Introduction

T his publication gives an overall introduction to laws relating to Assistance Dogs and their users and trainers in the member countries of Assistance Dogs International. Member organizations are found in most of the states in the United States, provinces in Canada, and in Australia, Austria, Czech Republic, England and the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, Portugal, South Korea, South Africa, and Spain.

In the United States, all states have laws about Assistance Dogs, and individual states differ in their approach to defining the rights of disabled persons who use Assistance Dogs. However, most of them include specific sections in their statutes or codes that define just where disabled persons with trained dogs are allowed to go, important considerations in housing, what happens if someone tries to interfere with these rights, and what penalties are associated with anyone who denies these rights. Usually the rights of Assistance Dog trainers parallel those of disabled persons and are included in the laws of the state, but not always. Other considerations that are treated by many states include the exemption from fees or licenses; what, if any, identification is needed for the dog or the owner/trainer; responsibilities of the owner/trainer; responsibilities associated with the injury or killing of an Assistance Dog; and what happens if someone misrepresents himself as a qualified person.

Outside the United States each member organization works under the laws of its country. The Canadian provinces independently have their own laws that define the rights of disabled persons. Generally, there have been two approaches. Some provinces have a Blind Persons’ Rights Act. These define, fairly specifically, where the disabled person with a dog may go, important considerations in housing, what happens if these rights are violated, and any penalties associated with them. Trainers’ rights or requirements, licenses or fees, identification requirements, and injury to the dog may also be included. In this respect, some provinces have statutes that are quite similar to those found in the United States. The provinces that have taken this approach include Alberta, British Columbia, Labrador, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Quèbec. While this type of law was originally written to accommodate blind persons or visually impaired, a number of the provinces have broadened their scope through amendments that extend these rights to deaf or hard of hearing and disabled persons.

Another approach is seen in the Human Rights Acts. The Human Rights approach covers a broader issue of discrimination in a much wider section of society. For example, Manitoba includes in its law concern for discrimination in these categories:

(a) ancestry, including colour and perceived race;

(b) nationality or national origin;

(c) ethnic background or origin;

(d) religion or creed, or religious belief, religious association or religious activity;

(e) age;

(f) sex, including pregnancy, the possibility of pregnancy, or circumstances related to pregnancy;

(g) gender-determined characteristics or circumstances other than those included in clause (f);

(h) sexual orientation;

(i) marital or family status;

(j) source of income;

(k) political belief, political association or political activity;

(l) physical or mental disability or related characteristics or circumstances, including reliance on a dog guide or other animal assistant, a wheelchair, or any other remedial appliance or device.

Frequently, in the provinces that rely primarily on this approach, the word “dog” appears only in the definition section of the law. All provinces have a Human Rights Act, but the provinces using this approach to the exclusion of more specific laws for disabled persons include Manitoba, New Brunswick, Northwest Territories, Prince Edward Island, Saskatchewan, and Yukon.

Canada is unique because of its Canadian Legal Information Institute (CanLII). CanLII is “a not-for-profit organization initiated by the Federation of Law Societies of Canada. CanLII's goal is to make primary sources of Canadian law accessible for free on the Internet. CanLII seeks to gather legislative and judicial texts, as well as legal commentaries, from federal, provincial and territorial jurisdictions on a single Web site.” CanLII does not, however, answer any questions about any of the material they post. If questions arise about a particular province’s statutes, it is necessary to go directly to that province. 

South Africa has a long tradition of utilizing working dogs in both guide and service dog areas but, to date, does not have a formal or specific access law beyond a National Constitution with a major emphasis on basic human rights and with a particular reference to people with disabilities.

Until recently, the laws in Spain applied only to Guide Dogs for the blind. However, a few independent communities in Spain now have laws supporting access rights for disabled persons who have Assistance Dogs. Castile and Leon enacted their laws in 1998. In 2003, Valencia and Galicia recognized a broader scope was needed to cover all disabled persons who had Assistance Dogs.

Of the remaining ADI members, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom have laws that make some provisions for persons who use Assistance Dogs, and information on their laws can be found in this publication.

Purpose

The purpose of this booklet is to provide highlights of each country’s legislation so that owners of Assistance Dogs have a handy resource to use should any of their rights be questioned. It is also useful to anyone interested in or serving this specialized population. However, it should be used for reference only. Anyone who contemplates legal action or wants further definition will need to access the state’s and country’s actual code sections. Citations are given for each section and for finding the state’s homepage and code online, but some states warn that their online version may not be strictly up-to-date. The online versions were used in this compilation.

