# Where Can You Take Your Dog?



## midwsthomestead (Nov 8, 2005)

By this I mean indoor places where you shop--like Rural King(farm supply place). I ask this because we have a GSD we're hoping to take into nursing homes as a therapy dog when she's old enough and we're challenged to find places to take her now to continue socializing her. In decent weather, we take her to different parks but the only place 'indoors' that I know of is Rural King. I did see a lady with her dog in Walmart, but it was a little 'purse dog' and I bet we'd be stopped if we tried to take Kira in there!

Any suggestions?

~~


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## cricket (Dec 15, 2004)

How funny! Our oldest dd is named Kira....  

I'm getting Bella ready for therapy work and I take her EVERYWHERE. Really. You have to get or make a vest for her and have it embroidered with your groups name and it needs to state something along the lines of "In Training". You have to be "official" to go into places like WalMart or other mainstream stores. I have that in quotes because you don't get an official vest until you're tested Delta and buy the vest and patches, and you have so many hours in therapy. I think you have to have one year before you are fully official and accredited. There are many places you won't be able to go until that time period...Like hospice hospitals and most children's centers. Are you affiliated with a group? If so, they should have resources for vests. If not, then find a trainer in your area to test for the CGC and Delta and you can do them both at the same time. When you get your cards in the mail, make sure you carry them with you everywhere. And most likely you'll have to be affiliated with a group for liability purposes.


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## kitaye (Sep 19, 2005)

Up here, PetSmart encourages you to bring your dogs into the store. Almost every large city has at least 2.


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## NCGirl (Jan 5, 2006)

I have been involved with training service dogs and have 2 dogs that are certified therapy dogs.

I just wanted to set the record straight on this. Therapy dogs, certified or not, have no public access rights according to the ADA. ONLY SERVICE DOGS (certified or not) have public access rights under the American with Disabilties Act.

A vest from a therapy organazation holds no "legal" weight whatsoever for access to public places according to federal law. Some states do have laws regarding therapy animals, but very few of them. Actually, passing your dog off as a service animal when he is not can even result in criminal prosecution on many states. Be Careful!!  Know the laws of your states!

http://www.denverpetpartners.org/Articles/PP_access_rights.htm

*Service animals are legally defined and are trained to meet the disability-related needs of their handlers who have disabilities. Federal laws protect the rights of individuals with disabilities to be accompanied by their service animals in public places. Service animals are not considered "pets." 

Therapy animals are not legally defined by federal law, but some states have laws defining therapy animals. They provide people with contact to animals, but are not limited to working with people who have disabilities. They are usually the personal pets of their handlers, and work with their handlers to provide services to others. Federal laws have no provisions for people to be accompanied by therapy animals in places of public accommodation that have "no pets" policies. Therapy animals usually are not service animals.*

http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/animal.htm


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## Corgitails (Jun 2, 2003)

I want to reiterate what NCGirl said. Therapy dogs do NOT have legal rights to go anywhere pets are not usually allowed unless specifically invited. This is misrepresenting your dog as a service animal, which is a crime, although I'm sure you didn't realize it. 

Most farm/feed stores, some tack shops and bookstores, and places with outdoor dining areas which you can access without going through the restaurant are all good places to practice with your future therapy dog. Pet supply stores are an obvious one, as are taking lots of obedience classes- if your dog can listen while there are 5-15 other dogs barking and acting nutty, therapy work will be comparatively easy, although you *will* still have to work on desensitizing to things like wheel chairs and walkers. (Which bother some dogs.)


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## midwsthomestead (Nov 8, 2005)

Thanks for your replies. 

I've done my research on therapy dogs, so I'm 'up' on that already--Kira just isn't old enough as of yet to officially belong to a therapy dog group. I'm not sure we want to be group affiliated, either--as of yet I'm still deciding on that. 

Again, thanks for your replies, I just wondered if there were places I didn't know of that would welcome dogs.

~~


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## cricket (Dec 15, 2004)

Hmmm...Guess I never thought about it cause therapy dogs are pretty much welcome anywhere here if they're in "uniform". Out of uniform I still take them miost places and they're well recieved, unless it's the grocery store. Perhaps its the ignorance of the populace...They just don't know better or the difference between the 2. In fact, if it's an outdoor rest. they are not only well recieved but happily encouraged to come.


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## 4rnubians (Nov 26, 2003)

*They are right.. TDI dogs do not have the right as service.. this is against the law in allot of states.
My husband is a evaluator for TDI since 1992 

We were out one night at a TGIF when we notice 2 dogs with their owners in a booth
across from us.. as they were leaving we notice they were TDI dogs not Service dogs
My husband went up to them & called the manager over. We found out the couple have been passing the dogs off as service dogs in the place, hotels,etc..

When are not covered under TDI insurance when you are not visiting....

This is not against you but it really bothers me when people try to pass their TDI dogs off as service dogs
so they can bring them places that dogs are not allowed..


Therapy work is to bring smile on people faces who are in Nursing Homes, Hospitals, Hospice,etc
My one Golden went to work with me everyday at the Nursing Home I worked 

We also worked at the family crisis center after 9/11 to help the families who lost loved ones.

