¶ … service animals (guide dogs, therapy dogs, etc.) are discriminated against by businesses, housing authorities, and public policy. Service animals perform a vital and emotional service to thousands of individuals in this country. They are the eyes, ears, and lips of many disabled people who could not exist on their own without them. Unfortunately, many people and businesses still do not understand the critical need for service animals, and so, they discriminate against the animals and their owners. Service animals perform a wide variety of services and tasks for people with disabilities, and many disabled people would not be able to function effectively without their animals. Initially, service animals were trained to help lead their blind owners through everyday tasks, from walking to work to negotiating around their homes. Called "guide dogs," many were trained by "Seeing Eye," Inc., and those dogs were known as "seeing-eye" dogs. Today, animals, not just dogs, provide a variety of services for the disabled and elderly. Guide dogs still help the blind, and service animals also are trained to help the deaf "hear," and aid wheelchair bound individuals by leading or pulling them, or helping them with balance and movement. They can also pick up and carry items, notify others if their owner is having a seizure, and even act as companions and therapy dogs for people with severe disorders such as autism. One expert writes, "Service dogs perform tasks such as operating light switches, retrieving items, pulling wheelchairs, and opening doors. Hearing dogs assist people who are deaf or hearing impaired by alerting them to sounds such as telephone rings, crying infants, alarms, and people calling them by name" (Henderson). Service animals are not pets, they are highly trained assistants who can make the difference between a disabled person living on their own or living in a group home or other assisted-living situation. Today, they are more than dogs. A variety of animals have been trained to assist the disabled, from miniature horses to pot-bellied pigs and beyond. The use of service animals is not a new idea....

One researcher notes, "The use of animals to assist their ailing human counterparts dates to the early Greeks who gave horseback rides to raise the spirits of people who were incurably ill, and documentation from the seventeenth century makes medical reference to horseback riding as treatment for gout, neurological disorders, and low morale" (Henderson). Today, service animals perform more duties than ever before, and because of this, some unwitting businesses and people may discriminate against service dogs before they understand their function and necessity.
Many people do not understand the function of service animals, and think they are just highly trained pets. This misunderstanding can lead to service animals and their owners being banned from everything from housing to sporting events, and this can lead to serious legal problems. The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), passed through Congress in 1990, ensures disabled Americans cannot be discriminated against in housing, employment, and other areas of everyday life that non-disabled people often take for granted. Service animals can help people with disabilities lead more fulfilling lives, and they are included in the ADA in several key areas, including housing, shopping, and travel. Thus, service animal owners cannot be barred from housing, places of business, employment, and public transportation because of their animals. Business owners must make accommodations for the animals, and if they do not, they can face Federal charges. While the ADA does not mention service animals specifically, there are many areas interpreted to pertain to service animals, and the Federal government has issued many regulations and briefings about complying with ADA by allowing service animals to accompany their owners. However, problems still exist with adhesion and understanding of the law.

For example, in 1997, the U.S. Senate barred a service animal, "Beau," from the Senate floor, even though the dog's owner was a Congressional staffer who had worked in the Senate for over 20 years, and has taken her guide dogs into numerous government and private…