You really gotta wade through this article (and there are definitely some inaccuracies in it, too) to find it, but here’s the key point of the story:
Canine Companions for Independence Facility Dog Dart at Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne, FL just became the first dog to ever receive the Rainbow Award from the Brevard Association of Human Services – it’s always been given to humans before.
Canine Companions for Independence Facility Dog Dart with human partner Karen Hersing, LCSW.
“Brevard therapy dog wins humanitarian honor”
I really don’t have the time to try and pick through the article and point out all the problems with it (e.g., the most glaring one – Dart is not a therapy dog, he’s a service dog).*See comments. Go ahead and read the whole thing, but just understand that there are some – it’s still a great story.
As I’ve said, I have a special place for Facility Dogs – this is yet another classic example of the great work they do.
I'm very active with Canine Companions for Independence as a volunteer, to include being a past member of the Veterans Task Force and puppy raiser. Retired US Air Force Chief Master Sergeant with my last assignments at the Air Force Academy as the Fourth Group Sergeant Major and Dean of Faculty Superintendent.
Apr 14, 2010 @ 17:21:18
Al, unless I’m missing something it appears that Dart is a highly trained therapy dog and not a service dog. Why did you say the article is wrong?
Facility dogs aren’t considered service animals are they? I don’t see how that falls under the ADA’s definition of “individually trained to provide assistance to an individual with a disability”. I’m not trying to be contrary, just trying to understand.
Apr 15, 2010 @ 20:00:27
Suzan -
Thanks for this great comment – you’re correct, I was wrong to have used that term, and have noted and fixed it.
Although, the problem is, CCI Facility Dogs really are unique – I don’t think of them as therapy dogs, don’t believe they should be referred to that way, and there are some specific reasons why.
First, as I’ve said before, I’m not an attorney or an ADA expert, but the public access issue with Facility Dogs as I understand it is a gray area.
My understanding is that CCI grads with Facility Dogs are told that they have access to and from their jobs as well as at those jobs. So, for example, if you needed to ride the bus to get to work with the dog, that’s OK. If you just wanted to take your dog out to dinner like you would a service dog, however, that’s not supposed to be done.
Here’s where things get interesting. Say the grad takes one or more members of the group that the dog serves on an outing into public access areas and brings the dog along. I’m unaware of any challenges or legal decisions in this area (kinda surprising given the amount of stuff we see there almost daily now), but my impression is that the feeling is the dog is providing assistance to an individual (or individuals) with a disability and any legal challenge to that access would not succeed.
Completely different from a qualified therapy dog, e.g., with Delta where you are very clearly warned that you do not have any public access, as you know. They are effectively performing as service dogs, except it’s for the clients or patients in this case, and not their human partner.
Beyond that, calling them highly trained is really an understatement – I used to call them ‘super therapy dogs’ to try and help people understand, but that really doesn’t begin to cover it. CCI Facility Dogs follow the same path as all CCI dogs – they are bred from the same pool, go through the same 18 month socialization and training period with puppy raisers, same 6 months professional training at one of the regional centers, learn virtually all the commands the service and skilled companion dogs do, the person who receives one goes through the same application process, and attends the same two-week Team Training where they are individually matched with the dog.
All that said, you are correct, I will refrain from calling them service dogs, and thanks again for keeping me straight. I will just call them Facility Dogs, as I wish this reporter had done. I’m likely just being too picky as usual since all this is probably pretty arcane for the general public, anyway, but that’s another discussion.
Al