Service animals aren’t pets. They are trained to perform specific tasks to assist people with disabilities. Because of that, 95% of their time is spent working. You can say that service animals are professionals of the animal kingdom when it comes to human care.

With that said, non-handlers (people without disabilities) must follow protocols when they’re around service animals to avoid hampering the four-legged caregivers’ jobs. These are the etiquettes everyone should remember to avoid endangering a handler’s (assistance animal owner, mostly with a disability) life.

1. Don’t give or offer food to a service animal

Food is the #1 distraction of service animals on the field. A non-handler can easily make such an honest mistake of giving treats to a service animal for a job well done. Service animals follow a specialized diet and a strict eating schedule.

2. Don’t assume a resting service animal is off duty

Just because a service animal is asleep or appears to be doesn’t mean they’re off duty. They are waiting for their handlers to issue commands. This is one of the reasons why dogs and horses make good service animals because they’re easy to wake up.

If you were to approach a service animal while they’re resting, you could get bitten, rammed, kicked, or be trampled on.

3. Seek out the handler if their service animal approaches you

Most service animals are trained to seek help from other people in case of an emergency. If you see a miniature horse or dog with a harness or vest, and these animals are nudging you with their nose or barking at you without an owner nearby, there’s a high chance the animal’s owner is down and is in dire need of help. Stay calm, don’t touch the animal, and follow them if they move away.

4. Give service animals the right of way

Being a service animal isn’t easy. It involves a lot of environmental assessment and making decisions to help a handler move without endangering their lives and bothering others. So if you see a service animal and its handler coming your way, stay out of their path until they get past you.

5. Don’t touch a service animal without permission

One does not simply resist the urge to pet a service animal. It’s a hard thing to do but necessary. Like food, petting is also a distractor for service animals on duty. If you cannot contain yourself and want to touch one, always ask permission from the handler first. If they won’t allow you to, there’s nothing you can do about it. Just walk away and go on with your day.

6. Respect handlers

A lot of people with disabilities say that having a service animal makes them feel comfortable and confident. However, this doesn’t mean you can ask them what their disabilities are, why they need a service animal, what the service animal is trained to do, and other similar questions.

These are very personal questions and who in their right mind would answer them when asked by a total stranger? If you want to know what the service animal does or what the handler’s disability is, you’re going to need to take a wild guess based on observation. You can also wait for the person to open up.

Share these service animal tips with your family, friends, and colleagues. It will be a huge help to make it easy for people with disabilities to live happy and fulfilling lives.

Do you own an assistance animal? Register your pet today.

The Service Animal Registry of California invites you to have your assistance animal registered in order to designate its status. We also encourage you to take our online classes so you can be fully aware of your rights and gain more knowledge about your support animal.

Finally, we present to you our book entitled, “ASSISTANCE ANIMAL LAWS: LEARN YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING SERVICE ANIMALS, EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMALS, THERAPY PETS, AND OTHER DOGS, CATS, AND ASSISTANCE ANIMALS” to provide you with a complete education on assistance animals. Purchase your copy of the book by clicking the image below. 

A service dog, as defined by the ADA, is “a dog that has been individually trained to do work or perform tasks for an individual with a disability. The task(s) performed by the dog must be directly related to the person’s disability.”

Service dogs are a very special type of canine other than our four-legged companions. They are required to undergo months and even years of training to assist people with disabilities so that they can be functional in their daily lives.

However, not every dog can become a service dog. There are certain types of dog breeds that have been selected based on their commonly known mental and physical traits. These dogs with specific traits are then matched to a person with a specific disability.

This is a list of those dog breeds and the disabled people they are best suited for.

1. American and English Labrador Retrievers

Labs are one of the smartest dog breeds in the world. They are eager to please their owners and are very friendly to people and other dogs which makes them the best breed for a lot of service dog job types.

2. Golden Retrievers

Similar to Labradors, Golden Retrievers are chosen for service due to their even tempers and gentle natures. However, the Golden variety is a much more athletic dog and requires daily exercise. This dog breed is best to be trained as a guide dog for the blind and vision-impaired.

