Webinar Session Details

Ask an ADA Professional Questions RE: Service Animals


Wednesday, January 12, 2022
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM Eastern Time Zone

Description

During this session individuals will have the opportunity to ask ADA professionals questions related to service animals. To ensure your question is answered during the session, individuals are highly encouraged to submit their questions ahead of time via the registration website (option to submit questions is available once you have registered for the session).

Continuing Education Recognition Available

Certificate Credit hours
ACTCP 1
Certificate of Attendance 1

Speakers:

Linda Clemon-Karp, MFA, ADAC (She/Her), Continuing Education Specialist and Lead Trainer, Northwest ADA Center

Jan Garrett, Deputy Director of ADA Programs, Pacific ADA Center

Joe Zesski, Program Manager, Northeast ADA Center

Questions for presenters:

1 We were recently asked if a patron can use 2 service animals during their visit. This seems feasibly possible. Has anyone had a similar experience? Any advise outside of the regulations?
2 The qualifications to use a service dog as a treatment option has exploded in recent years. My psychiatrist who writes me a yearly letter verifying my disability and supporting my use of a service dog says her clinic may be eliminating these letters due to the persons trying to get these letters. Many of these people have never had a medical evaluation. Is a medical evaluation required for establishing disability status in patients wanting to use a service dog? I understand that you must be disabled to use the rights of the disabled. How does one go about finding if your diagnosis is at a disabling level?
3 How is t is permissible for the employee to be able to train the Service Animal (when neither are a certified trainer or have experience in training)? And how can an employee state that their service animal is fully trained at 1 year old (or less). Thank you:)
4 Are service animals limited to dogs and ponys?
5 What are the regulations around having a service animal at your place of employment? Are they different than the regulations for service animals at your place of residence?
6 There are many websites available that offer "certification" for people to register their animals as service animals. Is there legitimacy to this, or do service animals need to have pre-qualifying criteria met in order to become service animals? To give an example - someone has a pet and a landlord introduces a new "No Pets" policy. So they go to one of these websites and register their pet as a service animal (Not just an ESanimal) and now they claim that under the ADA they are allowed to have this pet stay with them.
7 Can we restrict entrance into the water at a park beach to no deeper than the dogs body? Where there are waves, to the waters edge?
8 Can you give real life examples of "not under the handler's control"? We have "forgiven" squatting to urinate, but how many times? and what if the same dog shows up the next day/week/month after having been asked to be removed for aggressive behavior?
9 Landlords are now asking for potential renters to fill out a form. identify breed and weight, registration # of service animal, and supply documentation from a 'qualified provider (Med Dr or Pysch Dr)' for proof of the need for a service animal. Based on response and documentation (or lack of), the potential renter could be disqualified for housing. Is this legal?
10 In the full definition of "service animal" there are some key phrases, including but not limited to: "...work or tasks performed by a service animal must be directly related to the individual's disability," "providing non-violent protection or rescue work,""crime deterrent effects of an animal's presence...do not constitute work or tasks for the purposes of this definition." My question is once a task trained service dog has bite training in its training repertoire, is that task trained service dog handler now obligated to notify any public entity such as the airlines or a place of public accommodation that the task trained service dog is a threat to their safety? It is my understanding that any dog that is a trained protection dog, whether for sport or otherwise, is not a task for a disability. What disability would require bite work?
11 Would a medical office staff member be allowed to "require" a patient with a service dog to sign a document acknowledging they have a disability and their service dog is in fact a task trained service dog? This requirement is in addition to asking the patient the two allowable questions upon entry into the office by a gatekeeper.
12 I've heard from other service dog users that when traveling by air that the new forms aren't even being asked for in some cases and causing confusion with airport and airline staff in general. Is any one particular airline getting it wright?
