The Assistance Animal Handbook

Claire Williams

Claire L Williams

• Publisher: Claire Williams
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9780648876403
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Law
• Subtopic: Labour & Employment Law
• Index: Law

Do you know the difference between a Service Dog, Assistance Animal, Therapy Dog, Emotional Support Animal and Guide Dog? Are you considering an Assistance Animal for yourself or a loved one? Are you seeking NDIS funding for your Assistance Animal? Confused about Australian Assistance Animal law? Or do you come into contact with Assistance Animals in your professional life or in the community and want to know more? If you answered yes to any of those questions, this is the book for you!

1

What is an Assistance Animal?

An Assistance Animal is task-trained to mitigate the effects of their handler’s disability. The Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) identifies an Assistance Animal as “a trained support designed to facilitate the participation of people with disability in accessing various aspects of personal and public life”. In most cases an Australian Assistance Animal is a dog, however, the Australian Human Rights Commission (2016) states that a parrot has been recognised as an Assistance Animal in a single complaint, which accounted for 1 % of all complaints of discrimination against an Assistance Animal and its handler from 2014 – 2016. Although it is common overseas for monkeys, miniature horses and even snakes to be classed as Assistance Animals, Australian Assistance Animals are specially trained canines (Hallenbeck & Silverman, 2010). Specifically, it is illegal to own most native and exotic species within Australia without an appropriate license, and none can legally be worked as an Assistance Animal due to restrictions on their transport and use in society.

Under the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 1992 (Cth), Assistance Animals have public access rights. This means that they can accompany their handlers anywhere members of the public are usually allowed. Exceptions to this include quarantine areas and sterile areas such as surgical suites and food preparation areas. This means that legally an Assistance Animal can accompany its handler into restaurants, captive animal facilities, emergency wards, universities and on public transport. It is ILLEGAL to refuse access to an Assistance Animal and their handler and discrimination can be reported to the Australian Human Rights Commission.

2

What is NOT an Assistance Animal?

The following are not considered to be an Assistance Animal regarding public access rights:

• An Assistance Animal working in the absence of the person with defined disability;
• An Assistance Animal working with a person with a minor ailment who does not meet the definition of an Assistance Animal laid out by the DDA;
• An Assistance Animal who does not meet the hygiene and behaviour requirements set out by the DDA;
• An Assistance Animal who does not have at least 1 trained task to mitigate its handler’s disability;
• A dog who is less than 6 months of age (this is generally considered to be a prospect and does not yet have public access rights);
• An emotional support animal (This is terminology used in the USA which is not recognised or used in Australia and, therefore, within Australia these dogs are simply pets and, therefore, do not have public access rights);
• Therapy Animals (These are not recognised in Australian legislation, however, these animals work with a handler and enter public areas with permission to work with individuals in nursing homes, hospitals or schools, for example), and
• Companion Animals (also known as pets) do not have public access rights.

3

Who can legally work an Assistance Animal?

The handler’s disability must meet the definition defined by the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth) as:

• total or partial loss of the person's bodily or mental functions;
• total or partial loss of a part of the body;
• the presence in the body of organisms causing disease or illness;
• the presence in the body of organisms capable of causing disease or illness;
• the malfunction, malformation or disfigurement of a part of the person's body;
• a disorder or malfunction that results in the person learning differently from a person without the disorder or malfunction, or
• A disorder, illness or disease that affects a person's thought processes, perception of reality, emotions or judgement or that results in disturbed behaviour.

This means that Assistance Animals are used by people with a physical disability, intellectual disability, psycho-social disability such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), disabling illnesses such as Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Diabetes and Epilepsy, just to name a few.

You must have a defined, diagnosed disability whose symptoms have been present for upwards of 6 months to even consider obtaining an Assistance Animal. It is important to remember that not everyone with a disability will benefit from an Assistance Animal. Before considering obtaining an Assistance Animal you should carefully consider whether an Assistance Animal is right for you.

4

Do I want an Assistance Animal?

An Assistance Animal is task-trained to mitigate the effects of their handler’s disability, however, many people with a disability will not benefit from an Assistance Animal for a variety of reasons including:

• Lack of support from a medical professional (you will require appropriate documentation to identify the need for an Assistance Animal);
• Lack of support from family, housemates or friends (the presence of an Assistance Animal needs to be a household decision due to the increased responsibilities such as ensuring all doors and gates are closed, keeping with the same training style, etc.);
• Allergy or medical condition that worsens with animals around (this may be yourself, or a family member or housemate; some animals are hypoallergenic which may be something to investigate);
• Is having an Assistance Animal compatible with your employment or study? For example, if you are employed in a quarantine facility or as a civilian on a military base it is unlikely that an Assistance Animal would be able to accompany you. The only literature on the matter of military bases is Topinka, Nichols & Brooks (2016) which discusses hospitals and schools on an American army base;
• Not having a connection with animals (some people simply do not like animals, or want to spend the additional money, time or resources in training or caring for them);
• Inability to properly care for the animal and meet its needs (this includes expenses for food and vet bills, exercise, time to spend with them when they are not working and to continue training and caring for them in terms of feeding, cleaning and grooming, considering how to care for a retired or wash-out Assistance Animal. A wash-out is a dog who began training to be an Assistance Animal, but was deemed to be ill-suited for the role and, therefore, training ceased and the dog was retired);
• Having other pets (this is not necessarily prohibitive to having an Assistance Animal but can make the process more complex; We foster dogs, cats, birds and rabbits and we make it work wonderfully well);
• Inability to afford preventative/emergency vet care and grooming costs;
• Not liking the additional attention (having an Assistance Animal, particularly any breed other than a Labrador or Golden Retriever, WILL result in questions, stares, uninvited touching and patting, and unwanted photographs);
• Potential for housing issues (Assistance Animals do not have automatic access to private dwellings, you need to argue that discrimination may occur based on a real estate’s refusal to allow you to have the Assistance Animal at the residence);
• Not wanting to carry additional gear (most handlers will have a backpack dedicated to carrying a mat, wet/warm/cool weather gear for their animal, food and water, bowls, etc.);
• Do you have the time and ability to train an Assistance Animal to your needs? Do you have the funds to purchase a pre-trained Assistance Animal? Do you have the time to wait for a pre-trained Assistance Animal to be placed with you? Is there a suitable organisation? Do you have the appropriate diagnoses to fit the definition of disability under the DDA? Do you have the capacity to continue lifelong training? (life-long training is true even for a pre-trained animal);
• Inability to ensure the 5 freedoms of animal welfare are met for your animal, including a suitable amount of down time to prevent chronic stress (Jarvis, 2012), or
• Any number of other reasons.

