Assistance Dogs
Q: What is an ASSISTANCE dog?
A: Dogs that have been specifically trained as guide dogs, signal dogs or service dogs are referred to under California law as ASSISTANCE dogs. These dogs may be of any breed, sex, age, size or color, but share the common mission of providing personal assistance to disabled people. A GUIDE dog is any dog which was trained by a State licensed trainer to provide service to an individual who is blind or otherwise visually impaired. A SIGNAL dog is any dog trained to alert a deaf or hearing impaired person to intruders or sounds. A SERVICE dog is any dog individually trained to the requirements of an individual with a disability, including but not limited to, rescue work, pulling a wheelchair or fetching dropped items.
Q: How do I recognize an ASSISTANCE dog?
A: Until the State Departments of Food and Agriculture and Health Services design a commonly recognizable tag for identification of these dogs, the owner / trainer must be able to provide some form of documentation regarding the training and use of the dog. All of these dogs must be currently licensed in the City or County in which they reside, and the licenses must be affixed to their collars or harnesses when not inside their homes. The Ventura County Department of Animal Regulation, upon receipt of proper documentation, endorses the license application and the printed license receipt with the words GUIDE, SIGNAL, or SERVICE as appropriate and issues a special tag denoting ASSISTANCE DOG. The animal owner or trainer as the case may be, should be able to provide any inquiring merchant, property owner, property manager or similar interested person with a copy of this document. If no written proof is provided, a call to the Ventura County Department of Animal Regulation to verify endorsement by License number should be sufficient proof of the status of the dog. It is the owner / trainers responsibility to request that the dog license application be so endorsed, and that all required documentation be provided. An application for an ASSISTANCE dog tag may be procured by calling the Animal Regulation Licensing Division. Any person who knowingly and fraudulently represents himself to be the owner or trainer of an ASSISTANCE dog is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by fine and/or imprisonment.
Q: Where can ASSISTANCE dogs be taken?
A: The law is very specific on this issue. Visually impaired or blind persons and persons licensed to train GUIDE dogs, and persons who are deaf or hearing impaired and persons authorized to train SIGNAL dogs for deaf or hearing impaired individuals, and individuals with a disability and persons authorized to train SERVICE dogs for individuals with a disability, have the right to be accompanied by their dogs in any of the following places: accommodations, facilities, medical facilities, including hospitals, clinics, and physician's offices, and all common carriers, airplanes, motor vehicles, trains, buses, boats or any other public conveyance or mode of transportation (whether private or public), telephone facilities, private schools, hotels, lodging places, places of public accommodation, places of amusement (except zoos or wild animal parks), resorts, and any other places to which the general public is invited. And to all streets, highways, sidewalks, walkways, public buildings, medical facilities, public facilities and other public places. The individual is liable for any damage done to the premises or facilities by the dog, and the owner / handler must obey all applicable licensing, vaccination, leash, health and safety laws pertaining to dogs.
Q: When can ASSISTANCE dogs go into restaurants?
A: The presence, in any room where food is served to the public, guests, or patrons, of a GUIDE, SIGNAL, or SERVICE, dog, accompanied by a totally or partially blind person, deaf or hearing impaired person, or handicapped person, or dogs accompanied by persons licensed to train GUIDE dogs for the blind is allowed under the law. The dogs are excluded from food preparation and utensil wash areas.
Q: Why do the 4-H kids have GUIDE dogs?
A: The 4-H youth program has a guide dog training project. Local youth are matched with puppies-in-training from one of several GUIDE dog training facilities. These kids raise the dog for up to a year, providing socialization and basic obedience training. While in public, the dog will wear a distinctive coat and license. The child will have identification. While California law does not grant the same rights of access to public facilities to these dogs, the Department of Animal Regulation strongly urges cooperation with these children from businesses and property owner / managers.
Q: Who is liable if access is denied to ASSISTANCE dogs?
A: Any person, firm, association, or corporation, or the agent of same, who prevents or interferes with a disabled person in the exercise of their rights to access, is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed twenty five hundred dollars ($2,500).
GUIDELINES FOR ASSISTANCE DOG TAG APPLICATION
Assistance dogs are specifically trained animals used in service to disabled persons as defined by State law. They are not pets that merely bark when a stranger approaches or provide companionship to the lonely. The law is specific regarding what defines a "disabled person" and what qualifies as an "assistance dog". In order for the Department of Animal Regulation to issue an assistance dog tag and endorse upon the license record the term “assistance dog”, the following criteria must be met:
- The licensed owner or dependent of the licensed owner of the dog must have a verifiable disability as defined by California Civil Code Section 54 and California Government Code Section 12926 and
- The dog owner must provide written proof of such disability to the Department of Animal Regulation, and
- The animal owner must provide a detailed description of the tasks that the dog has been specifically trained to perform in service to the disabled party, and
- The animal owner must provide verifiable proof of specific, individual training received by the dog, and
- The animal owner must complete, sign and submit an "Assistance Dog" Identification Application and an "Assistance Dog Affidavit" to the Department of Animal Regulation, and
- The animal owner must provide proof of current rabies vaccination and license at the time that the application is filed and must maintain both license and rabies vaccination current at all times, and
- The animal owner understands that they must obey all laws, ordinances and regulations regarding proper care, keeping, housing and restraint of dogs, and
- The owner agrees that immediately upon the death, disability, relocation or retirement of the dog, the "Assistance Dog Tag" must be surrendered to the Department of Animal Regulation.
Dog owners found to be attempting to circumvent rules and restrictions regarding the keeping of pets by claiming "Assistance Dog" status when such status is not warranted will be prosecuted pursuant to California Penal Code Section 365.7.
Download an ASSISTANCE dog tag application
Download ASSISTANCE dog affidavit
