Advocates for Service Animal Partners plays a vital role
Tampa, Fla. – A national nonprofit based in Tampa is the only organization in the United States whose sole purpose is securing, protecting, and advancing the rights and responsibilities of service animal handlers and the businesses we patronize. Advocates for Service animal Partners (ASAP) was founded to fill a gap that existed within the service animal movement.
"Service animal training programs do a great job training these invaluable dogs," says Marion Gwizdala, Founder and CEO of ASAP and an expert in service animal policy and practice.
"Our perspective is from that of the service dog handler and the challenges we face!"
According to Gwizdala, there are multiple problems facing the service handlers' movement. Their biggest challenge is a knowledge gap among businesses about the rights and responsibilities of service animal handlers. Exacerbating this knowledge gap is the unfamiliarity among law enforcement of the state laws prohibiting discrimination against service animal handlers, a criminal offense in Florida and thirty-six other states. Another challenge faced by service animal handlers is the blatant misappropriation of the civil rights allowing disabled individuals to be accompanied by their trained service dogs by the nondisabled public in order to take their untrained and ill-behaved pets into public places where pets are not allowed. Many states – including Florida - have criminalized fraudulent misrepresentation of an untrained dog as a trained service dog. But how can we tell the difference?
"You can tell the difference by what is referred to as 'credible assurance'" explains Gwizdala.
Credible assurance refers to the answers to the questions the Americans with Disabilities Act allows: 1) Is this a service dog required because of a disability? And 2) What work or task is the dog trained to perform? Establishing credible assurance means the answers to the questions and the behavior of the dog are believable (credible) that the dog is a trained service dog.
Gwizdala further explains that the dog must be kept on a leash or tether unless a leash or tether interferes with the work the dog is trained to perform. The dog must be kept under the direct control of the handler, should not bark, lunge, or otherwise approach others, should never be fed from the table in a restaurant, and should not be allowed on the seats of taxicabs, restaurants, or other public furniture. DOJ regulations also allow places of public accommodation to exclude an animal for inappropriate behavior but must allow the disabled individual to continue to enjoy the goods or services without the animal being present. For more information about the rights and responsibilities of service animal handlers and the businesses we patronize, as well as the proper behavior of a service animal, please visit
https://ServiceAnimals.info
About ASAP
Advocates for Service Animal Partners (ASAP) is the only organization dedicated exclusively to providing direct support, intervention, and mediation for disabled individuals who choose to use a service animal to mitigate their disability. ASAP operates the only 24-hour national hotline to assist service animal handlers and the businesses we patronize understand their mutual rights and responsibilities under state and federal laws. Individuals needing assistance and information can call toll-free 855-ASAP211 (855-272-7211) and speak directly with an advocate trained to resolve access challenges as the result of the choice to use a service dog to mitigate their disability. ASAP211 is provided at no charge as a public service to the disabled community.
Advocates for Service Animal Partners (ASAP) is a nationwide network of volunteer service animal advocates. Our goal is to encourage, educate, and support service animal handlers through printed and electronic publications, Informational webinars, recorded educational materials, and direct advocacy support, intervention, and mediation. ASAP also provides in-service training to employers, governmental entities, private companies, housing accommodations, and the airline industry about the rights, responsibilities, and limitations of access under state and federal law. For more information about the rights and responsibilities of service animal handlers and the businesses we patronize