Assistance Dogs Defined

Assistance Dogs is an overall term that includes Guide Dogs for the blind or visually impaired, Hearing Dogs for the deaf or hard of hearing, and Service Dogs for the disabled.

Trainer Defined

A trainer is a professionally trained staff person or agent (some organizations utilize volunteer trainers) who works for a dog training program for the purpose of schooling dogs in advanced commands and preparing teams for graduation. Volunteers who raise puppies, care for breeding stock, or otherwise assist program staff are not considered trainers. However, as indicated above, some assistance dog organizations rely on a core of volunteer trainers whose function is identical to that of professionally trained staff, with the exception of pay. For the purposes of determining access, such a volunteer can be considered to be a 'trainer' in the sense described above.

Overview of Statutes Summarized in Tabular Form

Highlights of the legal requirements by state are presented in tabular form for each of eleven variables (occasionally twelve), plus an overall summary. They include the following, with a brief explanation of what they contain. Not all states address every variable.

Federal Regulations Regarding Assistance Dogs

The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 gives the overall structure and intent for the elimination of discrimination against individuals with disabilities. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is concerned with providing equal opportunity in housing for disabled persons. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is concerned with the rights of disabled persons and their Assistance Dogs on airlines. Brief introductory highlights are given to each of these along with links to their online pages. The Code of Federal Regulations spells out the laws regarding disabled persons and their Assistance Dogs.

Understanding and Finding Complete Code Citations

In the United States, states vary in the way they arrange their laws. Many states classify them by Title, Chapter, and Section; some states use other designations. In this booklet you will find a number of direct quotes from these laws. They are footnoted with a complete citation. In a table below the main section there is another table citing additional sections that relate to each topic. The footnotes are complete citations; the summary table gives abbreviated citations, for the most part. For example:

Mississippi specifies penalties in Mississippi Code, Title 43, Chapter 5, Section 11 (the complete citation). The abbreviated citation for this as it appears in the table is 43-5-11.

North Carolina uses Chapter, Article, and Section. The complete citation for fees and licenses is North Carolina General Statutes, Chapter 168, Article I, Section 168-4.3. The abbreviated citation is 168-I-168-4.3.

Maryland mixes the systems, using both Article and Section as well as Title, Subtitle, and Section. A number of states introduce parts or subchapters and mix a three-tiered system with a four- or five-tiered system. For clarification, these are spelled out more fully in the abbreviated citations section or are footnoted.

California is an exception in that its major divisions are by code names, which must be used to access the sections dealing with Assistance Dogs. The laws relating to Assistance Dogs are found in the Civil Code, the Food & Agricultural Code, and the Penal Code. For clarification, these designations have been included in the citation table. Similarly, New York uses names of laws.

A link is included for each state’s home or index page immediately following the state’s name. When used in conjunction with either the full citations or the abbreviated citations, users will be able to access the entire sections of code.

Using the Internet

Few states have all their code sections that affect Assistance Dogs in one place. They are more likely to be scattered among several code titles, such as Civil Rights, Transportation, Agriculture, Motor Vehicles, Penal Code, etc. However, using the online links will enable the user to move quickly through different parts of the code.

Once the reader understands the way code sections are numbered or named, it should be easy to find the complete text on the Internet. The contents of this booklet can be found online at:

www.adionline.org

Select the state you wish to search. A link to that state’s code appears immediately below the state’s name. Click on the link. If you plan to search more than a few sections, it is probably easiest to have a hard copy of this booklet on hand. Otherwise, it will be necessary to move back and forth from the online booklet page to the Internet code.

All states have some quotes taken directly from the code. These appear in quotations (“ ”). All quotes are cited (footnoted) with the Title, Chapter, Section (or other designators) and give the exact source citation for that part of the code. When online, the footnote appears as a small yellow icon to the right of the end quote mark. By clicking on this icon, the text of the footnote appears.

Additional code sections that are not directly quoted, but pertain to law involving Assistance Dogs, appear in a table at the bottom of each state’s page. These code sections can be accessed in the same manner as the quoted sections in the top table.

The majority of states present a list of Titles or Chapters to start the finding process. However, a few states give only the option of using a search engine, some more easily used than others. Footnotes have been introduced, in these cases, in order to help the reader find sections more easily.

Appended Material

In the appendix will be found policy statement on Behavior and Training Standards for all Service Animals, Access Policy for Puppy Raisers, and How to Differentiate a Pet or Emotional Support Animal From a Trained Service Animal Under ADA.