By Kimberly Gasuras
Many local business owners want more information about laws concerning service dogs.
Crawford County Dog Warden Angie Chandler will be offering a Service Dog Informational program at 6 p.m. on Jan. 30 at the Bucyrus Public Library.
“I get a lot of calls from people, especially business owners, wanting to know the differences between service dogs and emotional support dogs,” said Chandler. “They want to know what is allowed and was is not.”
Chandler said that she does not have jurisdiction over service or other types of trained dogs such as emotional support dogs.
“It falls under the Department of Justice through the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA),” said Chandler.
Chandler said she will speak about the legal side of the issue while trainer Dale Thompson will talk about the therapy side.
The main complaint from business owners is regarding people that bring dogs into stores under the guise that they are service dogs when they are not.
“We want to provide business owners with the information they need to ascertain whether or not the dog is needed by the owner while they are in the store,” Chandler said.
Chandler said the presentation will address what qualifies a dog to be a service dog, who is eligible to receive a service dog and what the legalities are for business owners.