Hand in Paw's mission is to improve human health and well-being through the healing power of Animal-Assisted Therapy. We train qualified animals and their owners to work as therapy teams in various therapeutic settings. These therapy teams provide emotional comfort, motivation, and positive distraction to people facing emotional and physical challenges. Hand in Paw’s programs serve a wide range of facilities, including hospitals, universities, schools, libraries, and nursing homes, as well as other nonprofit organizations and corporate settings throughout Central Alabama and Tuscaloosa.
As you can imagine, we get tons of phone calls and email requests about all kinds of animal-related requests. One of the most frequent messages we receive is from folks in our community wanting to train their animal to become a service animal or in need of a service animal. Hand in Paw does not provide or train service animals, but rather we focus on training therapy animals and their handlers to bring joy and healing to those in need. So we thought it would be a good idea to revisit the differences between them and what we do.
Service animals and therapy animals are two distinct types of pets that provide invaluable support to those in need. Service animals, such as guide dogs for the visually impaired, undergo rigorous training to perform specific tasks and assist individuals with disabilities in their daily lives. Therapy animals, on the other hand, offer emotional comfort and therapeutic relief in settings like hospitals, schools, and nursing homes. While both types of animals offer significant benefits, their roles, training, and the laws that govern them differ markedly. By understanding these differences, we can better appreciate the unique contributions each type of animal makes to our well-being.
Service animals are specially trained to perform tasks for individuals with disabilities. These tasks can range from guiding visually impaired individuals, alerting deaf individuals to sounds, pulling a wheelchair, alerting and protecting a person having a seizure, or reminding someone with mental illness to take prescribed medications. Dogs are the most common service animal, so in this post, we'll refer mainly to service dogs.
Service dogs undergo rigorous and extensive training, often lasting up to two years. This training is highly specialized and tailored to the specific needs of the individual they will assist. The training ensures that the dog can perform tasks reliably and remain focused in various environments.
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), service dogs are granted public access rights, meaning they can accompany their handlers into public places where pets are typically not allowed, such as restaurants, stores, and public transportation. This legal protection is crucial for the independence and mobility of individuals with disabilities.
Therapy animals provide comfort and emotional support to individuals in various settings, such as hospitals, universities, schools, libraries, nursing homes, and corporate settings. Unlike service dogs, therapy animals are not trained to perform specific tasks for one individual but rather to offer general emotional benefits to many people.
While therapy animals also undergo training, it is not as extensive or specialized as that of service dogs. Therapy animals must be well-behaved, friendly, and comfortable in different environments and with people of all ages, abilities, and other demographics. They often receive certification from organizations that specialize in therapy animal training.
Therapy animals do not have the same legal protections as service dogs. They do not have public access rights under the ADA and are only allowed in places where they are invited or explicitly allowed. Therapy animals typically provide their services as part of a structured program, event, or therapy session.
Both service dogs and therapy dogs play vital roles in enhancing human lives, but their functions, training, and legal statuses are distinct. Understanding these differences helps us appreciate the unique contributions of each type of dog and the incredible bond between humans and their canine companions.
Service dogs are indispensable for individuals with disabilities, providing them with the independence and support they need to navigate daily life. Therapy animals, on the other hand, offer comfort and emotional relief to many, making challenging situations more bearable. Hand in Paw is a human service organization that provides training, evaluations, and support for therapy animals and their handlers; we do not have any association with service animals.
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