Stay Out of the Doghouse – Know ADA Accessibility Rules Involving Service Animals

ada-guidelines-for-service-animalsHave you encountered a business with a blanket “no-pets” policy for reasons of health and customer safety? These businesses are inadvertently excluding people with disabilities who use dogs as “service animals.” Many businesses need to train their staff so they are aware of those times when the “no pets” restriction must be eased as service dogs are covered by ADA accessibility rules.

Test your knowledge on ADA rules concerning service animals by taking the following (easy!) multiple-choice quiz, which we excerpted from the ADA’s Primer for Small Business:

1. Under ADA’s revised regulations, the definition of a “service animal” is limited to:

a. a dog that the disabled person uses as a companion.

b. a dog, but only when the animal is on a leash

c. any animal certified by the ADA for service to a disabled person.

d. a dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for a person with a disability.

2. Tasks performed by the dog must be directly related to the person’s disability. Examples include:

a. Blind or low-vision disabled people who use dogs to guide them.

b. Dogs who assist the deaf to alert them to sounds.

c. Dogs that pull wheelchairs or retrieve things for a disabled person.

d. All of the above.

3. Other examples of service animals include:

a. Dogs that warn epilepsy sufferers of an imminent seizure.

b. Dogs that remind people with psychiatric disabilities to take their medications.

c. Dogs that assist returning war veterans with activities as they reenter civilian life.

d. All of the above.

4. Service animals must be harnessed, leashed, or tethered, except

a. There are no exceptions. Service animals must be harnessed at all times when the disabled person is in public.

b. When restraining devices interfere with the service animal’s work.

c. When the individual’s disability prevents him from using the restraints.

d. Choices b and c above.

5. What are the questions a business representative may ask when it is not apparent that the dog is a service animal?

a. Is the dog housebroken?

b. Is the dog required because of a disability?

c. What work or task has the animal been trained for?

d. Choices b and c above.

And for extra credit:

6. Under what conditions can a business exclude a service animal from entering the premises?

a. The dog is out of control.

b. The handler cannot or does not regain control.

c. The dog is not housebroken.

d. All the above.

 

Answer key: If you chose d for each question, you scored 100% and deserve a treat!

Tell us your experiences with service dogs and ADA accessibility!

Image courtesy of Flickr, Secretary of Defense

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