Thank you very much for clarifying all of the points and correcting the link.

I myself was confused and thought this was the official government link.
I did not even know that there were these businesses trying to make money on this. That is terrible.

My guide dog is from Fidelco Guide Dog foundation in Connecticut and they breed and train the guide dogs. They are wonderful. 

Thank you very much !
Mia 

On Oct 16, 2023, at 11:33 AM, Emily Nicholson <emilynich@gmail.com> wrote:


My heart breaks to hear that this keeps happening to Mia at one of our neighborhood treasures that she has the absolute right to enjoy with her service dog.  I hope the people who feel compelled to reprimand her will educate themselves.  

But in terms of education, I just want to clarify the link that Mia sent.  While it contains some really useful information - like the definition of a service dog as a dog that has been individually trained to perform a specific task for a person with a disability, the fact that service dogs are allowed by the ADA to accompany their person in all public spaces, and the exact limited questions a business is allowed to ask about a service dog  - the website is made to look like it is an official United States government website, but it is not. 

I researched service dogs pretty extensively over the last year as I considered getting an autism service dog for my daughter.  I stayed clear of ANY WEBSITE except for the official ADA.gov site, and particularly found these two portions of it to be extremely helpful:

The things I was most surprised to learn about service dogs are:
- service dogs can be any breed;
- service dogs do not have to wear any identifying leash, harness, ID tag, etc.; 
- service dogs, emotional support animals and therapy dogs are all completely different things governed by completely separate rules;
- a person with a disability does not need a prescription or recommendation for a service dog from a doctor (although some trainers may require it as part of their training procedures);
- service dogs don’t have to go through any formal or professional training - i.e., the person with the disability can train the dog themselves;
- to that end, service dogs do not have to take any standardized test to “become” a service dog. If you choose to have your dog professionally trained, the trainer may use a test at the end of the program as part of their private training procedures.  But this test means nothing in terms of whether the dog qualifies as a service dog under the ADA.

But BY FAR THE BIGGEST MISCONCEPTION about service dogs is that they have to be registered/certified on some national or centralized registry/certification list.  This is false, and this is where the website that Mia forwarded is misleading.  According to the ADA service dog FAQs listed in the second link I provided above:

Q17. Does the ADA require that service animals be certified as service animals?

A. No.  Covered entities may not require documentation, such as proof that the animal has been certified, trained, or licensed as a service animal, as a condition for entry.

There are individuals and organizations that sell service animal certification or registration documents online. These documents do not convey any rights under the ADA and the Department of Justice does not recognize them as proof that the dog is a service animal.


The website that Mia forwarded is one of those sites. It is selling “registration packages”, special harnesses, and ID cards and badges, and claims to walk you through the “registration process” to make it easy for you. But there is no “registration process” under the ADA. If you poke around enough, the website admits this: 

A: There is no legal requirement to register a service dog in the United States. However, registering your service dog can provide benefits such as access to public places and housing. Additionally, many businesses and landlords require proof of service dog registration


This is SOOOOO MISLEADING.  “Access to public places” is not a “benefit” that you can gain only by registering your service dog, it is a RIGHT UNDER THE ADA.  And any business requiring “proof of service dog registration” is breaking the law.  (I do not take issue with the language about housing and landlords, as I did not research the intersection between ADA service dogs and landlord-tenant law, as we own our home. However I would think that housing regulations would be even more lenient about service dogs than those governing public spaces.  FYI, I also did not research airline regulations, as we do not fly, but I know the FAA has its own rules governing service dogs in the cabin). 

Under the ADA, “Colleges and other entities, such as local governments, may offer voluntary registries.  Many communities maintain a voluntary registry that serves a public purpose, for example, to ensure that emergency staff know to look for service animals during an emergency evacuation process.  Some offer a benefit, such as a reduced dog license fee, for individuals who register their service animals.  Registries for purposes like this are permitted under the ADA.  An entity may not, however, require that a dog be registered as a service animal as a condition of being permitted in public places.  This would be a violation of the ADA.”

If a person with a disability, with full knowledge of their rights under the ADA, wishes to VOLUNTARILY register their service dog on one of these VOLUNTARY registries, or even VOLUNTARILY pay for a registration/identification package through one of these websites, then I fully support that.  But to the extent that these websites mislead the public into thinking that such fees/packages/identification/registrations are necessary and required under the ADA, they do a tremendous disservice to people with disabilities. 

The ADA service dog rules are very lenient by design. This was done intentionally to make it low barrier for people with disabilities to get the help that they need from a service dog.  Yes, it makes it ripe for abuse by people who just want to bring their pets everywhere with them. On balance, the government decided that was a risk worth taking when they passed this law. They would rather have more people faking pets as service animals than less people getting the dogs that they need.  Please keep this in mind when you see a dog in an unusual place.  As long as the dog is not being disruptive, is under the handler’s control, and is housebroken, it cannot be asked to leave by the business owner if the dog handler says it is a service dog - and thus, it should not be asked to leave by you.  And PLEASE keep in mind that NOT ALL DISABILITIES ARE VISIBLE!!!!!!!


Sent from my iPhone

On Oct 16, 2023, at 9:24 AM, Mia Boccella <mmboccella@gmail.com> wrote:


Dear Neighbors,

Today for the fourth time I was reprimanded for walking at the reservoir with my guide dog. I brought my white cane as well to make it clear that I am visually impaired in case there is any confusion about it.

A woman came up to me and said…..
I know you are blind but dogs are not allowed here.
I told her that according to ADA my trained guide dog is a working dog and is therefore permitted.

She said in disbelief…… I will look into it.

I am sharing this link that explains the ADA and service animals.

Thank you for your consideration.