Assistance Dogs

If one relationship truly exemplifies the human animal bond, it is the unique connection between a service animal and its owner. Since the 1920s, guide dogs have been trained to help people with impaired vision. In the last 30 years, though, the definition of a service dog has expanded to include dogs that provide assistance to the deaf and physically disabled. Even children with neurological disorders such as Autism are now utilizing service dogs.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (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." According to the ADA, "Service animals perform some of the functions and tasks that the individual with a disability cannot perform for him or herself." This includes all kinds of day-to-day activities, such as alerting people of sounds, helping people with balance, pulling wheelchairs, picking up or carrying things, turning light switches on and off, and opening and closing doors.

Service animals provide assistance to the physically disabled that would be difficult to find anywhere else. They allow people with disabilities to live independently, which might not otherwise be an option. Given the level of support that assistance animals provide, and their ability to go everywhere with their owners, it is inevitable that a strong, special bond will form. People with assistance dogs receive both the physical and emotional benefits of the human animal bond.

David De Porte, President of Guide Dog Users of New York (GDUNY), is visually impaired. He recently spoke with The AMC about his guide dogs. "I think of [my guide dog] not as a pet, and not even as family," he said. "They're more than that – they're a part of my identity." Guide dogs have helped David physically, emotionally, and even socially.