Hearing Ear Dogs: ADA Information for Businesses

Americans with Disabilities Act, Title III- Business Brief DOJ

Commonly asked questions: ADA, US Department of Justice website
If you have additional questions concerning the ADA and service animals, please call the Department's ADA Information Line at (800) 514-0301 (voice) or (800) 514-0383 (TTY) or visit the ADA Business Connection at ada.gov.

Service animals are animals that are individually trained to perform tasks for people with disabilities such as guiding people who are blind, alerting people who are deaf, pulling wheelchairs, alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure, or performing other special tasks. Service animals are working animals, not pets.

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), businesses and organizations that serve the public must allow people with disabilities to bring their service animals into all areas of the facility where customers are normally allowed to go. This federal law applies to all businesses open to the public, including restaurants, hotels, taxis and shuttles, grocery and department stores, hospitals and medical offices, theaters, health clubs, parks, and zoos.

1. Q: What are the laws that apply to my business?
A: Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), privately owned businesses that serve the public, such as restaurants, hotels, retail stores, taxicabs, theaters, concert halls, and sports facilities, are prohibited from discriminating against individuals with disabilities. The ADA requires these businesses to allow people with disabilities to bring their service animals onto business premises in whatever areas customers are generally allowed.

2. Q: What is a service animal?
A: The ADA defines a service animal as any guide dog, signal dog, or other animal individually trained to provide assistance to an individual with a disability. If they meet this definition, animals are considered service animals under the ADA regardless of whether they have been licensed or certified by a state or local government.

Service animals perform some of the functions and tasks that the individual with a disability cannot perform for him or herself. Guide dogs are one type of service animal, used by some individuals who are blind. This is the type of service animal with which most people are familiar. But there are service animals that assist persons with other kinds of disabilities in their day-to-day activities. Some examples include:

_ Alerting persons with hearing impairments to sounds.
_ Pulling wheelchairs or carrying and picking up things for persons with mobility impairments.
_ Assisting persons with mobility impairments with balance.

A service animal is not a pet.

3. Q: How can I tell if an animal is really a service animal and not just a pet?
A: Some, but not all, service animals wear special collars and harnesses. Some, but not all, are licensed or certified and have identification papers.

If you are not certain that an animal is a service animal, you may ask the person who has the animal if it is a service animal required because of a disability. However, an individual who is going to a restaurant or theater is not likely to be carrying documentation of his or her medical condition or disability.

Therefore, such documentation generally may not be required as a condition for providing service to an individual accompanied by a service animal.

Although a number of states have programs to certify service animals, you may not insist on proof of state certification before permitting the service animal to accompany the person with a disability.

4. Q: What must I do when an individual with a service animal comes to my business?
A: The service animal must be permitted to accompany the individual with a disability to all areas of the facility where customers are normally allowed to go. An individual with a service animal may not be segregated from other customers.

5. Q: I have always had a clearly posted "no pets" policy at my establishment. Do I still have to allow service animals in?
A: Yes. A service animal is not a pet. The ADA requires you to modify your "no pets" policy to allow the use of a service animal by a person with a disability. This does not mean you must abandon your "no pets" policy altogether but simply that you must make an exception to your general rule for service animals.

6. Q: My county health department has told me that only a guide dog has to be admitted. If I follow those regulations, am I violating the ADA?
A: Yes, if you refuse to admit any other type of service animal on the basis of local health department regulations or other state or local laws. The ADA provides greater protection for individuals with disabilities and so it takes priority over the local or state laws or regulations.

7. Q: Can I charge a maintenance or cleaning fee for customers who bring service animals into my business?
A: No. Neither a deposit nor a surcharge may be imposed on an individual with a disability as a condition to allowing a service animal to accompany the individual with a disability, even if deposits are routinely required for pets. However, a public accommodation may charge its customers with disabilities if a service animal causes damage so long as it is the regular practice of the entity to charge non-disabled customers for the same types of damages. For example, a hotel can charge a guest with a disability for the cost of repairing or cleaning furniture damaged by a service animal if it is the hotel's policy to charge when non-disabled guests cause such damage.

8. Q: I operate a private taxicab and I don't want animals in my taxi; they smell, shed hair and sometimes have "accidents." Am I violating the ADA if I refuse to pick up someone with a service animal?
A: Yes. Taxicab companies may not refuse to provide services to individuals with disabilities. Private taxicab companies are also prohibited from charging higher fares or fees for transporting individuals with disabilities and their service animals than they charge to other persons for the same or equivalent service.

