What is Public Access ?

What is Public Access?  

Public Access refers to the right to take your assistance dog into public places where pets are not permitted to go. Assistance dogs, both in-training and accredited are expected to accompany their handler into most places, providing they satisfy the regulations stated in the Disability Discrimination Act, 1992 (DDA). These include maintaining appropriate hygiene, behaving in an appropriate manner and being trained to alleviate the person’s disability. Places where assistance dogs may not be permitted to access include quarantine areas, commercial kitchens and hospital operating theatres.

So, what does all this mean? The DDA defines what an assistance animal is and what rights they have, so this is the guideline for our rights and behaviour. We must ensure that our dog does not toilet when it isn’t appropriate, so it must be well trained and, preferably toilet on command. It must be clean, healthy and well presented so that it doesn’t pose an offense or health risk to other people. The dog should behave in a well balanced and calm manner, so no barking or jumping at people or other dogs, no eating food that is not directly offered to it, remains calm in crowds, noisy and busy areas, when faced with sudden movement or noise. It does not display any aggression or nervousness. Training to alleviate the persons disability depends on what tasks the dog is expected to perform, but training should be evident.

Dogs are not allowed in the places stated above, which means that places like zoos can restrict the areas your dog can access, you can’t work in a commercial kitchen with your dog and, although your dog’s support may be important to your post-op care, it is not necessary to have the dog in the sterile environment of the operating theatre while you are undergoing surgery.

Public Access Accreditation is acknowledgement of your dog’s training and maintenance of a high standard of training and behaviour. This accreditation is offered by organisations for their members and is often repeated annually to ensure that this standard continues. Although there is no specific requirement for assistance dogs to be accredited for public access, there is an advantage to attaining this qualification, as it demonstrates to the general public that your dog is well trained and that you have had to attain a high standard to achieve accreditation. This reassures the general public that your dog is safe to be around and that it is a genuine assistance dog. It promotes confidence and trust, which makes access acceptance easier when it is questioned.

Not everyone understands the rights of access for assistance dogs and you may be challenged or expected to explain your need for your dog’s presence in some business places. Be prepared to be asked, but there is a limit to what people can expect to be told. They may ask you if your dog is an assistance dog and what tasks it does. You do not need to disclose your medical condition or personal details, so your answer may be, “Yes, it is an assistance dog”, “It alerts to my medical condition”. People are not entitled to know any more than that. Of course, you may choose to explain in further detail, but that is your choice to do so. There are also differences between the various state legislations in what they expect and accept, but legally, the stipulations of the DDA supersede state legislations as it is a federal act.