When dealing with service animals, it is important to remember that they are not pets; they are working animals. Petting service animals while they are \in harness" is never appropriate. When a service animal is in harness, it has been signaled that this is work time. To pet or otherwise distract a service animal who is working could be disastrous to the animal and its owner.
The Seeing Eye, based in New Jersey, likens distracting a service animal to grabbing the steering wheel of a moving car away from its driver. Animals are carefully trained not to be distracted by traditional things like squirrels, people, frisbees, etc. Dogs that guide blind or visually impaired individuals are taught to avoid low-hanging branches, stop at curbs and stairs and walk toward the center of a sidewalk. When people go out of their way to pet, talk to or encourage a service animal's disobedience, not only does the owner have to correct the misbehavior (which, while it doesn't hurt the animal, can be painful to watch), but the animal could endanger the owner by pulling him or her off balance or into the path of a tree limb, bus or other vehicle.
Owners are responsible for their service animal's care and feeding. While some organizations offer subsidies for veterinary care, owners are responsible for taking their animals to a veterinarian for preventative and other care. If you think an owner needs assistance or you would like to talk to or pet a service animal, simply ask the owner.
According to a letter from a Paws with a Cause client, "It is very important to respect the relationship between owner and animal and let the animal do its job."
The letter added, "The independence, self-esteem and love that the animal brings to its human companion created a bond that is not even close to being compared to a bond between a 'pet' and its owner."
While service animals are not trained as guards, they may become protective of their owners and act defensively if they feel threatened.
"Service animals do get the chance to be just pets, and life is not always as hard for them as it may appear," said Erica Stark, a recent MSU graduate.
ADA 101: A quiz to see how much you know
Questions
- What can you do if, during a university athletic event, a service animal barks or growls at other people or otherwise acts out of control?
- Can you charge a maintenance or clearning fee for those who bring service animals into a university place of business?
- Is a university business responsible for the animal while the person with a disability is in that business?
- What if the public accommodation we're talking about is the university hospital? Must the hospital permit a service animal in a sterile area?
Answers:
- You may exclude any animal, including a service animal, from your facility when that animal's behavior poses a direct threat to the health or safety of others. For example, any service animal that displays vicious behavior toward other spectators at a basketball game may be excluded. You may not make assumptions, however, about how a particular animal is likely to behave based on your past experience with other animals. Each situation must be considered individually.
- No. Neither a deposit nor a surcharge may be imposed on an individual with a disability as a condition to allowing a service animal to accompany the individual with a disability, even if such deposits are routinely required for pets. However, a public accommodation may charge its customers with disabilities if a service animal causes damage so long as it is the regular practice of the entity to charge nondisabled customers for the same types of damages.
- No. The care or supervision of a service animal is solely the responsibility of his or her owner. Universities are not required to provide care or food or a special location for the animal.
- There are limits on a public accommodation's duty to modify its policies under the ADA. Although it is true that the ADA generally requires public accommodations to modify their policies, a showing that the use of a service animal would pose a significant health risk in certain areas of a hospital may serve as a basis for excluding that animal from that area. Moreover, it's important to remember that a hospital that is a religious entity or under the control of a religious entity is exempt from complying with Title III.