542 Canine Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation
that there were 43 million Americans with dis-
abilities, suggesting there are probably more
than 387,000 service dogs across the United
States. However, this figure probably includes
emotional support animals, which are some-
times grouped with service animals, such as
under the Fair Housing Act or Air Carrier
Access Act. A more reasonable estimate of the
number of public access (task-trained) service
dogs in the United States might be 100,000 to
200,000.
Service dog categories
● Diabetic alert dogs
● Severe allergy alert dogs
● Visual assistance dogs
● Hearing assistance dogs
● Wheelchair assistance dogs
● Psychiatric service dogs
● Mobility assistance dogs
● Medical alert dogs
● Seizure alert dogs
● Seizure response dogs
● Autism assistance dogs.
Potential issues
● Poor conditioning
● Working with subtle, unrecognized injuries
● Poorly fitting harnesses
● Chemical or environmental exposures due
to increased exposure potential (travel)
● Fatigue (nose).
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