Treating service animal requests (always treat the animal)

Service animal pop quiz (yes/no):

• The ADA permits assistance dogs to be with their person where members of the public can go (yes)
• The ADA requires service dogs to be professionally trained (no)
• Minature horses are covered under the ADA and Great Danes can be the size of miniature horses (yes and yes - I saw two at the dog park last night)

Peter Petesch at our partner Littler, suggests, among other things in this SHRM article, covering the following when handling service animal requests:

• it's an accommodation request
• alternatives?
• doctor's note?
• confidentiality!
• what are the ground rules?

And for those of you in Philadelphia, a BONUS Littler workshop on September 6, Doggy Dilemmas: Accommodating Service Animals for Employees and Customers, complete with a demonstration from Canine Companion's assistance dog Mork.