To qualify for a mobility service dog, you must have a documented physical disability that requires assistance with daily mobility tasks and be able to participate in training and care for the dog. Programs also typically serve specific geographic areas.

If you don’t qualify for a mobility service dog, check out the ADI website to find accredited nonprofits that train other types of assistance dogs: www.assistancedogsinternational.org

Service Dogs are legally defined (Americans With Disabilities Act, 1990) and are trained to meet the needs of their handlers who have disabilities. Federal laws protect the rights of individuals with disabilities to be accompanied by their service dogs in public places. “Service animals are working animals, not pets.” (ADA 2010 Revised Requirements)

Our dogs are individually trained to do work or perform physical tasks directly benefiting a handler’s:

• physical disability

This definition of work or tasks does not include:

• the crime-deterrent effects of a dog’s presence

• the effects of emotional support, well-being, comfort, or companionship.

You and your dog will bond more successfully if you start when you have minimized stressors in your life. This is because training with a dog takes a considerable amount of time. Dogs are sensitive and easily pick up on our emotional state.

If you are heavily involved with ongoing therapies to help with your disability, consider waiting until your situation is more stable to start the application process.

Since there is often a waitlist for fully-trained service dogs, however, do your research now! Find out how much time ADI-accredited organizations will require before matching you with a fully-trained dog.

"FAKE SERVICE DOG” BILL (SB 2461 CD1)

Starting Jan. 1, 2019 in Hawaii, violators would be fined $100 to $500 for pretending to have a service dog, which can be as simple as going online and ordering a service dog certificate, vest or ID badge, with little to no proof of authenticity. There is actually no official U.S. registry for service dogs, nor are service animals required by law to wear special vests, collars or harnesses.

AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT (ADA)

• ADA Requirements: Service Animals

• Frequently Asked Questions about Service Animals and the ADA

LINKS

• WHAT’S THE LAW – HOW CAN YOU TELL IF A SERVICE DOG IS REAL OR FAKE?

• WHAT’S THE LAW – TRAVELING WITH SERVICE DOGS AND EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMALS What’s the Law is a podcast hosted by Coralie Chun Matayoshi that provides valuable information about various legal topics.

A service dog is specially trained to assist a person with a disability and may accompany its handler wherever they go.

Please keep a respectful, open mind toward the working teams you meet: a handler’s disabilities may not be immediately apparent.

Our dogs can assist with “invisible disabilities:”

• Seizure alert dogs

• Hearing dogs

• PTSD dogs perform “block” or “cover” and other reassuring tasks

• Bracing dogs help handlers to sit or stand

An entity that allows access to the general public must allow access to a service dog team. No paperwork or ID should be requested, as per the ADA. If the service an animal provides is not obvious, staff can legally ask these two questions only:

1. Is the dog a service animal required because of a disability?

2. What work or task has the dog been trained to perform?

It is crucial to recognize that when dog and handler are together as a “team” in public, the two are working partners. The public must allow a service dog to focus on its handler’s needs. One should never reach out and pet or touch a service dog. A quick “hello” could distract the dog from alerting its handler to a problem (e.g. a seizure) and could endanger the handler’s life.

Ask before approaching a working team.

Each service dog handler has their own comfort level about talking with strangers about their dog and their own disability. Understandably, some are very cautious and private, while others will welcome your interest. Please do not be offended if a handler chooses to not engage in conversation nor allow interaction with their dog. Handlers get many requests per outing.

For the health and safety of the service dog team, please remember these tips:

• Keep snacks for yourself. Never offer food of any kind to a service dog unless the handler has specifically approved it.

• Keep calm and quiet. Do not call out or cause any distraction for the service dog.

• Keep children and pets under control. Do not allow them to rush the service dog.

Hawaii Fi-Do maintains a list of current resources to educate the general public, businesses, and state agencies about service dog regulations.:

• ADA law for service dogs (revised in 2010)

• Hawaii’s fake service dog bill (passed in 2019)

• Rights and roles of working service dog teams (2010)

• Standards of training according to the ADI

• General education about service dogs and dogs-in-training