The Assistance Animal Handbook: Claire Williams

By Claire L Williams

Do you know the difference between a Service Dog, Assistance Animal, Therapy Dog, Emotional Support Animal and Guide Dog? Are you considering an Assistance Animal for yourself or a loved one? Are you seeking NDIS funding for your Assistance Animal? Confused about Australian Assistance Animal law? Or do you come into contact with Assistance Animals

• Language: English
• Publisher: Claire Williams
• Release date: Nov 16, 2018
• ISBN: 9780648876403

Claire L Williams

Essays include: - The Effect of the Reintroduction of the Eastern Quoll (Dasyurus viverrinus) to NSW Barren Grounds Nature Reserve on Native Bird Populations - Local Conservation Strategy for Tawny Frogmouth (Podargus strigoides) - Utilising the Biological Species Concept for Speciation of 11 Charles Sturt Archipelago Babblers - Comparison of the foraging ecology of the Tawny Frogmouth (Podargus strigoides) and the Common Barn Owl (Tyto alba) - Nesting Success of the mythical Cloud Babbler (Panoramornis monticola) - Phylogenetic Relationships and Adaptations of the Extant Penguins (Aves: Spheniscidae) - Evaluation of 2 Survey Methods: Standardised Search verses Transect - Bird Eyes: Form & Function

Book preview

1

What is an Assistance Animal?

An Assistance Animal is task-trained to mitigate the effects of their handler’s disability. The Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) identifies an Assistance Animal as a trained support designed to facilitate the participation of people with disability in accessing various aspects of personal and public life. In most cases an Australian Assistance Animal is a dog, however, the Australian Human Rights Commission (2016) states that a parrot has been recognised as an Assistance Animal in a single complaint, which accounted for 1 % of all complaints of discrimination against an Assistance Animal and its handler from 2014 – 2016. Although it is common overseas for monkeys, miniature horses and even snakes to be classed as Assistance Animals, Australian Assistance Animals are specially trained canines (Hallenbeck & Silverman, 2010). Specifically, it is illegal to own most native and exotic species within Australia without an appropriate license, and none can legally be worked as an Assistance Animal due to restrictions on their transport and use in society.

Under the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 1992 (Cth), Assistance Animals have public access rights. This means that they can accompany their handlers anywhere members of the public are usually allowed. Exceptions to this include quarantine areas and sterile areas such as surgical suites and food preparation areas. This means that legally an Assistance Animal can accompany its handler into restaurants, captive animal facilities, emergency wards, universities and on public transport. It is ILLEGAL to refuse access to an Assistance Animal and their handler and discrimination can be reported to the Australian Human Rights Commission.

2

What is NOT an Assistance Animal?

The following are not considered to be an Assistance Animal regarding public access rights:

An Assistance Animal working in the absence of the person with defined disability;

An Assistance Animal working with a person with a minor ailment who does not meet the definition of an Assistance Animal laid out by the DDA;

An Assistance Animal who does not meet the hygiene and behaviour requirements set out by the DDA;

An Assistance Animal who does not have at least 1 trained task to mitigate its handler’s disability;

A dog who is less than 6 months of age (this is generally considered to be a prospect and does not yet have public access rights);

An emotional support animal (This is terminology used in the USA which is not recognised or used in Australia and, therefore, within Australia these dogs are simply pets and, therefore, do not have public access rights);

Therapy Animals (These are not recognised in Australian legislation, however, these animals work with a handler and enter public areas with permission to work with individuals in nursing homes, hospitals or schools, for example), and

Companion Animals (also known as pets) do not have public access rights.

3

Who can legally work an Assistance Animal?

The handler’s disability must meet the definition defined by the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth) as:

total or partial loss of the person's bodily or mental functions;

total or partial loss of a part of the body;

the presence in the body of organisms causing disease or illness;

the presence in the body of organisms capable of causing disease or illness;

the malfunction, malformation or disfigurement of a part of the person's body;

a disorder or malfunction that results in the person learning differently from a person without the disorder or malfunction, or

A disorder, illness or disease that affects a person's thought processes, perception of reality, emotions or judgement or that results in disturbed behaviour.

This means that Assistance Animals are used by people with a physical disability, intellectual disability, psycho-social disability such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), disabling illnesses such as Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Diabetes and Epilepsy, just to name a few.

You must have a defined, diagnosed disability whose symptoms have been present for upwards of 6 months to even consider obtaining an Assistance Animal. It is important to remember that not everyone with a disability will benefit from an Assistance Animal. Before considering obtaining an Assistance Animal you should carefully consider whether an Assistance Animal is right for you.

4

Do I want an Assistance Animal?

An Assistance Animal is task-trained to mitigate the effects of their handler’s disability, however, many people with a disability will not benefit from an Assistance Animal for a variety of reasons including:

Lack of support from a medical professional (you will require appropriate documentation to identify the need for an Assistance Animal);

Lack of support from family, housemates or friends (the presence of an Assistance Animal needs to be a household decision due to the increased responsibilities such as ensuring all doors and gates are closed, keeping with the same training style, etc.);

Allergy or medical condition that worsens with animals around (this may be yourself, or a family member or housemate; some animals are hypoallergenic which may be something to investigate);

Is having an Assistance Animal compatible with your employment or study? For example, if you are employed in a quarantine facility or as a civilian on a military base it is unlikely that an Assistance Animal would be able to accompany you. The only literature on the matter of military bases is Topinka, Nichols & Brooks (2016) which discusses hospitals and schools on an American army base;

Not having a connection with animals (some people simply do not like animals, or want to spend the additional money, time or resources in training or caring for them);

Inability to properly care for the animal and meet its needs (this includes expenses for food and vet bills, exercise, time to spend with them when they are not working and to continue training and caring for them in terms of feeding, cleaning and grooming, considering how to care for a retired or wash-out Assistance Animal. A wash-out is a dog who began training to be an Assistance Animal, but was deemed to be ill-suited for the role and, therefore, training ceased and the dog was retired);

Having other pets (this is not necessarily prohibitive to having an Assistance Animal but can make the process more complex; We foster dogs, cats, birds and rabbits and we make it work wonderfully well);

Inability to afford preventative/emergency vet care and grooming costs;

Not liking the additional attention (having an Assistance Animal, particularly any breed other than a Labrador or Golden Retriever, WILL result in questions, stares, uninvited touching and patting, and unwanted photographs);

Potential for housing issues (Assistance Animals do not have automatic access to private dwellings, you need to argue that discrimination may occur based on a real estate’s refusal to allow you to have the Assistance Animal at the residence);

Not wanting