A therapy dog is not a service dog and does not have public access under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). They are not trained to perform specific tasks aside from being present to comfort an owner or patient. When therapy and service dogs are near each other, the presence of a therapy dog can severely distract a service dog at work.

In the case of Emily Sullivan and her service dog, Damian, he failed to detect Emily having low blood sugar because a therapy dog approached both of them inside a Walmart and out on the parking lot. This caused Emily to fall on the ground endangering her life.

While this is a tragic case for people in genuine need of a service animal, it’s also a good wake-up call to those who are abusing the use of therapy animals. Not knowing the limitations of their therapy animal’s rights can endanger other people’s lives. As Emily said, “Service dogs, fake or otherwise, must be under your control.”

Source: MUSKOGEE Phoenix

Do you own an assistance animal? Register your pet today.  The Service Animal Registry of California invites you to have your assistance animal registered in order to designate its status. We also encourage you to take our online classes so you can be fully aware of your rights and gain more knowledge about your support animal.

Finally, we present to you our book entitled, “ASSISTANCE ANIMAL LAWS: LEARN YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING SERVICE ANIMALS, EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMALS, THERAPY PETS, AND OTHER DOGS, CATS, AND ASSISTANCE ANIMALS” to provide you with a complete education on assistance animals. Purchase your copy of the book by clicking the image below.