As of now, there is a new rule where you can apply to be a service dog. With this rule, however, you need to act professionally. You cannot be messing around as a service animal, or your permissions of being one can be revoked. There are many different types of service dogs, but this guide will discuss five different types and how they work so you can roleplay correctly. This guide will also go over what they are and other helpful information about them that you should know. The length of this guide may be discouraging, but don’t let it get your spirits down! You may learn something!
Note: This guide will not be going over Mobility Service Dogs & Allergy Detection Dogs, As there appears to be no way to RP as one.
1 - Read the Character Authorization Rules and Info.
2 - The animal is the one who applies to be the service animal.
3 - Have the person you will be the service animal of, have a condition that is eligible to have a service
animal. If you are unsure if your condition is eligible for a service dog, you can look it up on google or ask someone.
4 - If you need to apply for a condition, do not just apply to get a service animal. Apply because it makes sense for your character to have it; don't apply because you want a service dog.
5 - Do not abuse the permissions of being on school property, otherwise your permissions of being a service animal can and will be taken away.
1 - Read the Character Authorization Rules
2 - Have your friend or yourself get an Animal Whitelist at the web-store. If you have it already that's great!
3 - Read the guide on how to RP as an animal correctly. I'm pretty sure it's a bit outdated but still will help if it's your first time RPing as an animal.
4 - Follow the format for custom scripts
5 - The dog is the one who applies to be the service animal, as previously stated.
6 - Put an application link on the handler app if needed too
7 - Add what type of service dog will you be
8 - The funniest part! Waiting.
From what is known, this server, and the RP in it, takes place in Japan. There wasn’t much information at immediate disposal when writing this, so the guide will refer to American systems.
The ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) defines service animals as 'dogs that are individually trained to perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability'. Some types of service dogs can be for physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other disabilities.
Only dogs can be considered as legal service animals. Other animals are considered therapy animals or emotional support animals. ESA (Emotional Support Animals) and therapy animals are not protected by the ADA, meaning that they are not allowed in places that do not allow animals. Only service dogs can bypass this rule as they are protected by the ADA.
There are a few differences between emotional support animals (ESA), therapy animals, and service dogs. All three of these animals are in a category called ‘Assistance Animals’ as they all have one thing in common: they assist people. Here is a chart that properly demonstrates the differences between the three of them:
Definitions of each assistance animal
Service Dogs - Specifically trained to perform tasks that are related to the handler’s disabilities. They are trained just for one person.
Emotional Support Animals - Can be another type of animal- not just dogs. They provide emotional comfort to a handler with mental illness, lots of people get this confused with Psychiatric Service Dogs (PSD’s).
Therapy Animals - Trained to provide comfort and happiness to those that are in hospitals, schools, nursing homes, or any other group care environment.
When seeing a service dog in public, you may have the urge to pet it. This petting, however, isn't allowed. As a bystander, you need to respect the service dog’s and the handler’s privacy. Here is a list of what you should and shouldn't do when seeing a service dog:
- DO NOT DISTRACT THE DOG: Distracting a service dog can put the handler in significant danger as the dog might not notice something going on. There are many things that might distract the dog, including, but not limited to:
Petting the dog without the handler's permission.
Speaking to the dog. (saying ‘Hi’ or ‘Aww cute dog’.)
Offering the dog food of any type without the handler’s permission.
- If you see a service dog without their handler, pay attention. If it is doing the following motions at you, such as: barking towards you, sniffing you, or nudging you, follow it. If a service dog does that, it can mean that their handler is in danger and needs your help.
- Keep your distance. This can be hard if you are in a crowded area, but if it's possible, try to keep your distance between you and the dog.
- Respect the privacy of the owner, if the owner does not want to talk about their disability, or want them to pet your dog, respect it.
“I don't care that your A+ child deserves it Karen!”
- Ask to pet the dog. If you go up to a service dog and pet them, it's considered distracting them, putting the handler's life in danger. If the handler seems uncomfortable or says no, just go back to what you were doing. If the handler says yes, it means that they feel comfortable enough for you to pet them. Refrain from spending an extended period of time petting the dog. Also, petting the dog can anger the dog and handler, so just please remember to ask to pet, and don't surround them.
Even though each service dog is different, which means they act differently, there are things that all service dogs and handlers do. This is how you act as a service dog and handler correctly:
Service Dogs
- Follow orders from your handler.
- Do not bark unless needed too.
