What is a Service Dog?
A Service Dog is a dog specifically task-trained to meet the needs of a person with physical disabilities or limitations.
Under the Federal law known as The Americans with Disabilities Act, and further supported by the laws of each State, a Service Dog may accompany its physically disabled human partner into any public facility, including stores, restaurants, movie theaters and grocery stores, and into the workplace.
Service Dog. These dogs are trained to assist a person of limited physical abilities to live a more independent lifestyle. The dogs are taught to retrieve items such as a cordless phone or dropped items such as keys. The dog may be required to turn light switches on and off, or to open heavy doors. They may need to assist a person with transferring into or out of a wheelchair, bed or off the floor. The dogs may be trained to help a person get dressed or un-dressed. They may be trained to provide gentle, pulling momentum and balance/stability to a person while walking or on stairs and curbs. These dogs may be required to carry objects for a person. At Amazing Tails, we will not allow our dogs to pull a manual wheelchair.
Service/Medical Alert Dog. It is accepted that dogs have an ability to sense certain medical issues such as epileptic seizures, low blood sugar, changes in medication levels and certain heart conditions before they occur, thereby greatly increasing a person's sense of security and safety. Although there is currently no manner to train for this specific behavior, and no guarantee that any individual dog will alert in advance, our Trainers have had remarkable success in selecting dogs for this specialized program. These dogs can perform any of the trained tasks of a Service Dog. In most cases, the dogs quickly learn to recognize the symptoms of an upcoming medical issue, and will alert its owner to take appropriate action. We do not recommend that the dog be trained to leave its owner to get help.
Available Dogs. On occasion, Amazing Tails has dogs available for adoption as pets. These are dogs that are not continuing in our program due to health or temperament issues. These special dogs are not aggressive or terminally ill, but are better suited to the life of a pet. Contact us for available dogs.