Overview
 Individuals with disabilities are entitled to the assistance of a service animal. With few exceptions, landlords cannot refuse to rent to a person because of his service animal, and privately owned businesses that serve the public, such as restaurants, hotels, retail stores, taxicabs, theaters, concert halls, and sports facilities, are required to allow people with disabilities to bring their service animals onto business premises in whatever areas customers are generally allowed.
The sources of this rule include the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. sec 12101 et seq., state statutes, and local ordinances (including those of cities and counties). While the ADA does not mention service animals explicitly, it has been interpreted as giving disabled people the right to be accompanied by service animals. (See U.S. Department of Justice and the National Association of Attorneys General Disability Rights Task Force, letter dated July 26, 1996.) For an example of state law, see California Civil Code section 54.2:
54.2. (a)
Every individual with a disability has the right to be accompanied by
a guide dog, signal dog, or service dog, especially trained for the
purpose, in any of the places specified in Section 54.1 without being
required to pay an extra charge or security deposit for the guide dog,
signal dog, or service dog. However, the individual shall be liable
for any damage done to the premises or facilities by his or her dog.
The violation of a disabled person's right to be accompanied by his service animal can be prosecuted as a crime. See for example California Penal Code
section 365.5:
365.5. (a)
Any blind person, deaf person, or disabled person, who is a passenger
on any common carrier, airplane, motor vehicle, railway train, motorbus,
streetcar, boat, or any other public conveyance or mode of transportation
operating within this state, shall be entitled to have with him or
her a specially trained guide dog, signal dog, or service dog.
(b)
No blind person, deaf person, or disabled person and his or her specially
trained guide dog, signal dog, or service dog shall be denied admittance
to accommodations, advantages, facilities, medical facilities,
including hospitals, clinics, and physicians' offices, telephone facilities,
adoption agencies, private schools, hotels, lodging places, places
of public accommodation, amusement, or resort, and other places to
which the general public is invited within this state because of that
guide dog, signal dog, or service dog.
(c) Any
person, firm, association, or corporation, or the agent of any person,
firm, association, or corporation, who prevents a disabled person
from exercising, or interferes with a disabled person in the exercise
of, the rights specified in this section is guilty of a misdemeanor,
punishable by a fine not exceeding two thousand five hundred dollars
($2,500).
Types of service animals
Generally speaking, "service animals" are any animals that assist, support or provide service to persons with disabilities. A variety of animals can be trained to provide assistance to an individual with a disability. Among others, monkeys have been used because of their manual dexterity. However, the prevalent service animal is a dog.
Service animals are known by different names that reflect the types of work they perform. Most people have seen or heard about dogs for the blind, commonly referred to as "Seeing Eye Dogs" or "Guide Dogs." Less common are hearing and signal dogs. They alert a hearing-impaired person to a variety of sounds, such as a door bell, usually by going back and forth between their owner and the source of the sound. More generally, assistance dogs perform a wide variety of chores, such as picking up objects, pulling wheelchairs, and protecting a person who is having a seizure.
Therapy dogs are not considered service animals. A service dog directly assists its handicapped owner, and therefore any restriction on the dog is elevated to discrimination against its owner. On the other hand, a therapy dog is handled by its non-disabled owner to assist others at specific times, such as visits to a hospital or nursing home.
Penalties
for interfering with the use of a service dog
Some jurisdictions have established a range of crimes to prevent unjustified interference with the use of a service animal. See for example
California Penal
Code
section 365.6:
365.6.
(a) Any person who, with no legal justification, intentionally interferes
with the use of a guide dog by harassing or obstructing the guide dog
user or his or her guide dog, is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable
by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding six months, or by a
fine of not less than one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500) nor
more than two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500), or both.
(b) As used in this section, "guide dog" means any guide
dog or seeing-eye dog which was trained by a person licensed under Chapter
9.5 (commencing with Section 7200) of Division 3 of the Business and
Professions Code or as defined in the regulations implementing Title
III of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (Public Law 101-336),
or trained by a school recognized in another state to train guide or
seeing-eye dogs.
(c) Nothing in this section is intended to affect any civil remedies
available for a violation of this section.
It also can be a crime to negligently permit
a dog to injure an assistance dog. California Penal Code section 600.2 states:
600.2.
(a) It is unlawful and constitutes an infraction for any person to permit
any dog which is owned, harbored, or controlled by him or her to cause
injury to or the death of any guide, signal, or service dog, as defined
by Section 54.1 of the Civil Code, while the guide, signal, or service
dog is in discharge of its duties.
(b) In any case in which a defendant is convicted of
a violation of this section, the defendant shall be ordered to make
restitution to the disabled person who has custody or ownership of the
guide, signal, or service dog for any veterinary bills and replacement
costs of the dog if it is disabled or killed.
Intentionally injuring an assistance
dog can also be a misdemeanor. The following is from California Penal Code section 600.5:
600.5.
(a) Any person who intentionally causes injury to or the death of any
guide, signal, or service dog, as defined by Section 54.1 of the Civil
Code, while the dog is in discharge of its duties, is guilty of a misdemeanor,
punishable by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding one year,
or by a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars ($5,000), or by both
a fine and imprisonment.
(b) In any case in which a defendant is convicted of
a violation of this section, the defendant shall be ordered to make
restitution to the disabled person who has custody or ownership of the
dog for any veterinary bills and replacement costs of the dog if it
is disabled or killed.
Penalties
for pretending to own or train a service dog
The law of certain jurisdictions makes it a crime to pretend to own or train a guide, signal or
service dog. See for example California Penal Code section 365.7:
365.7.
(a) Any person who knowingly and fraudulently represents himself or
herself, through verbal or written notice, to be the owner or trainer
of any canine licensed as, to be qualified as, or identified as, a
guide, signal, or service dog, as defined in subdivisions (d), (e),
and (f) of Section 365.5 and paragraph (6) of subdivision (b) of Section
54.1 of the Civil Code, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable
by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding six months, by a
fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both that
fine and imprisonment.
(b) As used in this section, "owner" means any person
who owns a guide, signal, or service dog, or who is authorized by
the owner to use the guide, signal, or service dog.
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