Assistance dog

An assistance dog is trained to perform tasks that help a person with a disability. It is distinct from a pet or emotional support animal because its role depends on trained work.

Guide dog: A dog trained to guide a person who is blind or has low vision around obstacles and along routes. Guide dogs provide mobility support through trained navigation and obstacle avoidance.
Task training: Training that teaches an animal to perform defined actions in response to cues or situations. A dog qualifies through trained disability-related tasks, not companionship alone.
Emotional support animal: An animal that provides comfort or emotional support without needing training for specific disability-related tasks. Emotional support alone does not meet the task-based definition of an assistance dog.
Reasonable accommodation: A change or adjustment that enables a disabled person to access services, work, or public life. Permitting an assistance dog can be an accommodation for its handler.
Hearing dog: A dog trained to alert a deaf or hard-of-hearing person to sounds such as alarms, doorbells, or a name being called. Hearing dogs turn important sounds into tactile alerts or other learned signals.
Public access test: An assessment of whether a service dog can behave safely and reliably in public settings. Some training programs use public-access evaluations to check practical working behavior.
Therapy dog: A dog that visits people in settings such as hospitals or schools to provide comfort and social interaction. Therapy dogs serve others in planned visits rather than working as one person’s disability aid.
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990: A United States civil rights law prohibiting disability discrimination in public life and employment. The Act defines service dogs and establishes access protections in covered settings.
Mobility assistance dog: A dog trained to assist a person with physical disabilities through tasks such as retrieving objects or opening doors. These dogs handle practical tasks that can make daily activities more accessible.
Handler-dog team: A working partnership in which a person directs and cares for a trained assistance animal. The partnership depends on communication, matching, and shared routines.

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