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Survey Finds Confusion Surrounding Post-Traumatic Stress Service Dogs

Many workers unsure what a service dog is and how to verify their credentials

Todd Oslen, who suffers with PTSD, plays with his service dog Hager / AP
Todd Oslen, who suffers with PTSD, plays with his service dog Hager / AP
September 22, 2016

A survey conducted by an animal welfare advocacy group found many retail employees are unsure about how to treat customers who use service dogs to treat post-traumatic stress.

In the survey, commissioned by the American Humane Association, seven in ten employees felt "moderately informed" at best on the differences between service animals, therapy animals, and emotional support animals. That number includes 23 percent who said they are "not informed at all."

Just over half said the degree that a person's disability is visible or obvious was a factor in whether they believed the person's service dog was legitimate. Sixty-nine percent said they rarely encounter customers with service dogs, and the same amount said they've received no training on what questions they're legally allowed to ask in order to verify their claims.

Over third of respondents said they believed at least one of their customers had lied about their pet being a service dog.

Retired U.S. Marine Captain and AHA member Jason Haag, who was denied entry on an American Airlines flight over the presence of his service dog a year ago, said the survey reflects his personal experience. "I credit my specially trained PTS service dog, Axel, with saving my life," he said. "He offers me vital support every day, and his presence is especially important when I’m in crowded and high-stress public environments."

"As a customer, I encounter regular scrutiny and questioning from employees, and, like many of my fellow veterans, I’ve been illegally denied service because of Axel," he added.

The AHA held a meeting with a number of corporate and non-profit leaders on Wednesday to announce the survey results and discuss ways to solve the problems facing service dogs and their handlers.

"Harnessing the healing powers of the human-animal bond, specially trained PTS service dogs can offer vital and often lifesaving support to the estimated 14 percent of our nation’s service members and veterans who suffer from combat-related PTS," the group said in a press release. "However, though many people rely on these animals every day, there are currently no national standards or accepted best practices for the definition, training, and credentialing of PTS service dogs."

Haag said the group hoped to craft a formal system for certifying service dogs to ensure veterans and their service dogs can cut through the confusion surrounding them.

"American Humane is proud to lead ambitious new efforts, starting with our convening today in the nation’s capital, to address these issues and establish national standards to improve access for veterans and their PTS service dogs, like me and Axel, in public spaces," he said.