Service Animals

Service Animals

Texas law and the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, as amended (ADAAA) guarantee the right of a person who is blind or has other disabilities, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), to be accompanied by a trained service animal in all public places. These places of public accommodation are businesses that are generally open to the public and that fall into one of 12 categories listed in the ADA such as restaurants, movie theaters, schools, day care facilities, hospitals, recreation facilities, and doctors’ offices.

• I am unsure whether an animal is a service animal. What should I do?

  Service animals are defined as dogs that are trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities.

  When it is not obvious what service an animal provides, only limited inquiries are allowed.

  You can (and should) ask two questions:

  1. Is the dog a service animal required because of a disability?
  2. What work or task has the dog been trained to perform?

  You cannot ask about the person’s disability, require medical documentation, require a special identification card or training documentation for the dog, or ask that the dog demonstrate its ability to perform the work or task.

• What tasks can be performed by a Service Animal?

  Examples of tasks include guiding people who are blind, alerting people who are deaf, pulling a wheelchair, alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure, reminding a person with mental illness to take prescribed medications, calming a person with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) during an anxiety attack, or performing other duties.

• Where can I find more information about Service Animals?

  You can learn more about service animals on the ADA.gov website.

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