How a well trained service dog can loose skills fom By My Side Blog

I know not all of my reader have time to go though all the wonderful blogs listed in my Blogroll on the right hand side of my blog, so I want to take the time to point out a particularly good post from Katrin at By My Side

training, guide work and other things

 For example with Tom lately, I hadn't quite realized just how "sometimes" my asking him to reliably clear right side obstacles had become.  Sometimes it was ok for him to brush me up against a bush, sometimes it was not.  This sometimes criteria caused, over a few months, Tom to begin to disregard that right side obstacles needed any clearance at all, an understanding of his that I didn't quite realize until on a walk the other day 4 things in a row he plowed me into, a couple of which hurt!

Read More 

News:m American Bar Association Urges Policies to Accommodate Disabled Persons Using Service Animals

The American Bar Association adopted a resolution in support of policies being developed in support of the accommodation of people with disabilities who utilize services as a reasonable accommodation/ means of mitigating the affects of their disabilities.

RESOLVED, That the American Bar Association urges all federal, state, territorial, and local legislative bodies to repeal or amend all laws or policies inconsistent with the regulations implementing the Americans with Disabilities Act and to implement policies to ensure that persons with disabilities utilizing service animals are provided access to services, programs and activities of public entities and public accommodations in compliance with the regulations implementing the Americans with Disabilities Act in a manner that:

1. Permits the use of a service animal for individuals with physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental impairments;
2. Provides an individualized determination of whether an animal meets the definition of service animal, recognizing that service animals do a wide range of work or tasks for individuals with disabilities;
3. Provides for a size, weight and breed-neutral policy, utilizing a case-by-case analysis to determine whether a particular animal can be excluded from a public entity or public accommodation based on the particular’s animal’s actual behavior; and
4. Encourages the enforcement by the United States Department of Justice and other governmental authorities with responsibility for implementing the Americans with Disabilities Act, in situations where individuals with disabilities utilizing service animals are denied access to services, programs and activities of public entities and public accommodations.

The supporting document for the resolution provides very clear and concise picture of the legalities supporting and defining service dogs as a concept in the United States complete with relevant case law and examples in just 4 pages of text. I highly recommend everyone have this in your files and personal knowledge bank!

News: Guide Dogs to be given access to St. Peterburg Metro

Guide Dogs in Metro

ST. PETERBURG (SPT) — Visually impaired people will soon be able to enter city metro stations with guide dogs.

A decree on the issue was signed by Stanislav Popov, head of the city’s Transport Committee, but it has not yet been put into effect, Interfax reported last week.

According to the document, visually impaired people will be allowed to bring one guide dog into the metro free of charge. The dog will be required to be wearing a muzzle, a leash and a sign identifying it as a guide dog. The owner must also have a document confirming that the dog has completed a course on guiding its owner in the metro.

New Mobility Magazine on Service Animals

The February issue of New Mobility Magazine came out today featuring the topic of flying with a service dog in their Travel Matters column. Over the years New Mobility has featured nearly two dozen articles important to the service dog community including one featuring yours truly and my first service dog, Bastien.  If traveling is a part of your life with a service dog or will be don't miss the Travel section of Service Dogs: A Way of Life!