It’s September, meaning it’s National Service Dog Appreciation Month! Service dogs truly do deserve their flowers, as they do so much to help people with physical, sensory, or mental disabilities live safely and independently. From guiding and protecting visually impaired individuals, to alerting hard of hearing individuals, and providing medical alerts, service dogs' responsibilities are truly important. Many people often confuse service dogs with emotional support and therapy dogs. However, they are not the same. Keep reading for more about these furry helpers.
Service Dog
Service dogs are individually trained to perform specific tasks to help a person with a disability. They can guide a visually impaired or blind person, alert a person to medical events (such as seizures, drop in blood sugar, or extreme changes in heart rate), retrieve items, or provide mobility support. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), service dogs have legal protections and public-access rights. If you see a service dog working in public, the golden rule to always remember is: never distract them. Their handler’s safety depends on their complete focus, so taking that away can cause insufficient attention and put the handler’s safety at risk.
Emotional Support Dog
An emotional support dog is a dog prescribed by a licensed mental health specialist to provide therapeutic comfort and companionship for a person with a mental health condition. Some of their responsibilities include lowering stress hormones and releasing calming hormones such as oxytocin. Their presence, petting, or cuddling can help alleviate symptoms of anxiety, depression, PTSD, or loneliness. They also encourage their owners to stick to a daily routine. A key difference between an emotional support dog and a serrvice dog is that an emotional support dog does not need specialized training nor are they covered by the ADA.
Therapy Dog
A therapy dog’s job is to provide comfort and attention to multiple people. Instead of assisting one specific person, they help groups of them. For example, they may visit hospitals, schools, nursing homes, or disaster-relief settings. Similar to an emotional support dog, therapy dogs are not covered by the ADA and they also are not trained to help just one person with a specific disability. While emotional support dogs live with their owner to provide mental health support, therapy dogs work with their handlers as volunteers to help the general public.
We hope this information gives you a better understanding as to the differences between each dog. Although their roles and responsibilities look a bit different, each has a meaningful impact on the people they help. Let’s be sure to acknowledge and honor working dogs this September. And don’t forget to be respectful when around a service dog!