Psychiatric service dogs
From Service Dog Training
Psychiatric service dogs are a controversial issue in the service dog community. As in most issues there are two sides, each with several valid arguments. In this article I will present my views on psychiatric service dogs and my responses to individuals on both sides of the argument.
First let's start with a brief review of the ADA definition of a service dog. A service dog is, by the ADA standard, "any guide dog, signal dog, or other animal individually trained to provide assistance to an individual with a disability." This is generally interpreted to mean that the dog is trained to perform at least one task, or certain physical activities that are not considered normal behaviors of dogs. This includes medical alert dogs, who generally possess the ability to detect oncoming medical emergencies innately, because it is not an activity that is common among most dogs. A few examples: most dogs instinctively wish to be close to the human they are bonded with. They do not need to be trained to cuddle up with their owners, or to give them puppy dog eyes if they want something. On the other hand, most dogs will not instinctively run find their handler if they hear a teakettle whistling, nor will most dogs be able to balance their handler and keep them from falling without a great amount of training. Cuddling and looking at their owner are normal dog behaviors, alerting to sounds and providing balance while walking are behaviors that must be taught to a dog.
Psychiatric service dogs often fall into a gray area of service dog usage. There is a very fine line between a psychiatric service dog and a companion animal or pet. The reason this causes concern, of course, is that service dog handlers have public access rights while people with their pets do not. The difficulty is not in determining whether people with psychiatric disabilities qualify as disabled under the ADA, it is obvious that many do. What is difficult is determining if there are any trained tasks that a service dog can perform that benefit that particular person's disability. For the task to qualify, as I explained above, it must be something the dog is trained to do that directly benefits their disability. Below are a few situations, some real, some fictitious and explanations as to whether the animal in question is a service animal (some of these animals are not dogs).
Case #1: A woman with anxiety has developed a special bond with a monkey in her exotic animal rescue. The woman states that the presence of the monkey allows her to manage her anxiety in public without the aid of medication and that since the animal alleviates her anxiety by his presence, she must be afforded public access in accordance with the ADA. In this case, it is relatively clear that the animal is not a service animal. The animal has not been trained to do anything at all, it is merely a pet that she wants to accompany her places. For this animal to be considered a service animal, it would need to perform a trained task that benefited her disability. Bottom line, this monkey is a pet, not a service animal, and is not given public access rights under the ADA.
Case #2: A man with Post traumatic stress disorder experiences frequent anxiety attacks and flashbacks. During flashback periods, he is difficult to rouse and can remain in a dissociated state for a long period of time, which can be debilitating in public. His dog is trained to recognize the symptoms of his anxiety and fetch his medication. The dog also is trained to recognize dissociative states and to nudge and paw his handler until the state is broken. The dog also will hand a card to bystanders if a crowd gathers explaining that his handler is ok and will rouse shortly. This case is also clear. This is a service dog. This dog has multiple trained tasks, fetching medicine, recognizing and responding to a dissociative state and providing information to bystanders (or medical responders) that are directly related to the handler's psychiatric disability. This dog qualifies as a service dog under the ADA and should be given public access rights.
Case #3: A man with depression has a dog that he says is a service dog that helps him with his depression. He states that his dog is trained to cuddle with him and lick his face when he is depressed. He also says that it is necessary for him to have the dog with him at all times to control his depression. He says that since the dog is trained to do things on command (cuddle and lick) that the dog meets the definition of a service dog under the ADA. Well, I'll give this person credit for doing their homework and reading the ADA. However, cuddle and lick cannot be considered trained tasks as they are behaviors that dogs innately perform when they sense their owner is not feeling their best. This dog is not a service dog. He has not been trained to do a task. He has at best been encouraged to continue a behavior he performed anyway. This dog does not qualify under the ADA and has no public access rights.
Case #4: A woman with severe anxiety states that she must be accompanied by her dog any time she's in public to control the symptoms of her anxiety. She states that when she has a panic attack she becomes disoriented and often cannot find her way to a quiet place where she can take her medication and control her panic attack. She states that her dog is trained to lead her to a quiet area such as a restroom or outdoors where she can take steps to control her anxiety. She also states that the dog will whine and nudge her hand on a slight physical cue so she has an excuse to take the dog out and remove herself from an uncomfortable situation she might not be able to take herself out of. This one is tricky. The woman has a disability, and the dog is trained to do tasks that apparently benefit her disability. My question on this case would be how much of the dog's guiding behavior is the dog actually leading her and how much is her leading the dog and using him as an excuse. Without knowing the exact situation or the training of the dog, there is no real way to tell. In this case I would err on the side of this dog being a service dog, as it seems likely to me that the dog does perform a valid trained task benefiting the handler's disability. I would also be inclined to give this team public access rights. However, this is a shaky area and I would want further clarification before making a fast decision on this case.
I hope to some extent these examples have illustrated some of the common cases facing the psychiatric service dog community, as well as my take on whether they should be considered service dogs or not. This is unfortunately an area that is very unclear and there is a definite possibility that number of people that abuse the term psychiatric service dog (or other animals) will remove the right people have to be accompanied to by a trained dog that assists them in mitigating the effects of their psychiatric disability. There are certainly legitimate psychiatric service dog users out there, but the benefits these well trained dogs provide is often overshadowed by the people who choose to use the vague wording of the ADA to pass off their pet as a service dog.
A good place to find descriptions of some of the tasks psychiatric service dogs can perform is this list on the IAADP website An organization I often disagree with, but that is also often a vocal voice in the psychiatric service dog movement is the Psychiatric Service Dog Society. Let me emphasize again that I do not agree with all the positions of this group, in fact I disagree very much with some of them. They are one of the loudest voices in this community and their website is worth a read if this is a subject that interests you.
