by Pam Uher

Created on: January 18, 2008   Last Updated: July 14, 2008

Service animals may be one of the best things that the ADA law explicates and supports.

The ADA ( Americans with Disabilities Act)defines a service pet as:

"Service animals are animals that are individually trained to perform tasks for people with disabilities such as guiding people who are blind, alerting people who are deaf, pulling wheelchairs, alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure, or performing other special tasks. Service animals are working animals, not pets.

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, businesses and organizations that serve the public must allow people with disabilities to bring their service animals into all areas of the facility where customers are normally allowed to go. This federal law applies to all businesses open to the public, including restaurants, hotels, taxis and shuttles, grocery and department stores, hospitals and medical offices, theaters, health clubs, parks, and zoos." (U.S. Dept. of Justice - Civil Rights Division - Disability Rights Section)

My special assistant these days was originally trained to help a lady who became wheelchair bound from a traffic accident. After a year of stabilizing walkers, pulling wheelchairs and helping her up and out of chairs; the lady became too heavy for his 50 pound frame to maneuver. He graciously retired from that job and a 120 pound German Shepherd took his place beside the now totally wheelchair bound woman

This retired service dog has always been an intuitively remarkable pet and now serves as an inspiration and example of how animals can be life saving companions to many people, at one time or another during their lives. He goes to schools for education demonstrations, nursing homes visits, college presentations, restaurant desensitization training, the grocery store and many other very ordinary places people frequent. People often take for granted getting around ordinary places in a day, usually without the aid of a service animal. Simple daily acts are not so easy for people with a challenging physical or emotional disability.

A wonderful true story about the service dog I now have exemplifies the need for service animals. One day he helped my father up off the sidewalk from a bad fall. Dad was always an animal lover, but mainly of small dogs, who were his buddy at breakfast and accompanied him on short walks around the yard daily. He was having trouble with hip replace surgery and using a cane sometimes, when he took a nasty fall in his driveway. This English

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