View Full Version : Assist/Service Dogs
The Weasel
09-21-2009, 14:28
Those who have read any of my anti-dog screeds in the past may have sudden seizures by the following....
As the rest of my hearing falls apart (I've got about 10% in my right ear and about 40% in my left), I increasingly take advantage of the help given me by Chase the Incredible Rocket Dog, my 50# lab mix. He serves as an 'alert' dog for me, as he hears things that I don't and lets me know about them. While there is no specific formal licensing for service dogs (and other animals), I'm at least getting some recognition from my physician that he provides hearing assistance to me, and getting him a service animal vest. I've especially noted that, when I camp with him (he is in the tent with me), he 'notifies' me of things occurring outside, including other people and when animals approach.
Does anyone have any experience in taking service animals on trails in restricted places like GSMNP and Baxter? Since I'm neither blind nor in a wheelchair, my handicap isn't apparent to others (which is one of the reasons for the vest for Chase) so I'd be interested in any other experiences and suggestions.
Thanks.
TW
my sister trains service dogs and i think the main thing is having him registered as a service dog. you'll get paperwork, which you can then laminate and keep on you. not 100% certain, but that's what i think anyway.
and anyone deserves a second chance, weasy. unless you beat animals. then, no soup for you!
The Weasel
09-21-2009, 14:54
my sister trains service dogs and i think the main thing is having him registered as a service dog. you'll get paperwork, which you can then laminate and keep on you. not 100% certain, but that's what i think anyway.
and anyone deserves a second chance, weasy. unless you beat animals. then, no soup for you!
I'm not so concerned about the paperwork, as what constitutes a service animal for ADA purposes is pretty much a self-defining thing, absent essentially fraud (there are reports of people trying to get iguanas on airplanes as "service lizards") as I am about how people feel about it in such places.
TW
PS: Dog beaters get something worse than no soup. :eek:
whitelightning
09-21-2009, 14:55
I don't know what exactly what it takes to get service animal designation. But I thruhiked last year with someone who was able to take her dog through GSMNP and Baxter because it was a service animal. This person was not blind or deaf or physically handicapped. I don't think it would be very hard to get your dog designated as a service animal. I don't know what you would need to do, but I know it is possible.
gravityman
09-21-2009, 14:55
Throw and Fetch from 2005 were in a similar position. Throw couldn't stand up if he fell down, so he had trained his dog, Fetch, a blue heeler, to pull him up. He had him certified as a service dog and took him through the smokies and up Katahdin, as well as stayed with him in hotels. Occassionally they would try to charge him a pet fee, and sometimes he'd tell them no way, and other times he didn't bother (usually when it was a big chain he would stand his ground, while the mom and pop places he let slide).
I can probably dig up contact info if you're interested.
Fetch was a family dog turned service dog, and Throw had no obvious handicap, so it sounds like a similar situation.
Gravity
The Weasel
09-21-2009, 14:59
"Getting a dog certified" depends on what you want. Training - real, heavy duty, first rate training as a "hearing assist dog" can cost about $1k. Home training is less. Functional training (Chase and I understand each other and I know what his moves/expressions/noises mean) is free or cheap, but the "papers" are essentially like matchbook Ph.D. degrees.
Fetch and Throw sound like it is possible, when done in good faith. Thanks.
TW
Feral Bill
09-21-2009, 19:40
As far as I know, only the most absurd "service animal" claims are likely to be challanged, if any. The bother of defending discrimination claims isn't worth it. It,s like putting wheelchair ramps in backcountry huts. Naturally, some people see this as a loophole for bringing their pet wherever. I appreciate that you are trying to do things right.
The laws defining a "service dog" are difficult to find, hard to understand, and poorly written. The main thing I would look into would be Canine Good Citizen training. They do a fair amount of work with service dogs and you are the only trainer involved.