9. Q: Am I responsible for the animal while the person with a disability is in my business?
A: No. The care or supervision of a service animal is solely the responsibility of his or her owner. You are not required to provide care or food or a special location for the animal.

10. Q: What if a service animal barks or growls at other people, or otherwise acts out of control?
A: You may exclude any animal, including a service animal, from your facility when that animal's behavior poses a direct threat to the health or safety of others.

For example, any service animal that displays vicious behavior towards other guests or customers may be excluded. You may not make assumptions, however, about how a particular animal is likely to behave based on your past experience with other animals. Each situation must be considered individually.

Although a public accommodation may exclude any service animal that is out of control, it should give the individual with a disability who uses the service animal the option of continuing to enjoy its goods and services without having the service animal on the premises.

11. Q: Can I exclude an animal that doesn't really seem dangerous but is disruptive to my business?
A: There may be a few circumstances when a public accommodation is not required to accommodate a service animal--that is, when doing so would result in a fundamental alteration to the nature of the business. Generally, this is not likely to occur in restaurants, hotels, retail stores, theaters, concert halls, and sports facilities. But when it does, for example, when a dog barks during a movie, the animal can be excluded.

If you have further questions about service animals or other requirements of the ADA, you may call the U.S. Department of Justice's toll-free ADA Information Line at 800-514-0301 (voice) or 800-514-0383 (TDD).



What is a Hearing Dog?
The ADA defines a service dog as any guide dog, signal dog, or other animal trained to provide assistance to an individual with a disability.

A Hearing Dog is a trained service animal that assists a deaf or severely hard of hearing individual by responding to a specific set of noises such as a ringing telephone, a knock on the door, a crying baby, an alarm clock, an oven timer, a car horn, or an emergency vehicle siren. Such animals may be referred as, ‘hearing dogs’, ‘hearing ear dogs’, ‘signal dogs’, or ‘hearing guide dogs’.

How can a Hearing Dog be identified?
Often, a Hearing Dog can be identified by a bright orange or yellow leash. Some dogs may wear a ‘jacket’ identifying them as a Hearing Dog. Dogs that have completed a specialized training program are often issued some type of certification, indicating that the animal has successfully completed auditory assistance training.

However, not having any of these identifiers does not preclude a dog from being a legitimate service animal.

Several pieces of Federal legislation also protect and expand rights of owners of Hearing Ear Dogs. These include...

a. The Americans with Disabilities Act (1990), Title III.
b. Air Carrier Access Act (1986)
c. Fair Housing Amendments Act (1988)
d. The Rehabilitation Act (1973)

However, it is clearly the responsibility of the owner to insure that their animal is well behaved. Dogs that are disruptive can, under current law, be excluded from places of public accommodation.

Must a dog be formally certified?
No. Since there is no nationally accepted standard with which to evaluate training and performance of a Hearing Dog, certification is not a requirement under the law. Furthermore, no one can require an individual to show proof that their animal is a Hearing Dog. However, it is recommended that a dog receive formal training to insure that the use of such an animal provides maximum benefit to the owner.

What breeds make the best Hearing Dogs?
Hearing Dogs come in all shapes, colors, and sizes. It is the individual attributes of the dog that are important. Examples of desirable traits would include a mild temperment, good attention span, and above average intelligence.

How much will a Hearing Dog cost?
Formal training of a service dog is a process that involves time and active participation on the part of the owner. The cost of such training is generally between $2,000 and $5,000. Civic and community service organizations are often happy to assist needy candidates with the cost of this training.

Where can I get more information?
For general information, contact:
Delta Society National Service Dog Center
P.O. Box 1080Renton, WA
98055-1329
(425) 226-7357 Voice
(425) 235-1076 Fax
Website: http://www.deltasociety.org/
Email: info@deltasociety.org

Definitions to understanding the legal terms:

hearing dog n. A dog trained to assist a deaf or hearing-impaired person by signaling the occurrence of certain sounds, such as a ringing telephone. -The American Heritage® Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2007, 2004 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

assistance dog n. those trained to be of assistance to handicapped or disabled people. The most familiar ones are guide dogs and hearing dogs, but others may be trained to assist people confined to wheelchairs or with other types of limited mobility.