Access Denial; It's Embarrassing, It's Degrading, It's ILLEGAL...
So why does it happen & what can you do about it?
If you believe your civil rights have been violated by the denial or access, or refusal of reasonable accommodation regarding the use of your trained service dog , contact Kimberly Carnevale for international access consulting services.
Let's work it out! Kimberly can act as a liaison between a service dog handler, and the offending party; often able to settle a dispute before reaching costly court appearances. As frustrating as access denial can be, most of the time, it is unintentional....not to say that it is acceptable by any means, but if we are dealing with a first time offender who is willing to make reasonable accommodations, let's try to work things out before the courts get involved. Should the offending party be a repeat offender, or is unwilling to accommodate or reciprocate in mediation, Kimberly will then assist in the formal complaint process.
***Any service dog handler seeking advocacy from this organization, that at any time, is found to be fraudulent in regard to their disability or their dog's status as a trained service animal (as per local, state and federal law), will be reported to the United States Department of Justice, and any and all communications/information provided to this organization will be turned over to the authorities for investigation purposes and prosecution to the highest extent of the law.
In order to obtain access consulting from this organization, the handler must have official, documented proof of disability (in accordance to the Americans with Disabilities Act), and the dog in question must be trained specifically as a service dog, (in accordance to local, state and federal laws) and meet and/or exceed IAADP's minimal service dog training standard and public access test (found below).
There is a growing problem of "imposter" service dogs in America. Many people have found that by putting on a vest and falsely claiming they are service dogs, they can get away with gaining entry to an establishment. What most fail to do is learn how to legally elevate a dog's status from pet to service dog, and are often (unknowingly) in violation of the very law they are claiming protection under.
Others feel that they are justified and claim to have an emotional disorder that their dog helps them with. Unless the dog is specifically trained to do tasks; this is NOT a service dog; it is an emotional support dog, to which a handler has no rights to public access.
Please be advised that falsely representing a dog as a service dog, or one who hasn't met the formal training requirements as set forth by local, state, and federal law is a federal offense, which carries stiff federal penalties which may include jail time. Never, under any circumstances, try to gain access to any public place with a dog who is not trained under federal guidelines. It makes the problem of access denial worse by misrepresenting real service dogs, it jeopardizes the public, and It's the law! Ignorance of ALL the laws that govern service dog use is not an excuse for breaking them. If you are partnered by a service dog and have not been fully versed in local, state and federal laws---in their entirety---you are NOT in compliance with those laws and are subject to fines and even jail time.
The following is a guideline presented by the International Association of Assitance Dog Partners of Minimal service dog training standards.
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IAADP Minimum Training Standards for Public Access
1. Amount of Schooling: Your dog should be given a minimum of one hundred twenty (120) hours of schooling over a period of Six Months or more. At least thirty (30) hours should be devoted to outings that will prepare the dog to work obediently and unobtrusively in public places.*
2. Obedience Training: Your dog must master the basic obedience skills: "Sit, Stay, Come, Down, Heel" and an off leash Recall in response to verbal commands and/or hand signals.
3. Manners: Your dog must acquire proper social behavior skills. This includes at a minimum:
No aggressive behavior toward people or other animals - no biting, no snapping, no growling, no lunging and/or barking;
No begging for food or petting from other people;
No sniffing merchandise or people who pass by;
No urinating or defecating in public unless given a command / signal to toilet in an appropriate place.
4. Disability Related Tasks: the dog must be individually trained to perform identifiable physical tasks for the benefit of the disabled human partner.
For a definition of a "physical task", "individually trained" and examples of tasks
performed by different kinds of assistance dogs, Click Here.
* the number of hours required for schooling a hearing or guide dog may be reduced to the number required by ADI's minimum training standards for programs if you utilize a professional dog trainer's services. Visit www.adionline.org
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PUBLIC ACCESS TEST
The ADI Public Access Test was developed as a consumer protection measure by the ADI Team Testing Committee with input from IAADP Partner members more than a decade ago. Overall, the test measures whether or not the dog has been adequately prepared for public access work so the team can go places without trainer supervision. The safety of the dog, the handler and the public were the main considerations in developing the specific exercises for testing the team.
This test creates a level playing field, since it does not matter whether it is a guide, hearing or service dog team being tested or who trained the dog.
Disability mitigating tasks are not critiqued. The tester evaluates the dog's obedience and manners and the handler's abilities in a variety of situations which include:
A. The handler's abilities to: ( 1 ) safely load and unload the dog from a vehicle; ( 2 ) recover the leash if accidently dropped.
B. The dog's ability to: ( 1 ) safely cross a parking lot, halt for traffic, and ignore distractions; ( 2 ) heel through narrow aisles; ( 3 ) hold a Sit-Stay when a shopping cart passes by or when a person stops to chat and pets the dog; (4 ) hold a Down Stay when a child approaches and pets the dog; ( 5 ) resist food temptations; ( 6 ) remain calm if someone else holds the leash while the handler moves 20 ft. away; ( 7 ) remain calm while another dog passes within 6 ft. of the team.
C. The team's ability to: enter a public place through a doorway with the dog remaining under excellent control.
IAADP agrees with ADI's ethical position that the amount of training given to an assistance dog should NEVER fall below the minimum level needed to pass this Public Access Test.
NOTE: Passing the Public Access Test does not officially "certify" a dog unless a program giving the test provides such a Certificate of Training to its graduates. However, it could serve as documentation for an owner trainer to prove that he/she has made a serious effort to train the dog to the level required by Assistance Dogs International for a service animal in case of an access dispute, especially if you have the test video taped.
