Archive for the ‘Service Dog Tips’ Category
If you believe that you have been discriminated against because of your service dog, you will need to present facts in order to file a complaint. You should be able to do that by documenting what happened. Writing everything down will help because you won’t be able to remember all the details when you do get a chance to report the incident.
Your notes are there to bolster your claims and a detailed account could help your case’s progress transpire faster. Here’s what you should write down when you document:
The time, date and place when the incident occurred. If possible, include the phone number of the establishment. The name of the person whom you believe discriminated against you. If you don’t have the name, a description of the person’s physical appearance will help. What transpired between you and the person involved. Write down what you said and what you heard the other person say. If the incident was covered in the news, keep newspaper clippings or video copies if it was on television. If you can, also get the names, address and phone number of the witnesses. You should also write down what you felt about being discriminated against.Filing A Complaint Against Discrimination
The next thing to do is file what you have documented at appropriate agencies such as the district court or your state’s Human Rights Commission. Make sure to check first because some states provide limited protection on service dogs’ cases.
You could also file through the Department of Justice by sending your documentation to the following address:
U.S. Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Civil Rights Division Disability Rights – NYAVE Washington, D.C. 20530
Some incidents might require filing within a year of the incident. For more details about this, refer to the Americans With Disability page.
Lastly, you might also want to share the incident on internet sites like Ripoff Report and Trust Pilot.
A trained service dog helps make a disabled person’s life easier. They can count on the animal to perform duties that the disabled may otherwise be limited to do and as such, service dogs are required to accompany their owners all the time, including at public places and establishments. Without the dogs, the disabled will not be able to function properly.
The cost of keeping a service dog is fortunately recognized by the IRS. The federal agency considers this as medical expense.
“You can include in medical expenses the costs of buying, training, and maintaining a guide dog or other service animal to assist a visually impaired or hearing disabled person, or a person with other physical disabilities,” per the IRS. “In general, this includes any costs, such as food, grooming, and veterinary care, incurred in maintaining the health and vitality of the service animal so that it may perform its duties.”
Some Rules For Medical Expense Deductions
Despite the IRS provision, not all types of service-dog related deductions are applicable. Certain deductions have to be itemized in the IRS form’s Schedule A, from where the agency will evaluate the claims. Additionally, the total medical expenses for deduction must also not exceed 7.5 percent of the individual’s gross income. These very same rules apply for other medical and dental related deductions.
Not All Service Dogs Covered
The IRS may not extend tax deduction provisions on some types of service dogs, particularly if they are not certified to help the disabled alleviate his conditions. Since there is no governing agency that ascertains service dog registrations, the proof of the burden lies on the individual. The disabled has to show that he needs to dog’s help because of his medical limitations and he has spent for the dog’s training so that the animal can help him.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
The individual must be able to answer some of the following questions:
Has a licensed medical professional diagnosed the disability and determine that a service dog is necessary? Has the dog been to a training school to be able to perform specific duties for the disabled? Has the dog’s training and abilities helped with the medical condition and how?Ideally, on top of the diagnosis from the health expert, service dogs that receive proper training from an institution can be provided with a certification to support IRS claims. However, if a service dog has been self-trained, the individual must personally ask a tax professional on how this can be covered by the tax deductions.
Disclaimer: While the information here is accurate to the best of our knowledge, laws may vary or change and you should always check with CPA or accountant.
A person suffering from anxiety attacks experience many risks, and it’s one of the reasons why it’s prudent to consider having a service dog or emotional support animal as a companion. The animal can keep the environment safer for the individual and below are some of the ways a dogs can calm anxiety:
1) Dogs can predict panic attacks
Because of their acute senses, dogs can recognize that a person is about to experience a panic or anxiety attack. If a service dog is trained to provide assistance for psychiatric disorders, it can intervene in the situation before any untoward incident happens. The pet will nudge or bark at his handler or owner even before the attacks happen, and they will not stop unless the handler listens.
2) Dogs have a calming and relaxing presence.
Even the ones that aren’t trained to be service dogs draw the same calming effect. A study has determined that a dog’s presence has some sort of healing effect. A person’s heart rate and blood pressure lowers whenever they are around dogs to either touch or keep the company.
Another study revealed that dogs can unleash happy hormones in a person, thus reducing stress levels that could trigger anxiety.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
3) Dogs ground you during an anxiety attack.
A person experiencing bouts of anxiety attacks could temporary lose focus as panic sets in, but a psychiatric service dog will keep him grounded, so that he can get a grip of his situation. Some service dogs are trained to facilitate deep pressure therapy, where the dogs can settle their body on the person’s chest to help him calm him down. Certain panic attacks can put the person at risk of hurting himself or damaging property, when this can be avoided or reduced with the dog’s presence.
4) Dogs alert your loved-one or other humans.
If a person is having an attack, a well-trained service dog can let another human know so that the matter can immediately be given attention. They can look for that person for help, or they can also be relied upon to find their master’s phone so that he can call for help.
TESTIMONIALS
TESTIMONIALSMy landlord use to bully me about my emotional support animal. Service Dog Certifications informed me about rules associated with emotional support animals. Now I live with my ESA, Biscuit, without any worry.
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I have been able to travel with my service animal stress free after getting help from Service Dog Certifications.
I have a disability that is not “obvious”. The service dog ID card helps me show people that I need my service dog without having to explain my disability to them.
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