13 The DOJ guidance says: "In situations where it is not obvious that the dog is a service animal, staff may ask only two specific questions [...]" I have two questions: 1) This leaves gatekeepers to decide when it is "obvious" and "not obvious". How should a gatekeeper be trained to decide if a dog is "obviously" a service animal? If a gatekeeper decides to side-step the issue in (1) by always asking persons with dogs the two questions .. 2) The guidance does not specify legal restrictions on the gatekeeper when it IS "obvious". If a person with dark glasses and a dog in a guide harness with the brand of a well-known guide school presents themselves, there is no guidance on what the gatekeeper may or must do. May the gatekeeper ask the "two questions" and deny access to this "obvious" guide dog team if they refuse to answer? https://www.ada.gov/regs2010/service_animal_qa.html
14 You say: Please take a moment to review the previously asked questions. I do not see any previously asked questions. Where are they?
15 An individual is training a pitbull to use as his service animal and has requested a reasonable modification for the pitbull to be allowed in the dog park for training, socialization and exercise. There is not a pitbull ban in the city, but pitbulls are not allowed in city dog parks by ordinance. Is it a discriminatory practice to not allow a pitbull in a dog park as a service animal in training (keep in mind, it is not acting as a service dog utilizing the dog park). There is state law that service animals in training are given the same rights as a service animal covered under ADA.
16 I am the director if a homeless shelter. I understand my obligation to accept Service Animals. What I'm confused about is my obligation to accept emotional support animals? I recently had a lady ask if she could bring in 2 emotional support cats. Can I ask to see any documentation. FYI, this is communal living with shared bedrooms, living room, kitchen and bathrooms.
17 What's the difference between an emotional support animal and a service animal? Are emotional support animals provided the same allowances even if they are not dogs?
18 What is the difference between a service animal and an emotional support animal? Which animals would qualify under being a service animal and which would qualify under being an emotional support animal?
19 What questions can you legally ask an individual presenting with an animal that appears to be a service animal? What documentation can you legally request?
20 Could you provide some atypical examples of service animals and the functional needs they serve. For example, there are service dogs who alert individuals about an eminent seizure. What are some of the other functions offered by service animals with which many of us may not be familiar?
21 Could you parse...or at least provide an overview, of the service animal requirements for ADA Title I (employment), ADA Title II (State and Local Government Facilities) and ADA Title III (public accommodations and commercial facilities)?
22 Do you know of any City or State laws regarding dogs (or service animals) that may potentially run afoul of the ADA requirements for service animals...or have been, or are currently being challenged?
23 Can a dog who is task trained to help multiple patients in a hospital environment be considered a service dog? Would it make a difference if they were all disabled? I'm aware of a children's hospital publicly referring to this type of dog as Hospital Service Dog. When asked to clarify if it was a therapy or service dog, they said it was a "hospital service dog and not a therapy dog because there are different training and requirements for both. He has over 2,200 hours of training...and performs specific tasks of service for our patients within our medical center and is able to work full time."
24 For individuals with service animals who reside in housing on a college campus, is it allowable to have the individual provide basic information about the service animal (name, photo, licence number, confirmation of city/state required vaccinations, emergency contact number)? Or is that considered "registering" the animal?
25 Can a Condo association ask for documentation like in housing?
26 How has this ended??? It is only 1:50 PM EST
27 I have not seen anything in the new regulations regarding miniature horses. Are they protected under the ADA as service animals?
28 I cannot join the session via the ADA website directly now. It goes to the archive page instead of the live one. Can I get a zoom meeting link again?
29 One of the patrons leaves his dog in the car at the library parking lot while he uses the library for about 2 hours. How can we address this issue?
30 Interesting - I have been trying to log in to the webinar since 2:00 PM EST and I get the message the session has ended. Interesting. As I am on the Advocacy Committee of ALP as ADA, I was quite interested.

Session Questions

This session is accepting questions from registered users. After you have registered to participate in this session you can submit your questions on your Account Manager page. Please note: the number of questions will be limited and submissions will be closed well before the session starts to provide time to prepare answers.