Question about service dog

[rainstorm]

Our older Rottie is unofficially my service dog. I never got her certified as one but from what I read it isn't that hard. She pretty much taught herself.

However my bad knee and leg are getting worse and one of the reasons we got Raven was so I could have another service dog and a friend of mine who is a trainer can help me with the training of her if needed.

This time I plan on getting Raven certified and wonder if there will be a problem for taking her with me because she is a rottie and especially into cities or places that ban Rotties. I'm wondering if since she will be certified as my service dog if they can exclude her or not.

Thanks

[moondog]

According to: http://www.miusa.org/ncde/tipsheets/servicedogs

"Banned Breeds/Animals

In the U.S. there is no limitation on the type of animal a person may use as a service animal. However, service animal users are required to comply with all animal control regulations. The rise of breed specific legislation is extremely important for anyone wishing to travel with a service animal. In many cases the designation of an animal as a service animal does not exempt it from legislation banning or restrictions placed on certain breed or types of animal."

Although if I had a Rottie servicedog and was banned from visiting a certain city because of the breed, I would raise HOLY HELL!

[jlaack]

I simply wouldn't visit said city. No need to spend my hard earned money is such a place!

[JoJo]

Although if I had a Rottie servicedog and was banned from visiting a certain city because of the breed, I would raise HOLY HELL

Moondog, let's be honest and tell her how you would really feel....HOLY HELL would be an understatement!! I can hear you all the way down here in Florida!! And rightfully so, and so should anyone else if were in those shoes.

[Inga]

I love the idea of getting your Rottweiler certified as a Service Dog. I think the more of those we can show the better chance of holding Bans at Bay or even reversing some of them. If one bad story is in the media we need 10 good ones to balance. It is a fact of life. Bans should have never got a start, but now that the wheel is rolling, it is harder to get a wedge under it. Showing that these dogs are capable Service and Therapy dogs etc... Helps a lot. We just need a lot more of them to show off.

[fbkeays]

First of all there is NO REQUIREMENT under the ADA to have any dog that has been individually trained to assist a person with a disability to be certified. None, zip, nada. So Raven IS an offical service dog. Owner trained service dogs are perfectly acceptable.
The only requirement is that have been trained to do tasks that midigate a person's disability. There is a sub requirement for the dog to be well behaved in public. A store owner has every reason to ask you to remove your service dog if your dog's behavior is disruptive, ie uncontrolled barking, lifting a leg, knocking displays over, etc.
There is no requirement that says you have to show certification to any "gatekeeper", ie the "greeter" at Walmart. That is because certification is specifically not required in the ADA. They can only ask you if the dog is a service dog (yes). What does the dog DO for you? (keeps me upright). You do not need to show a prescription, doctor's note or anything about YOUR medical condition. Remember, medical records are confidential.
Service dogs are nothing more then a piece of medical equipment. Just like a wheel chair, walker or O2 canister. It is not a requirement that the dog be "dressed", ie vest with service dog patches, but it does help to show the dog is a valid service dog.
All certification is is a peice of paper printed by organizations stating that said dog was trained by their organization and passed THEIR requirements. There is no standards of training in service dog training organization. You or I can put out a sign in our front lawns saying ACME Service Dog Academy. We can use our printers to print out spiffy looking pieces of paper that says "This is to certify that Fido was trained at ACME Service Dog Academy and has fillfulled the requirements of ACME Service Dog Academy. That is all that "certification" is. It is only as valuable as the paper it is written on. Paper is cheap. Remember that.

[Gunsey'sMom]

Yes, wasnt there an incident not long ago where with a woman against a store who did not let in her service dog because of breed? And I also recall it happening to a friend, relative, spouse or actual forum member? I apologize in advance to that member for not remembering better- but I believe it was at Sears, and the manager made a fuss about the dog being a Rottweiler. I will see if I can find that thread.........

[Gunsey'sMom]

Here it is


http://www.rottweiler.net/forums/rot...ess-sears.html

That other incident was also a service dog denied access to Walmart.

I only bring these thread up because there was lots of info brought up in these threads of what your legal rights ARE in reguards to your service dog. Links and other useful things as well. Here is the denied to Walmart one- its was pretty contoversial- so hopefully it doesnt get "stirred" back up.

http://www.rottweiler.net/forums/bre...d-walmart.html

[rainstorm]

Thanks everyone for your information. I'm going to go look at it right now.

Since I tend to lose my balance a lot and Glitter already steadies me. I hope Raven can learn to this easily too. Right now we're concentrating on her obedience training and good manners.

[rainstorm]

I found a link that lists rottweiler service dogs and tells their stories. I thought I would shar this with you.

http://www.windchyme.com/Pages/Servi...ttweilerSD.htm

I thought I'd mention something else since someone commented about rotties need to get their stories out. Our local newspapers have done several stories about Rotties that are trained and certified through Delta and then work with kids at schools on reading. They have discovered that dogs help kids improve their reading because dogs aren't judgmental.