that restrict the freedom of responsible folks to protect them from the irresponsible. An off leash freedom program would be awesome! But I know lots of people (and trainers too depending on their personal beliefs) would vehemently disagree.

[F, Calla & Luca]

I think that what is apparent is that the definitions and descriptions of service dogs and therapy dogs is confusing. This needs further clarification. I would like to take my dogs many places and sometimes I do. Some stores for example are fine with this. My bank gives treats for the dogs. However, if a store asks me to leave I do. I may not like the stores' rules but the store owners have a right to make them. As a physician I can have an opinion about whether having an animal in certain circumstances might be helpful to one of my patients and I can write a letter stating so. Yet I can't reliably determine the training and predict the behavior of their pet. A dog trainer or behaviorist would be more able to do that. Doctors are certainly human but I do think they should not lie about a patient's condition for convenience aside from it being illegal and jeopardizing one's license. I am not trying to comment on parenting skills or talking about individual cases but stating my opinion as a generalization. Also some doctors are murderers, etc. but most of us are not (and I also don't think we would consider lying about a diagnosis. That being said I certainly will skew things in favor of a child who legitimately needs help without manufacturing diagnoses.

[LuvMyAbby&Kaela]

Absolutely. I think they should be have certification and actually performing the trained for service - such as seeing eye dogs. etc... And of course people abuse it so they can take their pets with them wherever they go.

How readily do they give out Handicap stickers here in BC?? I see some dude pull up in a literal monster truck 4x4 and park right infront of the store. He hops out (like a good 3 feet) and proceeds into the store. Handicapped - my arse! You see this all the time.

[Deb, Connor & Simon]

Where I work, we have two customers who are "foster parents" for service dogs in training. As it has been explained to me, the service dogs-to-be have been carefully bred - 3/4 yellow lab/1/4 golden retriever - over decades to better insure a good temperment, attitude, willingness to learn, etc. The "fosters" receive the dogs @ 8 weeks old and keep them until they are 2 yrs old before turning them back to the service organization for further training. During the time the service dog lives with their "family," the mom agrees to take the puppy to a certain number of age-appropriate classes per month, socialization outings, etc. When the dog is turned back over to the service organization, it goes through basic "service" training and is evaluated regularly. At the end of 6 months, there is an extensive evaluation to determine if the dog is, in fact, service dog material. If not, the "foster" has the option of taking the dog back to live with them as a forever family, or the org makes the dog available for adoption as a family pet. If the dog is accepted into the remainder of the training program, when that is completed the dog and its new owner - the person needing the service dog -- both go through training with each other.

On the other hand, my Connor has been training to be a therapy dog so he can work with children in our local Read to Rover program in schools/libraries. He has been through a series of classes (2 months each - 3 progressive levels) and now he & I are working with a one-on-one trainer for a final polish. He'll be taking his CGC and TDI shortly. After he passes his TDI (Therapy Dog International) evaluation, he will have to make 3 observed visits in different hospital/nursing home/rehab facilities. If he does well with those, he will become a certified Therapy Dog. Wherever we go on "official business" as a therapy dog, we will then be insured through TDI's group insurance poIicy. In order to maintain certification, we must make 11 visits a year. (Without this type of insurance and behavioral training, there is a tremendous liability on the part of the owner.)

There's a HUGE difference between the two programs.

Here in VA, certified Therapy Dogs and Service Dogs have their own ID.

In my opinion, anyone who knowingly enters into a lease with a "no-pet clause," then decides to have a pet and call it a therapy animal in a lame attempt to weasel their way out of that part of the lease, does a disservice to all those who are truly in need of a therapy or service animal and to the humans who have worked hard to train their animals in order to serve their community or a challenged person who is truly in need.

[Tante & Jordan & now Annie!]

