The Blind Persons Rights Act

Service Dogs and Their Duties

Service dogs are taught specifically to carry out a specific task related to the disability of the person in question. (Fairman & Huebner, 2001).

Blind Dogs and Their Role

Blind dogs are always required because they help the blind navigate their surroundings easily. The blind dogs are permitted inside businesses, per the Blind Persons Rights Act in effect in Canada. (The Seeing Eye, 2017).

Expanding the Coverage

Since seizure dogs, diabetes detector dogs, and post-traumatic stress dogs are also trained in disseminating the duties they are given, these dogs should also be covered by the legislation. For instance, when a person is having seizures, the seizure dogs are taught to take away any objects that could endanger them. In the same manner, the Diabetes Detector dog will remind the handler at the appropriate time for medication.

Service Dogs for Various Disabilities

Notably, the service dogs are defined to be responsible for performing duties and things which the handler cannot do as a result of the disability and therefore they are used to offer the handler help in managing the disability (Hart, Hart & Bergin, 1987). Just like the blind dogs help those with blindness to handle the blindness disability, so do the people experiencing post-traumatic stress, seizures, and those with diabetes.

Inclusion for All Disabilities

Furthermore, the handlers to the service dogs tend to experience discrimination in almost similar ways from the rest of the public; it is necessary for the legislation to consider the possibility of the people with other disabilities like seizures and PTSD feeling left out (Dogs and PTSD, 2017). Therefore, it is critical for the government through legislation to demonstrate inclusion by allowing the people with such disabilities to be accompanied by service dogs in public areas and business purposes because the handlers may have little control over their disabilities just like in the case with those with blindness (Camp, 2001).

References

Camp, M.M. (2001). The use of service dogs as an adaptive strategy: A qualitative study. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 55(5), 509-517.

Dogs and PTSD – PTSD: National Center for PTSD. (2017). Retrieved on July 9, 2017, from https://www.ptsd.va.gov/public/treatment/cope/dogs_and_ptsd.asp

Fairman, S.K., & Huebner, R.A. (2001). Service dogs: A compensatory resource to improve function. Occupational Therapy in Health Care, 13(2), 41-52.

Hart, L.A., Hart, B.L., & Bergin, B. L. (1987). Socializing effects of service dogs for people with disabilities. Anthrozoös, 1(1), 41-44.

The Seeing Eye - Guide Dogs in Places of Business. (2017). Retrieved on July 9, 2017, from http://www.seeingeye.org/knowledge-center/rights--legal-information/guide-dogs-in-places-of-business.html