- Respond to your handler's issue correctly.
- Do not leave your handler side unless told too.
- Always focus on your handler.
- Use Intelligent Disobedience correctly.
Handlers
- Be responsible
- You have the right to not tell people about your disability, or just anything in general related to it.
- Always have your leash on the dog.
- Always keep extra dog food on you and poop bags.
- If you need to step out of the classroom for any reason you have the right to do so.
- Clean up after your dog if they make a mess, such as using the bathroom. Properly dispose of the said mess.
Other
- It is recommended to do detailed /me’s for your service dog and you to understand what is going on.
- Your service dog needs to do the basic essentials such as eating and using the bathroom. During break or lunch, it is a perfect time to do it AND REMEMBER TO CLEAN IT UP.
Before service dogs are trained to the handler disability, they are first trained with the basics. There are the basics of their training. This means that the service dog knows these commands and will not fail:
- Their name
- Sit/Lay
- Sit/Lay with Stay
- Stay/Wait
- Come
- Focus
- Not to bark unless in emergencies
Other things that the services dogs need to know, that are more advanced than the basic commands above:
- Ready to follow their handler everywhere
- Alert their handler
- Socialize
- Be calm and friendly
- Not to react to strangers in public
- Open/Close doors
- Turn lights on and off
- Help provide comfort
- Help their handler to get to safety
- Alert the emergency services where the handler is
- Identify and alert symptoms
- Find places when the handler is disoriented and take them to safety
- Help their handler avoid stressful situations.
- Provide the necessary help for their handler
Intelligent disobedience is when the handler is in danger of something or someone, and they need to get to safety as soon as possible. Intelligent Disobedience happens when the dog knows that something bad is going to happen, and they go directly against the owner's instructions. Some things that might cause this to happen may consist of the following:
- There is a car coming and the handler is deaf or blind. They will pull their handler away.
- The handler is being attacked. They can bark and sometimes bite the attacker
- The handler is in a bad location and they need to get out fast. The animal will pull them away
- When fire alarms, tornado alarms, emergency broadcasts are on, mostly just anything that is an emergency, and the handler is incapable of knowing. They will pull their handler away
- When fire alarms, tornado alarms, emergency broadcasts are on, mostly just anything that is an emergency, and the handler is incapable of knowing. They will pull their handler away
- If the handler is extremely injured and can't move. The service dog will stay near their handler but will try getting people's attention.
As stated at the beginning of this guide, the text will be going over five different types of service dogs. It will include what they are, how they help, how you would RP as one, how you are eligible for getting one, and a personal rating on how hard it can be to RP. A one would be the hardest and a five would be the easiest.
Everyone is different, and each dog is trained to perform different tasks. Not all dogs are the same. Some types of service dogs might be harder to RP than others, such as guide dogs. Remember that all dogs are different, and sometimes you need to be creative on how you RP as one.
Guide dogs assist blind or low-visioned people around obstacles. These dogs usually wear a special harness that the handler can hold. These dogs are their handler’s proverbial ‘eyes’ as their handler cannot see. Labradors and Golden Retrievers are the most common guide dogs as they have a suitable temperament and physical structure for the job.
How they help & how to RP as one
Guide dogs do one or more of the following:
- Help their handler travel (walk) from place to place
- Guide them through barriers and obstacles
- Keep them out of danger
- Pick up dropped items
- Give them emotional support
- Help ‘assist’ the handler to walk
- Alert the handler if a car is coming.
How to be eligible for one
- Be legally blind
- Have a low enough vision where you are unable to see or close to it.
Other info
Personally, this one would be the hardest to roleplay. That's why there wasn't that much info because it was honestly hard to find some.
Rating: 1/5
Hearing Aid Assistance dogs work with their handlers to protect them from things they might not have heard. This includes a wide variety of sounds such as a phone ringing, to a fire alarm going off. They usually work in a home setting, but sometimes will work outside.
How they help & how to RP as one
Hearing Aid Dogs help by being their handler ‘ears’. If someone is calling their handler’s name the dog would alert the owner by touching (nudging or pawing) them, and lead them to the area that they are being called to, or bring them into a safe place If it’s something like a fire alarm, most dogs do one or more of the following:
- Alert their handler if there is danger near since they can’t hear.
- Alert when the doorbell is ringing.
- Take them into a safe place if there is an alarm going off.
- Carry notes to one person to another.
- Alert them if a vehicle is approaching behind them.