3. German Shepherd

Loyal, obedient, strong, protective, and easy to train, what more could one want from a GSD? Like Labrador Retrievers, German Shepherds are also a good dog breed for a variety of assistance work. But they are more in demand for children with special needs who need an extra layer of protection and soldiers who want to come to terms with battlefield trauma.

4. Poodles

Dogs are known to have a keen sense of smell. So keen that they can detect changes in our hormones that can signal an incoming problem. Pair that trait with strong instincts and you’ll have a highly efficient diabetic alert, allergy detection, seizure alert, and seizure response Poodle.

5. Pomeranian

While some people with disabilities are extroverted, there are those who are introverts as well. A Pomeranian is a great service dog breed for those who prefer to stay at home and go to a lot of places because they are small and can fit almost anywhere.

They are also highly social and are good at preventing their humans from feeling lonely. Pomeranians are best suited to be hearing dogs because they can easily alert their humans from the sound of alarms and doorbells.

6. Great Dane

Originally bred to be hunting and guard dogs, Great Danes nowadays are the most popular dog breed when it comes to assisting people who need mobility assistance. They are tall and strong enough to support a person or child move from point A to point B. Most importantly, they are gentle, kind, and patient to provide their humans psychiatric support as well.

7. Border Collie

Another good mobility assistance dog breed is the Border Collie. Although not as strong and tall as the Great Dane, Border Collies are energetic, quick learners, and intuitive problem solvers – traits that are needed to be efficient at retrieving items when a person cannot.

Before deciding on a dog breed to become your service animal, make sure that it has the right mental and physical characteristics for your needs. You don’t want to spend thousands to train a pooch that requires a lot of maintenance or can trigger your allergies.

Do you own an assistance animal? Register your pet today.  The Service Animal Registry of California invites you to have your assistance animal registered in order to designate its status. We also encourage you to take our online classes so you can be fully aware of your rights and gain more knowledge about your support animal.

Finally, we present to you our book entitled, “ASSISTANCE ANIMAL LAWS: LEARN YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING SERVICE ANIMALS, EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMALS, THERAPY PETS, AND OTHER DOGS, CATS, AND ASSISTANCE ANIMALS” to provide you with a complete education on assistance animals. Purchase your copy of the book by clicking the image below. 

A family from South Florida has fallen victim to the hands of pet fraud. They searched online for a puppy that they would train as a service animal. The website, MDPuppies.com, is already shady right from the get-go.

“We were so excited about this adventure that we thought we were gonna go on until it all happened. I Googled Great Dane puppies, and then, all of the sudden, the site popped up,” said Maria Savilla.

She emailed the business and got in contact with someone named Emmanuel and was asked to pay $500 dollars so that Stanley, the 9-week-old Great Dane puppy, will be shipped from Maryland to Broward.

She had a gut feeling that the site was a scam and surfed the web again for reviews only to find it really is a fraudulent platform. Then she contacted again to get her money back but the phone number is now disconnected.

Maria filed a report with the State Attorney General’s Office. But there is only a small chance she will get her money back. She still wants a Great Dane. However, Nala will need to accompany her as she gets through the anxiety caused by the deception.

Source: WSVN

Do you own an assistance animal? Register your pet today.  The Service Animal Registry of California invites you to have your assistance animal registered in order to designate its status. We also encourage you to take our online classes so you can be fully aware of your rights and gain more knowledge about your support animal.

Finally, we present to you our book entitled, “ASSISTANCE ANIMAL LAWS: LEARN YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING SERVICE ANIMALS, EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMALS, THERAPY PETS, AND OTHER DOGS, CATS, AND ASSISTANCE ANIMALS” to provide you with a complete education on assistance animals. Purchase your copy of the book by clicking the image below. 

Canines for Service is an organization that provides veterans from all conflicts with service dogs at no cost. They celebrated their 25th anniversary a few days ago which is also within the Service Dog Awareness month.

Bethany Leighton, the organization’s executive director, said, “We partner with shelters to adopt dogs from local shelters and we do have some dog breeders who donate puppies. We train them for 16 months and we partner with veterans who have PTSD, a traumatic brain injury or mobility challenges who are looking for a service dog to overcome that challenge.”

