Service Animals
Under federal law, Service Animals are defined as:
Dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities.
Examples of such work or 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. Service animals are working animals, not pets. The work
or task a dog has been trained to provide must be directly related to the person’s
disability. Dogs whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support do
not qualify as service animals under the ADA.
- (a) Blind persons, persons with visual disabilities, persons with physical disabilities,
and deaf persons are entitled to full and equal accommodations, advantages, facilities,
and privileges on all common carriers, airplanes, motor vehicles, railroad trains,
motor buses, streetcars, boats, or any other public conveyances or modes of transportation
and at hotels, lodging places, places of public accommodation, amusement, or resort,
and other places to which the general public is invited, subject only to the conditions
and limitations established by law and applicable alike to all persons.
- (b)
- (1) Every totally or partially blind person shall have the right to be accompanied
by a guide dog, and every physically disabled person and every deaf person shall have
the right to be accompanied by a service dog, especially trained for the purpose,
in any of the places listed in subsection (a) of this Code section without being required
to pay an extra charge for the guide or service dog; provided, however, that he or
she shall be liable for any damage done to the premises or facilities by such dog.
In addition, if such totally or partially blind person, physically disabled person,
or deaf person is a student at a private or public school in this state, such person
shall have the right to be accompanied by a guide dog or service dog subject to liability
for damage as provided in the preceding sentence. The guide dog or service dog must
be identified as having been trained by a school for seeing eye, hearing, service,
or guide dogs.
- (2) Every person engaged in the training of a guide dog or service dog for the purpose
of accompanying a person as provided in paragraph (1) of this subsection shall have
the same right to be accompanied by such dog being trained as the totally or partially
blind person, deaf person, or physically disabled person has under paragraph (1) of
this subsection, so long as such trainer is identified as an agent or employee of
a school for seeing eye, hearing, service, or guide dogs.
- (3) Every person engaged in the raising of a dog for training as a guide dog or service
dog for the purpose of accompanying a person as provided in paragraph (1) of this
subsection shall have the same right to be accompanied by such dog being raised for
training as the totally or partially blind person, deaf person, or physically disabled
person has under paragraph (1) of this subsection, so long as:
- (A) Such dog is being held on a leash and is under the control of the person raising
such dog for an accredited school for seeing eye, hearing, service, or guide dogs;
- (B) Such person has on his or her person and available for inspection credentials
from the accredited school for which the dog is being raised; and
- (C) Such dog is wearing a collar, leash, or other appropriate apparel or device that
identifies such dog with the accredited school for which such dog is being raised.
{OCGA 30-4-2}
For more information on specific topics please click on the following links below.
PROCEDURES FOR SERVICE ANIMALS/ANIMALS IN TRAINING Assistive AnimalsService and Assistive Animal Policy