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Volume 1, Issue 3 September/October 2021
Explaining Service Dogs & Hello, Stars! My name is Kara Morrow and I am the Assistant Director for Disability and Access Services (DAS) which is housed in the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Before joining OCU, I worked for the State of Oklahoma interpreting the application of laws and provisions around disability for over 10 years. I have been able to use that experience in my connections with students, and I look forward to engaging with many more of you! If you have any questions (especially about the info below!), please feel free to contact me at kamorrow@okcu.edu, das@okcu.edu or call at (405) 208-5895.
Understanding Service Dogs
The most popular breeds for service dogs are overwhelmingly the Labrador and Golden Retrievers. This is because of their relative trainability but also their "soft mouth" retrieval methods which make them ideally suited for many types of service jobs.
did you know?
Most people are familiar with service dogs. We see them from time to time either on-campus or going about our daily activities within the community. The Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (ADAAA or "ADA" for short) defines a service animal as, “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. Other species of animals, whether wild or domestic, trained or untrained, are not service animals for the purposes of this definition. The work or tasks performed by a service animal must be directly related to the individual's disability.” To translate: the federal, state, and municipal governments only recognizes dogs (and on extremely rare occasions miniature horses) as service animals. They are trained to do specific tasks for one individual and one individual only in direct relation to that person's disability. They are allowed in every space where humans are allowed. Remember: never approach someone's service dog to interact with it like you might with a pet. This could distract them from the job(s) they are performing and potentially endanger either the dog or their human.