Sorry to go on...*


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## cricket (Dec 15, 2004)

Please do go on. I honestly hadn't thought about it before and didn't realize it was against the law. I don't quite understand why you would involve the manager though... Ok, so they aren't covered by TDI insurance. By informing them of the error and perhaps later informing the managment of the difference...? But what harm is it doing? There's a lady here with a pyr that I happen to know is a therapy dog and it goes EVERYWHERE...movies, grocery store, etc. It is not a service dog, it's a therapy dog. Everyone in town knows this dog and loves it. No way would I pull the plug on her just because I could. She's brought more awareness, more joy, more smiles, and more recognition to a zillion people than any ad campaign ever could. And since I'm not "official" yet, I don't pass my dogs off as anything. They have vests that say "In training"...Not anything else. And again, they are usually encouraged to come places. (I'm known as the crazy Dane lady here...) I've only had one incident and it was at an open festival and the woman was a witch with a capital B to everyone so everyone ignored her. I guess what I'm saying is that if you aren't increasing liability for the group, and you are only liable for yourself, what's the big deal? Or is there some legal ramification that I'm not getting?


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## Corgitails (Jun 2, 2003)

Well, other than the fact that it's illegal? Most people don't realize the difference in a service animal and a therapy animal, and since your dogs are vested, they're being polite and assuming your dogs ARE service animals. Since you now know better, I think you have a responsibility to obey the law. Only persons with disabilities have the right to take service animals into public places- even if the dog is trained in a way that would count as a service dog task (seizure response, mobility assistance, etc), if you're not disabled, the dog IS NOT ALLOWED. It's a violation of health codes to be bringing a non-service animal into areas where food is prepared or sold. 
Even if people are encouraging you, it's still illegal. While it sucks not being able to bring pets everywhere, that IS the law.


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## blue gecko (Jun 14, 2006)

I socialize my dogs my making trips to the area vets' offices. We go in and get weighed and visit awhile. Most vets are understanding about socialization. The local pet store is quite accepting and the garden centers/nurseries have been really good as well. The more rural centers sometimes have dogs so you have to be careful and ask around. Parks, walking trails, farmer's markets and walks around shopping areas (small downtown districts) work well too. I always start young and try to be consistant. It makes a big difference in they way your dog behaves in public!


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## cricket (Dec 15, 2004)

Well, the only food place we go is to outdoor bistro/cafes. No food is prepared...Only consummed. And it's legal here to do that.


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## 4rnubians (Nov 26, 2003)

http://www.denverpetpartners.org/Articles/PP_access_rights.htm

This is from Delta web page:
*Therapy Dog Access Rights*

In some cases, people have their animals evaluated and registered as therapy animals with the intention of insisting on access to public spaces with their animals, as if the animal were a service animal. They may be trying to have their animals accompany them in airplanes, into stores, or in restaurants that have âno pets/animalsâ policies.

Essentially, this is fraudulent and, in many areas, illegal. Unless the handler meets the definition of a person with a disability and the animal meets the definition of a service animal, the team has no more rights of access than a person with a companion animal or pet. Delta Society will not tolerate Pet Partners who fraudulently represent their therapy animals as service animals.

As a Pet Partner, you are responsible for knowing and adhering to the laws pertaining to access rights for your partner.


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## DixyDoodle (Nov 15, 2005)

> Most people don't realize the difference in a service animal and a therapy animal, and since your dogs are vested, they're being polite and assuming your dogs ARE service animals.


That is a shame, that you cannot take a therapy dog into as many new environments. Therapy dogs also provide an essential "service". Even if they will not generally be visiting people in department stores, it is also best if a dog can be acclimated to ALL situations as such. A therapy dog _has_ to become used to strangers touching them, maybe even a bit more than a seeing eye dog---after all, you are not supposed to pet SED's without permission; with therapy dogs, the point is to _encourage_ people to pet the dog. 

We are fortunate here in my little corner of Ontario; there are lots of places that welcome dogs. Our local Jumbo Video is a major supporter of the Humane Society, and allows dogs provided that people are responsible. This is my lab's favourite place. We cruise the aisles, cleaning up the dropped popcorn. LOL The clerks say that they never have to sweep it up, there is always a dog coming in with it's tail wagging! The pet stores all welcome dogs. Outdoor bistros allow them (not sure if this is legal, but....our city caters to tourism, including a substantially large number of dog-owning summer boaters). Many drive-thru restaurants (including many Tim Horton's and McDonald's) keep a jar of dog biscuits at the window, and hand out a few free timbits or nuggets if they run out.

I am following this thread with interest, though, as I am considering getting a dog to train for therapy in nursing homes. Please go on! 

DD


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## Corgitails (Jun 2, 2003)

Um... you can take a therapy dog in a LOT of new environments. Just not unless dogs are allowed. If you're in a dog-friendly city, that won't be too many places other than restaurants. While it's certainly important to socialize a dog, it's completely possible to do it WITHOUT breaking laws. While I think it's a shame that ALL dogs are not allowed more places, I don't think that therapy dogs should have any particular rights. They are a volunteer position, and I would hate to see 'therapy dog' become reduced to "I took the test so I can take my dog in public"- I'd rather have a responsible pet owner scheme of some sort that would allow people to get a certification saying their dog has manners (probably by passing a specific test) that would perhaps give them a little more access than dogs in the US and Canada currently have. I'm not sure how that'd work, though.


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## cricket (Dec 15, 2004)

I guess it depends on where you live. Places, for the most part, are very welcoming to dogs.


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## sullen (Oct 14, 2004)

I just wanna say.....I knew it wasn't Ok to bring a "therapy" dog into a store, and I am shocked when people do it, either they don't know the difference or they are hoping no one else does. But I have never said anything and I never will.


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