Canine rights in your medical practice for humans

A dog’s rights in your medical practice for humans

Our last post described an encounter where a patient’s “service dog” prevented an APP from examining the patient. 

Today we look at the rights of such dogs in your medical facility.

Service Dogs

• These dogs are trained to perform specific tasks related to their handler’s disability
• Such disabilities can include physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) 
• Service dogs have the right to be in any public location, even those where dogs are not typically allowed 
• If a patient presents to your facility with a dog and it is not clear whether it is a service dog or not, the facility is only allowed to ask two questions:

1. “Is the dog a service animal required because of a disability?”
2. “What work/task has the dog been trained to perform?”  

(The handler must be able to define the specific action the dog takes when needed to assist the disabled person) [1,2]

Emotional Support Dogs

• These dogs are defined as companion animals; they provide comfort just by being with a person
• Emotional support dogs can ease anxiety, depression, and certain phobias
• Such dogs must be prescribed by a mental health professional 
• The ADA does not consider emotional support dogs to be service dogs UNLESS they are specifically trained to perform a specific task/duty to aid their human

Emotional support dogs have limited public access rights (as of 2021, airlines are no longer required to allow emotional support animals on planes) and require a letter from the owner’s doctor or psychiatrist [1,2]

Therapy Dogs

• These dogs are not trained to work/live with one specific individual
• Therapy dogs are “volunteers” that work in many facility types (such as hospitals, mental health institutions, hospices, schools, and nursing homes) to provide comfort and affection
• Such animals should be trained, insured, and licensed by the organization volunteering their services
• The ADA does not recognize therapy dogs as service dogs and they do not have the same legal rights to public spaces [2]

Working Dogs

• Working dogs are often trained for a specific job, often utilizing the animal’s excellent sense of smell
• Such dogs are used for detection, herding, hunting, search and rescue, police, and military activities
• While working, these dogs are allowed to go where they need to go to get their job done
• Do not bother these dogs while they are on the job!  [2]

I hope you never have a dog growling at work while caring for a patient… but if you do, you now know their rights (and yours!).

Stay safe and have a great weekend.

Nikki Rataj Casady, DMSc, PA-C

email@appcolleague.org