Writer Thom Jones said, “Dogs have a way of finding the people who need them,” so it’s no surprise that dogs can also be trained to help people with disabilities. Service dogs helping the blind have been around for hundreds of years, but did you know there are also service dogs that help owners with disabilities like hearing impairments, mobility issues, and even diabetes, seizures, anxiety, and more? Test how much you know about all the ways man’s best friend can help humans.
1. True or false? Only dogs are recognized as service animals under the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA).
2. Which of the below is the definition of a service animal?
A. Any animal that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for a person with a disability.
B. A dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for a person with a disability.
C. Dogs whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support.
D. Any pet that can safely accompany its owner in public spaces.
3. Under the ADA, state and local governments, businesses, and nonprofit organizations that serve the public generally must allow service dogs to accompany people with disabilities in all areas of the facility where the public is allowed to go. Under what conditions could a service dog be asked to leave or not allowed?
A. If the dog is out of control and the handler does not take effective action to control it.
B. If the dog is not housebroken.
C. If the animal’s presence may compromise a sterile environment, such as in an operating room.
D. All of the above
4. Which of the following would NOT be considered a service dog?
A. A dog that is trained to alert to, and/or perform specific behaviors during or after an owner’s seizure due to epilepsy.
B. A dog that is trained to alert their diabetic owner to low (hypoglycemia) or high (hyperglycemia) blood sugar levels.
C. A dog that accompanies its owner to the store because the owner finds it comforting.
D. A dog that reminds a person with mental illness to take prescribed medications.
E. A dog that comforts and calms a person with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) during an anxiety attack.
5. True or false? When it is not obvious what service an animal provides, only limited inquiries are allowed. Staff may ask two questions: (1) Is the dog a service animal required because of a disability, and (2) What work or task has it been trained to perform.
6. True or false? Most service dogs are trained to assist with a medical emergency as it’s happening, such as an epileptic seizure or low blood sugar episode, and there is little research beyond anecdotal evidence on training dogs to “alert” their owner that a medical emergency is about to occur, though research is ongoing in the area.
7. Which of the following are ways a service dog can assist someone with epilepsy?
A. Possibly alerting the owner that a seizure is about to occur.
B. Barking to alert family members that a seizure is occurring.
C. Activating a call system or some kind of pre-programmed device, such as a pedal that rings an alarm.
D. Putting their body between the seizing individual and the floor to break the fall at the start of a seizure and/or lying next to someone having a seizure to prevent injury and to give comfort.
E. All of the above
8. Which of the following are ways that a service dog can assist someone with diabetes?
A. Possibly alerting their owner that their blood sugar levels are falling or rising to dangerous levels.
B. Fetching the owner’s blood testing kit when their owner is in distress due to blood sugar levels.
C. Alerting others by barking or activating an alarm.
D. Staying with the owner for comfort and protection.
E. All of the above
9. True or false? Under the ADA, a service dog can assist a person with a diagnosed disability that impacts one’s life to the point where major activities are limited, and the disability may be physical or a mental illness like anxiety, depression, or PTSD.
10. True or false? The Justice Department’s ADA regulations have a separate provision about miniature horses that have been individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities.
Compiled by ERIKA ALDRICH / Resources: Information from Epilepsy.com, the National Institutes of Health, and ADA.gov
ANSWERS:
- True
- B
- D. All of the above
- C
- True
- True
- E. All of the above
- E. All of the above
- True
- True