Differences between Service dogs and Therapy dogs

I wanted to clarify something for all of those who are confused about the type of dog we are receiving from 4 Paws. We are getting a Service Dog, not a Therapy Dog. There are a number of differences between the two types, so I thought I would share some of the major points.

Seeing Eye dogs and Autism Assistance dogs are both types service dogs. They are specifically trained to help one person who is disabled under the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) mitigate their disability to gain independence. Therapy dogs are trained to interact with many people, but not one particular person.

SD generally receive training of 200 hours to be certified. 4 Paws dogs each receive over 500 hours of advanced training after their basic training is complete. Seeing eye dogs receive over two years of training! TD, on the other hand, need to show aptitude but do not require any formal training.

SD are very expensive to train. There are few organizations with 501c3 designation that are recognized to do so. TD can be trained through 4H! The dog gets trained and the kid gets a ribbon - sounds like a win/win.

Access tests must be passed in order for your dog to be given SD status. TD have temperament scales, but there are no tests.

There are many different types of SDs. Some of the specific types include seeing eye, hearing ear, autism assistance, drug traffic alert, mobility assistance, bomb sniffing, and seizure alert dogs. There are not specific types of therapy dogs, as they are not trained to assist someone with a specific disability.

SD live with the same person who they are trained to assist. This does not mean they are always "on the job." It means they are "on call." TD live with handlers (generally) who take their TD to hospitals, schools, nursing homes, etc. to enrich those peoples' lives at scheduled times.

Therapy dogs are NOT granted Carte Blanche public access. Deny a certified Service Dog access to any public place and you will be looking at a law suit. There are laws that protect and grant access to SDs. They are Federal Laws, so individual states cannot interfere with them, and it isn't good PR to deny access to a diabled person and their highly trained service dog.

SDs are required to be highly intelligent, adaptable, problem solving, lovable companions to one person that helps them mitigate their disability. SDs are working dogs. They have a Doggie Doctorate. TDs are lovable but do not necessarily have to be little Einsteins! TDs are wonderful pets who are often shared with other people who benefit from their companionship.

Hope that clears some things up for anyone with any doubts as to why this dog is so expensive, and why we have to travel to Ohio to get it. We are very enthusiastic about the day when we will have this great resource available to us 24/7 !!