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Although service animals are defined in the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), there are currently no nationally established standards, certification or evaluation criteria with which to evaluate the training or performance of any type of service animal, including guide dogs.

Professional service animal trainers maintain their own standards, certification and evaluation criteria and may be independent or affiliated with a service animal training school.  In addition, individuals with disabilities may train their own service animals.

SOSDOG recommends that you train your Service Dog under the guidance of a Professional Dog Trainer.  We believe in order to train your Service Dog to a Professional Standard of Excellence, you need a professional trainer who can show you what to do, watch your every move and make corrections when called for.  This professional level of individualized instruction is recommended to ensure your Service Dog will behave impeccably when out in the community.

SOSDOG has developed "Professional Standards of Excellence" for our training programs, evaluation criteria and certification.  Our Public Access Safety Certification test is based on guidelines developed by Assistance Dogs International, Inc. and further enhanced by our own Professional Standards of Excellence.

For a dog, who has been trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability, to be certified by SOSDOG as a Certified Assistance Service Dog (CASD), our Public Access Safety Certification (PASC) test must be passed to ensure:

• The dog is safe to be in public.

• The dog is stable, well behaved, and unobtrusive to the public.

• The dog has all the necessary skills to safely accompany its handler in public places.

• The dog has the necessary skills to help its handler with their disability.

• The handler understands their rights and responsibilities as a service dog handler.

• The handler has control over the dog at all times.

• The team is not a public hazard.

If you are disabled, as defined by the ADA, and want more information about our training classes and training your own dog as your Assistance Service Dog, contact our Training Director, Linda Carter.