Service dogs help a lot of people find hope and remain functional despite having emotional, mental, and physical challenges. It is right to honor their efforts this month by teaching others to respect the boundaries of these animals and not interrupt them as they work.

Source: WECT6

Do you own an assistance animal? Register your pet today.  The Service Animal Registry of California invites you to have your assistance animal registered in order to designate its status. We also encourage you to take our online classes so you can be fully aware of your rights and gain more knowledge about your support animal.

Finally, we present to you our book entitled, “ASSISTANCE ANIMAL LAWS: LEARN YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING SERVICE ANIMALS, EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMALS, THERAPY PETS, AND OTHER DOGS, CATS, AND ASSISTANCE ANIMALS” to provide you with a complete education on assistance animals. Purchase your copy of the book by clicking the image below. 

Walking your pet every day greatly benefits both your health and your pet’s. But pet owners of Geneva are going the extra mile by going for a walk to help the Anderson Humane. Overall, the humane cares for over 7,000 animals.

4,000 of them are homeless dogs and cats while the other 3,000 are orphaned and injured wild animals. Greg Mucha of Anderson Humane said, “We’re able to rescue, rehab and re-release animals into the wild.”

But they still need a lot of support, especially with one of their programs that helps veterans avail therapy dogs. If you’re interested in supporting the Anderson shelter or just want to adopt a pet, you can do so by visiting their website through this link.

Source: WGN9

Do you own an assistance animal? Register your pet today.  The Service Animal Registry of California invites you to have your assistance animal registered in order to designate its status. We also encourage you to take our online classes so you can be fully aware of your rights and gain more knowledge about your support animal.

Finally, we present to you our book entitled, “ASSISTANCE ANIMAL LAWS: LEARN YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING SERVICE ANIMALS, EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMALS, THERAPY PETS, AND OTHER DOGS, CATS, AND ASSISTANCE ANIMALS” to provide you with a complete education on assistance animals. Purchase your copy of the book by clicking the image below. 

Youngker High School teacher, Marie Buquicchio, along with students in the afterschool club, ‘Hands 4 Paws’, has come up with an idea to dye their hairs as a fundraising effort to help a disabled veteran get their own service dog.

“Of the participants, one is my son, one is a veteran, one is a substitute teacher and one is an ESS compliance officer. They are my victims cough cough, my volunteers,” said Buquicchio. The condition is that if the volunteers are able to raise $500, they are given the privilege to dye their hair.

‘Hands 4 Paws’ is a student-run afterschool club and it regularly raises money for animals. But this time, they want to help some humans as well. Once they’re able to raise about $30,000 – the price for a service dog, they’re hoping to announce the lucky veteran who’ll receive the pup on April 23, 2022.

Source: 12NEWS

Do you own an assistance animal? Register your pet today.  The Service Animal Registry of California invites you to have your assistance animal registered in order to designate its status. We also encourage you to take our online classes so you can be fully aware of your rights and gain more knowledge about your support animal.

Finally, we present to you our book entitled, “ASSISTANCE ANIMAL LAWS: LEARN YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING SERVICE ANIMALS, EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMALS, THERAPY PETS, AND OTHER DOGS, CATS, AND ASSISTANCE ANIMALS” to provide you with a complete education on assistance animals. Purchase your copy of the book by clicking the image below. 

The Supreme Court has ruled that Pennsylvania judges can now allow witnesses to be accompanied by comfort dogs when testifying in court during criminal trials. This decision started when a witness with autism used an emotional support dog to take a stand in a murder trial.

This ruling comes with a condition: The animal must not interfere with the defendant’s right to a fair trial. There are defense attorneys that argue that having a dog beside a witness can make the jury sympathetic to the testifying person and creating a prejudice against the defendant.

One strategy that counters this argument is to hide the dog on the witness stand during the trial. This was done during a Chester County murder case and has proven that the use of comfort dogs does not influence a jury’s decision.

Pennsylvania now joins Maryland, Michigan, Virginia, and Connecticut as one of the states that permits the use of comfort dogs in their courtrooms.

Source: PHILLY VOICE

Do you own an assistance animal? Register your pet today.  The Service Animal Registry of California invites you to have your assistance animal registered in order to designate its status. We also encourage you to take our online classes so you can be fully aware of your rights and gain more knowledge about your support animal.

