Assistance Dog Programs

Service Dogs

A service animal means any dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability. Tasks performed can include, among other things, pulling a wheelchair, retrieving dropped items, alerting a person to a sound, reminding a person to take medication, or pressing an elevator button.

Federal agencies that regulate S.D.’s:

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

Fair Housing Act (FHA)

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA)

Service animals – For evidence that an animal is a service animal, air carriers may ask to see identification cards, written documentation, presence of harnesses or tags, or ask for verbal assurances from the individual with a disability using the animal. If airline personnel are uncertain that an animal is a service animal, they may ask one of the following:

1: What tasks or Functions does your animal perform for you?

2: What has your animal been trained to do for you?

3: Would you describe how the animal performs this task for you?

Therapy Dogs

Even though some states have laws defining therapy animals, these animals are not limited to working with people with disabilities and therefore are not covered by federal laws protecting the use of service animals. Therapy animals provide people with therapeutic contact, usually in a clinical setting, to improve their physical, social, emotional, and/or cognitive functioning.

Emotional Support Animals

Emotional Support Animals or Comfort Animals are often used as part of a medical treatment plan as therapy animals, they are not considered service animals under the ADA. These support animals provide companionship, relieve loneliness, and sometimes help with depression, anxiety, and certain phobias, but do not have special training to perform tasks that assist people with disabilities.

Federal agencies that regulate E.S.A.’s:

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

Fair Housing Act (FHA)

Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA)

Individuals who travel with emotional support animals or psychiatric service animals may need to provide specific documentation to establish that they have a disability and the reason the animal must travel with them. Individuals who wish to travel with their emotional support or psychiatric animals should contact the airline ahead of time to find out what kind of documentation is required.

Examples of documentation that may be requested by the airline: Current documentation (not more than one year old) on letterhead from a licensed mental health professional stating (1) the passenger has a mental health-related disability listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM IV); (2) having the animal accompany the passenger is necessary to the passenger’s mental health or treatment; (3) the individual providing the assessment of the passenger is a licensed mental health professional and the passenger is under his or her professional care; and (4) the date and type of the mental health professional’s license and the state or other jurisdiction in which it was issued. This documentation may be required as a condition of permitting the animal to accompany the passenger in the cabin.

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How to Sign Up

Download our client application, fill it out and email it to info@LAWarriorsUnleashed.org

or fill out the contact form below to reach us

Louisiana Warriors Unleashed is committed to providing our nation's heroes with assistance dogs at no cost to the hero. It's all possible thanks to our donors and volunteers.