Service animal

Service animals are animals that have been trained to perform tasks that assist people with disabilities. Service animals may also be referred to as assistance animals, assist animals, support animals, or helper animals depending on the country and the animal's function.

Dog are the most common service animals, assisting people in many different ways since at least 1927. Other animals such as monkeys, birds, and horses have also been documented.

In places of public accommodation in the United States, only dogs (and in some cases miniature horses) are legally considered service animals. It is legal in certain states to have service "animals". For instance, in Montana all animals are allowed at state level. Many cats, birds, and even a wolf are working to help mitigate people's disabilities in Montana. It is also legal to train your own service animal in the United States. There is a broader definition for assistance animals under the US Fair Housing Act as well as a broader definition for service animals under the US Air Carrier Access Act. In the United States, prior to a revision of the Americans with Disabilities Act going into effect March 15, 2011 types of animals other than service dogs and miniature horses were protected at least on the Federal level; individual states could expand coverage.

The international assistance animal community has categorized three types of assistance animals:

Despite regulations or rules that deny access to animals in restaurants and other public places, in many countries, guide dogs, other types of assistance dogs, and in cases miniature horses, are protected by law, and therefore may accompany their handlers most places that are open to the public. Laws and regulations vary worldwide:

Service animals can be of many species and come in many sizes. Dogs, cats, dolphins, miniature horses, monkeys, ducks, ferrets, and parrots have all been trained to perform specific duties of a service animal, though the type of animal that may be registered as a "service animal" may vary depending on legal definitions. The people that can qualify for a service animal can have a range of physical, mental, or emotional disabilities.

A guide animal is an animal specifically trained to assist visually impaired persons navigate in public. These animals may be trained to open doors, recognize traffic signals, guide their owners safely across public streets, and navigate through crowds of people. A mobility animal may perform similar services for a person with physical disabilities, as well as assisting with balance or falling issues. Hearing animals are trained to assist hearing-impaired or deaf persons. These animals may be trained to respond to doorbells or a ringing phone, or to tug their owners toward a person who is speaking to them. Mental health animals can be trained to provide deep-pressure therapy by lying on top of a person who may be suffering from PSTD flashbacks, overstimulation, or acute anxiety. Similarly, autism dogs have been recently introduced to recognize and respond to the needs of people with autism spectrum disorder; some persons with ASD state that they are more comfortable interacting with animals than with human caregivers due to issues regarding eye contact, touch, and socialization. Medical emergency animals can assist in medical emergency and perform such services as clearing an area in the event of a grand mal seizure, fetching medication or other necessary items, alerting others in the event of a medical episode; some may even be trained to call emergency services through use of a telephone with specially designed oversized buttons.

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Wikipedia