Service and therapy dogs in Wa have two different set of laws. Service animals can go anywhere and live anywhere, you can ask if the animal works for the person and what task that animal performs. Anyone person who has a true service animal will give you this info with out hesitation.You can not ask what their disability is. BIG NO-NO.
I work with people disabilities and I also was training Jordan to be a service dog at one point. I am very tired tonight and I have tons to say about this subject so I can only hope this is still going on tomorrow when I get off work.
Yes,certification should be required on a Federal level, not state. Just like the you have to apply for a parking permit you should have to apply for a service animal.
I am going to bed, I cant even type anymore :) Good night DKers

[HANNAH 8/2/07 & HONEY 7/2/08]

That would really be great if they could Federally test Service Animals, problem being, why would my dog who is a Service animal and is Doctor Documented for her needs as a Service Animal, be required to pass a test to do something that is not required of her, say like a seeing eye dog. There are to many disabilites that dogs are needed for, they can not come up with one specific test to suit all, and to test for individual needs that will never happen because of the wide range of disabilities

Also F Parker posted and I would like to respond to some of what they said, so I have copied and pasted the part I'm responding to: "As a physician I can have an opinion about whether having an animal in certain circumstances might be helpful to one of my patients and I can write a letter stating so. Yet I can't reliably determine the training and predict the behavior of their pet. A dog trainer or behaviorist would be more able to do that."

When I have my Doctor appointments my dog is always with me, waiting area, examanation room..and so on...They meaning Nurses, Doctors, Clinic Manager, other Hospital employees and whom ever is there can clearly see that my dog is trained and behaves in these types of situations. We normally are there anywhere between 2 hours to 3 hours at the least, it is a clinic and it takes forever to be seen. There are kids there jumping up and down, running around, playing, and of course most want to pet the doggy, parents or other patients moving about to register and be seen, along with other people with walkers, wheelchairs, breathing apparatus, and the list can go on and on. My dog is there dealing with all of this, and dealing with the examination room, she is not carrying on, she is not barking, she is being well behaved either sitting or lying at my feet. Seeing all of this my Doctor can clearly see the training she has and how she - a Service Dog performs for my needs, " he can clearly make a judgement call that since this dog is this way when she is here, why would she not be that way other places", that comment also came right from my Doctor. I don't feel you would need a behaviorist to determine if somones dog is doing what it should be doing, not a truly trained Service Animal within the guidelines of ADA rules. My reasoning for this is based on you would not think to ask a blind person if their dog is really trained to help them see, you know they are by seeing how the dog performs, why should it be different for another person with a disability?

[Adina P]

I am not asking for all dogs to be tested on the same service task---what I would like to see is for all service dogs to pass a rigorous obedience test. There is no reason that a seeing eye dog and autism support dog and the blood sugar alert dog would not all be able to heel, sit, down, come, stay reliably under great distraction and show no temperament issues, fears, aggression, lunging behavior, bolting, barking, bothering people, etc. Obviously, the specific service tasks will vary. What I envision is that these tests could be provided by trainers or behaviorists trained by various service organizations and certified to perform these tests. Not all people take their service dog to the doctor and sit in the waiting room for hours as you have said you have done with yours. By your reports, your dogs would be able to pass this test just fine and so it would not be anything strenuous for you. But it would prevent people who are using the system unfairly from having advantages that they and their dog do not deserve.

[fergie11]

You know - I just read all this and I think everyone is on the same page. For once, I think, pretty much, everyone agrees. Isn't that nice.

[Lorraine Bromley]

Hi Allison, you mentioned 92 commandsthe puppies have to learn. Could you list all 92 for me? My son and I both have a progressive genetic condition that could lead to and has at imes limited our activities. We would not be in the need for a service dog. I would like to train Neely to be a helper to me physically and those commands would go far to help us. I would really appreciate it. Lorraine

[HANNAH 8/2/07 & HONEY 7/2/08]

Allison I didn't refer to Service Dogs being allowed into zoo's. As for other comments you have made concerning Service Dogs and State requirements for Service Dogs, ADA is the governing force for service dogs, ADA is Federal, not state to state. If your state has it's own guidelines for Service Animals, the ADA's outweigh your States. Not all States give a State ID for Service Animals, PA does NOT, there are some who will swear they do, because they want to make that 15,000.00 for a so called trained Service Dog, but all in all ADA rulings, guidelines are the final answer. The outrageous fees that go with obtaining a Sevice Animal is another reason why the ADA ALLOWS for the SELF TRAINING OF A SERVICE DOG. As far as the State rendering a person disabled, if your on SSD I guess you are, that is also another Federal entity, which evaluates a person and their disability for life. Honestly I don't know of any State that renders a person disabled other than by using a handicaped Placard to park, which again goes by your Doctor's. PA does not get involved like that, that I am aware of...or was ever brought to my attention...