- Protect them when they are in a dark room to make sure there is no danger.
- As said, above you are your handlers ‘ears’ which means you hear for the If there is danger near such as someone about to attack them you would alert the handler.
- If the handler is being called by a teacher or intercom you would lead your handler to the voice.
How to be eligible for one
- To be eligible to have a Hearing Aid Dog you would need to be:
- Legally Deaf
- Very hard of hearing
Other info
I would also say this one could be pretty hard to RP.
Rating: 2/5
Diabetic Alert Dogs (DAD’s) are dogs that are trained to alert their handler if they have high or low blood sugar (Blood Glucose). They smell the air around them for a specific scent on the handler’s breath when they have low or high glucose levels. When the dog smells that scent, they will alert their handler to check their blood glucose levels. Diabetic alert dogs also can get their handler’s medication or a snack/drink from the fridge if they are too weak to move.
How they help & how to RP as one
- Diabetic Alert Dogs alert when their handler has high or low blood glucose (As said above) Because of this when your character has one of these you would RP out the scent.
- When the DAD senses what is going on they will alert their owner by nudging them or pawing them.
- If their handler is in DKA (Diabetic ketoacidosis) they will alert people around them by barking.
How to be eligible for one
- Have Type 1 Diabetes (There is a chance you can get one for Type 2 but it isn't that common for people to get a service dog for it.)
- Have any type of blood glucose problems. (This can be Hypoglycemia, Hyperglycemia, even
Pancreatic cancer)
Other info
I honestly don't really know how you RP with diabetes- when I did the research about it I took the things that they do and try to put it in RP sense.
Rating: 3.5/5
Around sixty-five million people are diagnosed with epilepsy. Seventy-five percent of patients that have epilepsy do not know the root cause of it. From this, many of them may avoid everyday tasks or activities.
How Seizure Alert Dogs help & how to RP as one
- Alert their handler before a seizure occurs
- Help them get into a comfortable position for the seizure
- Protect them to prevent injuries
- Alert someone to provide medical attention
- Grab medication or anything that the handler needs
- Help their handlers through the anxiety they might have from going outside.
How to be eligible for one
- Have epilepsy, or any other seizure-causing illnesses.
Other info
This entry is shorter, as the research performed has not disclosed plenty of things that these dogs do.
Rating: 3.5/5
Psychiatric service dogs or PSDs are for people who have a wide range of mental illnesses such as depression, PTSD, anxiety, and other mental illnesses. It is easy to confuse them for emotional support animals but, it can depend on the severity of the illness to see if they qualify as one.
How they help & how to RP as one
People with mental illnesses suffer from a range of emotions from anger to joy. These Psychiatric Service Dogs help their handler when they have panic attacks, or are just not having a good day. They build confidence in their handler so they will have a better time going through daily activities. Some of things that the PSD would do is:
- Comfort the handler when they are having a panic attack or episode. When the handler has one of these episodes, the PSD will comfort their handler and protect them. PSD animals also try to bring their handler to a safe spot.
- They can do a ‘Room Search’ in which handlers with PTSD might feel uneasy when going into a room. The handler might think someone is in there, where then the service dog will do a ‘Room Search’ where they will walk around checking rooms to make sure no individual is in the room
- If someone is in the room the dog would scare the intruder out unless it's a family member or friend.
- If the room is safe and no one is in there, the dog would go back to the handler, showing them that it's okay to enter the room.
- A PSD can listen for sounds that might trigger the handler such as, alarms, violent yelling, and so on. If the PSD hears that sound they will try to steer their handler in a different direction. If there is no other way, the PSD would remain close, and attempt to bring comfort to the handler.
- If the handler is in danger such as someone bothering them while they have an episode and they won't back off, the PSD would start alerting others nearby that their owner is in danger.
- When the handler is having an episode and needs to take something to make them calm down, the PSD will retrieve the medication and sometimes a water bottle if near, so the handler can take their medications without getting up and causing more stress
- If the handler calls emergency services for any type of reason and they say they have a service dog, the dog can lead the EMS to their handler.
How to be eligible for one
- Have a type of mental illness that restricts the character from performing basic tasks, that is remedied by a PSD.
Other Info
This entry is quite lengthy due to the experience with PSDs that the author has.
Rating: 4.5/5
Creator: RandomlyAccepted
Other helpful people:
Totalore - Editor / Information Help
MisterFig - Editor
Aania - For letting me do this :)