Finally, we present to you our book entitled, “ASSISTANCE ANIMAL LAWS: LEARN YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING SERVICE ANIMALS, EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMALS, THERAPY PETS, AND OTHER DOGS, CATS, AND ASSISTANCE ANIMALS” to provide you with a complete education on assistance animals. Purchase your copy of the book by clicking the image below. 

We all know that dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, horses, and even Llamas make good therapy animal candidates. But did you know that goats can also provide us with therapeutic benefits? In the case of Heleene Green, she has always loved goats since she was young and saw the healing powers capric animals could give just by companionship.

She even embraced the moniker of “goat girl” during her younger years. A regular visitor of Heleene and her parent’s 12-acre farm said, “They [the goats] bring back a joy that we just don’t have today. When you come to watch the goats play, it’s just a relief from the crazy world we live in.”

To visit Heleene’s goats for a therapy session, find Green’s Friendship Acres in Vernon, Wisconsin, or contact them on Facebook for directions and advanced bookings.

Source: CBS58

Do you own an assistance animal? Register your pet today.  The Service Animal Registry of California invites you to have your assistance animal registered in order to designate its status. We also encourage you to take our online classes so you can be fully aware of your rights and gain more knowledge about your support animal.

Finally, we present to you our book entitled, “ASSISTANCE ANIMAL LAWS: LEARN YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING SERVICE ANIMALS, EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMALS, THERAPY PETS, AND OTHER DOGS, CATS, AND ASSISTANCE ANIMALS” to provide you with a complete education on assistance animals. Purchase your copy of the book by clicking the image below. 

Ashleigh and Tayla Gilson have both loved animals ever since they were children. Tayla became a vet nurse and also had working experience in the pet supply industry. This made her and Ashleigh the perfect duo of starting a backyard online store.

“Now, with Covid-19, I’ve noticed people like to shop online and want the option for contactless deliveries. We’re planning to be open at local markets and events as well and a delivery service around Bundaberg to get us going,” said Ashleigh.

From their store, All Fur Pets, you can talk to the twins for advice on your furry friend’s wellbeing. They also have all the things you’ll need for pet care. Their inventory ranges from enrichment toys and specialist food to medications. Visit the Gilson sisters’ site for more details.

Source: BUNDABERGNOW

Do you own an assistance animal? Register your pet today.  The Service Animal Registry of California invites you to have your assistance animal registered in order to designate its status. We also encourage you to take our online classes so you can be fully aware of your rights and gain more knowledge about your support animal.

Finally, we present to you our book entitled, “ASSISTANCE ANIMAL LAWS: LEARN YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING SERVICE ANIMALS, EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMALS, THERAPY PETS, AND OTHER DOGS, CATS, AND ASSISTANCE ANIMALS” to provide you with a complete education on assistance animals. Purchase your copy of the book by clicking the image below. 

Fighting fire is already challenging enough as a fireman. It’s even more difficult when we’re talking about massive infernos like wildfires. Fortunately, the crews who’ve been keeping the California fires at bay are receiving massive emotional and mental health support.

Although not in the form of crowds cheering from the streets, the firefighters receive their spiritual boost as they were graced by the presence of therapy dogs. Kevin Brown, a crewmember that has been on the frontline for 11 days said, “The moment we pull into the SCU base camp, Micah was waiting for us. It was the perfect thing that we needed to get us that disconnect from all of that hard work and revamp us before we were about to start a whole ‘nother level of work on a brand new fire.”

Source: NBA Bay Area

Do you own an assistance animal? Register your pet today.  The Service Animal Registry of California invites you to have your assistance animal registered in order to designate its status. We also encourage you to take our online classes so you can be fully aware of your rights and gain more knowledge about your support animal.

Finally, we present to you our book entitled, “ASSISTANCE ANIMAL LAWS: LEARN YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING SERVICE ANIMALS, EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMALS, THERAPY PETS, AND OTHER DOGS, CATS, AND ASSISTANCE ANIMALS” to provide you with a complete education on assistance animals. Purchase your copy of the book by clicking the image below.