Who Is Responsible for the Care of a Service Dog?

Under ADA law, the handler is responsible for the care of the service dog. Louisiana law § 1953 and § 1954 say the same thing.

No public entities, employees, or anybody with any type of a relationship to the handler are required to provide any type of care for a service dog. This does not mean that a handler cannot accept an offer of help from people. A handler may accept help from others when it is offered.

A public entity of any type may make its own rules that say employees of that entity are to clean up after service dogs, but that should never be expected and a handler should always be ready to care for the service dog.

Do Service Dogs Have to Wear Vests, Patches, or Other Forms of ID?

Under Federal ADA Law, service dogs are not required to wear any type of identification. A service dog should be able to be identified because it is well-behaved.

While Louisiana law does not have a law on the books about a service dog wearing identification, the state is required to follow federal law.

There is nothing illegal about a service dog wearing some type of identification, however any identification bought is not official as there is no official identification. All money is going to a private business and it is just as legal for you to make your own identification or pay a local store to make service dog identification (which will most likely be cheaper than what you can buy from a company).

What Questions Can Public Entities Ask When It Comes to Service Dogs?

All public places are allowed to ask only two questions when it comes to service dog law. These questions are under Federal Service Dog Law. The questions are the following.

1. Is the dog a service animal required for a disability?
2. What work or task has the dog been trained to perform?

Louisiana and all public entities in Louisiana cannot have laws that require any more proof or documentation. Louisiana law § 1953 E matches Federal Service Dog Law. The following things are not required. These are all things people in Louisiana have experienced being asked to show when it has come to allowing their service dogs public access.

• A card identifying the dog as a service dog.
• A registration letter identifying the dog as a service dog.
• A letter from a doctor stating that the service dog is needed for a disability.
• A document from a veterinarian stating that the dog is up-to-date on its vaccinations (thought it should be).
• A document from a veterinarian stating that the dog is flea free (though it should be).
• A certificate stating that the dog has gone through training to be a service dog.
• Proof by showing a vest, collar, or ID tag for the dog.
• A bracelet that the handler wears to identify the handler as a service dog user.

Under Louisiana Law, Are Service Dogs in Training Considered Service Animals?

Under Louisiana law, service dogs in training are considered service dogs. According to LA Rev Stat § 21:52 of Louisiana Service Dog Law, a service dog in training and its handler or trainer shall be regarded as a service dog and its handler.

This is one of the areas of Louisiana law that is more liberal than Federal Service Dog Law.

Do Service Dogs Have to Be Professionally Trained?

Service dogs do not have to be professionally trained. A person is allowed to self train a service dog. There can be good reasons for a person to self train a service dog. Not all organizations will know the exact needs of every person. A dog may take to a person and learn that person's needs better by getting to know the person better from being around that person rather than having a generalized training through an organization.

Also, it is cheaper for a person to self train a service dog or even get help from a professional dog trainer than to go through an organization that will cost the person or some agency that helps people with disabilities thousands of dollars. The key is that not just any dog can be a service dog. The dog must actually be trained and must be providing service to the disabled person.

Are Emotional Support Dogs Considered Service Dogs?

Under both ADA law and Louisiana law, Emotional Support Dogs are not service dogs.

Emotional support dogs are not trained to do a certain task. They are only for comfort. They will have training to behave well in different environments, but they are not working dogs. They are more like pets than working dogs like service dogs. They provide comfort to people just like pets provide comfort to people.

Other animals can be considered emotional support animals, not just dogs. However, none of them have the right to public access like service dogs do.

What Is a Service Dog?

Under both Federal ADA Law and Louisiana ADA Law, a service dog is a dog that is individually trained to work or perform tasks for a person with a disability. This does not mean that the visibility is a visual one.

Examples of tasks service dogs may do include the following:

• Pulling a wheelchair.
• Being a mobility helper for somebody in a wheelchair or a transport wheelchair.
• Preventing or stopping an autistic meltdown.
• Detecting allergens for a person with sever allergies and alerting them.
• Preventing or stopping an anxiety attack.
• Preventing or stopping a PTSD attack.
• Being a seeing-eye dog for a blind or visually impaired person.
• Being a hearing dog to alert a def or hard of hearing person to sounds such as a door bell, knocks on the door, a telephone ringing , or an alarm sounding. Note that there may be other sounds the dog may be trained to alert for as well.
• Alerting other people when its owner is in distress due to medical conditions.
• Alerting its owner to an oncoming seizure so the owner knows to put himself or herself in a safe position so the seizure can occur without harm to the owner.
• Alerting a person with diabetes that blood sugar is too high or too low.
• Reminding a person to take medicine.

These are only a few examples of what services dogs may do. Each service dog is different and may be trained to provide different services to each person with a disability.