5

Choosing an Assistance Animal

Breed & Size

You should carefully consider the breed and size of dog that you want to work with; however, the following are some suggestions of things to consider:

• Assistance Animals should work “Four on the Floor”, meaning that the animal should not be expected to climb on furniture to complete tasks. Therefore, a taller dog would be more suitable for tasks such as turning on lights. Hence why Labradors and Retrievers are common Guide Dog breeds;
• If you require deep pressure therapy, you will need to consider what weight you require. Will a small Chihuahua be able to provide this, for example? It is possible that a Doberman could be too much;
• Small breeds can be harder to see and, therefore, more prone to injury when working in enclosed or heavily populated spaces. It may not be possible for a pet pram to be used to ensure their safety if it inhibits the dog’s ability to perform its tasks;
• Larger breeds, double coated breeds and breeds such as Labradoodles and Afghan Hounds can be labour intensive to keep well-groomed and clean – is this something you have the time and ability to do? Can you afford a regular groomer? Will the shedding drive you mad? What about the additional food costs for a large breed? (Note that a giant breed is not generally recommended due to their relatively short life spans, inability to maneuver in small areas to complete tasks and their inability to ‘tuck’ and thereby remain out of the way in public areas);
• Does this breed suit my lifestyle? Having a Poodle, for example, may not suit a lifestyle where it will spend a considerable amount of time at a beach due to the high cost of coat maintenance this would require;
• Can you adequately exercise a working or high-energy breed? Working dogs need a lot of attention and exercise which can be difficult for someone living in a unit or with limited access to suitable exercise areas or mobility issues;
• Are you renting? Many landlords will be more open to accommodating a small breed compared to a large one (sad, but true!);
• Some breeds are prone to certain issues. For example, Daschounds and other ‘long’ breeds should not be expected to climb stairs frequently as this can lead to inter-vertebral disc disease so living on the third floor of an apartment block may not be suitable;
• Many brachycephalic dogs have trouble breathing at the best of times, not least of all when they are needed to walk long distances. Would a bulldog’s potential breathing issues cause restrictions to your lifestyle or them performing necessary tasks? or
• If you need a dog to provide mobility tasks the dog needs to be a minimum of:
  • 30% of your height/weight for light mobility and counterbalance,
  • 40% of your height/weight for medium mobility and counterbalance,
  • 40% of your height and 50% of your weight for bracing and heavy mobility.

Temperament

As Jarvis (2012) clearly notes, there are several welfare considerations for Assistance Animals. Not all animals enjoy interacting with strangers and, thus, can become overly stressed. It is acceptable for animals to occasionally experience stress, but if it becomes chronic the animal cannot return to its natural calm state and, therefore, the animal remains in a constantly distressed state. Finding an animal with the right temperament for the task at hand is vital in reducing stress to the animal and ensuring the success of the intervention.

Assistance Animals will be exposed to several stimuli that pets are not. This can include large crowds, busy streets, barking dogs, uncontrolled children, uncontrolled adults, people who do not understand the purpose of an Assistance Animal and who may become angry or abusive, dropped food, varied pathways and surfaces, shopping trolleys, trains and even balloons. When looking for a prospect you need to assess their abilities using the tests discussed below. You need to look for an animal that is:

• Eager to please and very trainable;
• Happy to meet new people, animals, places and smells;
• Happy to be patted and touched all over;
• Does not mind loud, unexpected noises;
• Curious and confident;
• Likes people;
• Happy and healthy;
• Will not provide a challenge over dominance, and
• Passes their behaviour assessment.

Age & Sex

Pups are like sponges. You have them through their socialization period, so you can accustom them to your routine and lifestyle from day one. You can also establish rules and boundaries early on, as they have never known any different, and can therefore be easily trained. Puppies also bond quickly, and you become “theirs” quickly. The first temperament test should be conducted at around 7 weeks of age when the pups have been well-rested. Some of the key points to test are: retrieval, recovery after being startled, the order in which the pup greets you compared to his or her littermates, acceptance of being held, ability to follow, and forgive. You want a pup that has remained with mum and litter mates until at least 12 weeks of age. Before reaching 12 weeks old, pups should have gone for many car rides, be used to house...