Noteboom The Law Firm

Many Service Dogs Donated to the VA Don’t Qualify As Service Dogs

January 4, 2011 - Providing service dogs for disabled soldiers and veterans can make a huge difference in their lives. For many, having a service dog allows them a new lease on life, and can serve as an avenue back into successfully existing in the civilian world. Who supplies the dogs, however, also makes a significant difference in the quality of the animal received. While well-intentioned, many charities providing what they refer to as trained service dogs are misleading soldiers and veterans in need of such companions. For many, this presents a potentially harmful situation.

Many charities rescue dogs from city pounds and humane societies. Those charities then give the dog a certain amount of training that usually does not equate to the amount of training required to produce a true service dog. What normally happens is these dogs are trained to do certain things, but not everything that a service dog should be trained to do.  

The Assistance Dogs of America established training standards to which all dogs must adhere in order to qualify as a service dog. Many charities and non-profits give rescued dogs to veterans under the mistaken notion every dog can be a service dog. This can lead to real trouble as some veterans tend use service dogs as a replacement for their rehabilitation. If they are not given a true service dog, unfortunate issues could result, for both the dog and the veteran.

Although therapy dogs can be helpful to many veterans, they are not service dogs; they are essentially pets. Further, they are not subject to the Americans with Disabilities Act and cannot enter buildings the way that service dogs are allowed to. It is hoped that once these organizations understand the responsibilities and requirements for service dogs, that they can make the necessary changes to their programs and who they donate these dogs to.