How to Register Pet as a Psychiatric Service Dog

Psychiatric Service Dog:

A psychiatric Service Dog is simply a service dog for a person with a psychiatric impairment, like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). These dogs are individually trained in obedience, performing tasks, and working in distracting public environments to mitigate their handler's psychiatric disability. Their function is not to provide emotional support, but to perform tasks which enable their partner to function in ordinary ways the non-disabled take for granted.

Under U.S. law, persons with therapy dogs are NOT granted the right to enter businesses that do not permit pets with their therapy dogs, unless they get permission from the business first. This includes the hospitals and nursing homes they visit to work with the patients and residents there. They do not get to fly in the cabins of aircraft because they are therapy dogs, nor do they get to live in "no pets" housing because they are therapy dog.

Federally protected rights for Service Dogs (not ESA's):

• With only a few exceptions, a disabled handler may take a service dog into any place a person without a dog would normally be allowed to go - even when pets are NOT allowed. This includes, but is not limited to: restaurants, grocery stores, malls, theatres, buses, taxis, trains, airplanes, motels, government buildings, medical offices, hospitals, parks, beaches, amusement parks, churches, etc.
• A Psychiatric Service Dog may fly in the cabin of a USA-based commercial airline with their disabled handler, and the handler may NOT be charged a pet or other fee.
• Landlords and property managers must make reasonable accommodations for tenants or prospective tenants with service dogs, even if the apartment, house, college dorm, or other residence does not allow pets. A tenant with a service dog may NOT be charged a pet-fee of any kind, even if pet fees are normally required.
• Public entities may NOT charge the disabled handler a fee because of their service dog.
• Public entities may NOT position or seat the handler and service dog away from other patrons to intentionally separate them.

The following is a list of possible tasks for a PSA:

• Guide a disoriented handler. Example: A person wanders away from familiar surroundings during a dissociative episode. When she becomes aware again, she realizes she is lost and still disoriented from the episode. She cannot think clearly about how to retrace her steps. Her dog is trained to backtrack, following their own scent trail back to where they were when the episode started. Alternatively, the dog might be trained to guide the handler to specific trained locations by command, such as "home."
• Find a person or place. Example: A person becomes separated from his family in a crowd. As the crowd closes in around him, he experiences a panic attack and difficulty breathing. He cannot call out to his family. He gives his dog a signal to locate his family who will help him, or to locate an exit where he can escape the crowd and get fresh air.
• Room search. Example: A person with severe hypervigilance due to PTSD finds she is unable to enter her own home. Her symptom causes her to believe there is an intruder in her home who will attack her if she enters. Her dog is trained to perform a systematic search of any room or building and bark on finding someone. When her dog finishes the search pattern and returns, she knows it really is safe to enter and that the presumed intruder was just a symptom. The same task can be used at her office, at hotel rooms, at friends' homes or any other area that is supposed to be vacant.
• Signal for certain sounds. Example: A person heavily sedated, in a flashback, or in a psychotic episode fails to respond to a smoke alarm. His dog is trained to persistently and very firmly signal him until he responds. Alternately, the dog may be trained to take hold of his handler's arm or sleeve in his mouth and lead him outside.

Our service dog registration process couldn't be simpler or quicker. We'll show you how to make your dog a a heref="https://www.nsarco.com/"service dog - and at an affordable cost.