• Service dogs are working dogs.dog image by Ramona smiers from Fotolia.com
  
  A service animal has been trained to perform certain tasks for someone with a disability. For example, they may guide someone who is blind, alert someone who is deaf, pull a wheelchair, or work with someone who has seizures. There are a variety of other tasks that service dogs are trained to perform, depending on the user. Service animals are working animals, not ordinary pets, and, as such, there are specific laws and regulations pertaining to them.
  
  

Business Requirements

• Businesses that are open to the public are legally required to allow service animals to enter the premises. Business owners are allowed to inquire if a dog is a service animal, but they are not allowed to require special identification, nor are they allowed to ask about the specific disability of the person who has the dog. Service animals are allowed by law to go anywhere that their handler is allowed to go, meaning they can legally enter places such as schools, taxi cabs, stores, buses, airplanes, sporting events, movie theaters, doctor's offices and concerts.
  
  Although health codes require that restaurants and other food establishments be free of animals, businesses that prepare or sell food are required by law to allow service animals in these public areas. The Americans with Disabilities Act requirements outrank health codes in this situation.
  
  

Identification

• Although many people who have service dogs use identifying gear such as a vest or a collar with identifying marks for the animals, this is not a legal requirement. A business cannot refuse entry to a service dog simply because there is no identifying attire. Although a disabled person with a service dog may carry identification, there is no legal requirement demanding that they present it when entering a public business of any kind.
  
  

Special Situations

• There are certain situations where someone with a disability may be asked to remove his service dog from the premises. If the animal is out of control and effective action is not taken to control the dog, then the owner may be asked to remove of the service dog. If the animal poses some kind of direct threat to either the health or the safety of other people, then the business owner may ask that the service dog be removed from the premises.
  
  

Violations

• Service animals cannot be banned from any public premises where their user is allowed, nor can service dogs or their owners be treated any differently than any other patron of a business establishment. Businesses that violate the laws outlined in the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) may be required to pay penalties and monetary damages.