Service Animals and the Law

If you represent business owners, schools, public employees or service animal handlers, you won’t want to miss this special presentation. There are approximately 400,000 service dogs known to work in the United States, and this number does not include other service animals (i.e. miniature horses). They may be the eyes or ears for people they serve, the first to alert their handler of an impending medical episode or may provide the psychological support that enables a person to live independently. The animals are highly trained, intelligent and sensitive. However, as their use has increased, so have the legal questions surrounding them. The issues are many, from the legal obligations of businesses, to attacks on service animals, fraudulent service animals, and more.
In addition to the legalities, you’ll also get an inside look into The Seeing Eye. The Seeing Eye's mission is to enhance the independence, dignity and self-confidence of people who are blind, through the use of specially trained Seeing Eye® dogs. In pursuit of this mission, The Seeing Eye breeds and raises puppies to become Seeing Eye dogs, trains Seeing Eye dogs to guide blind people, instructs blind people in the proper use, handling, and care of the dogs and conducts and supports research on canine health and development.