Assistance / Working / Service Animals

About Assistance / Working / Service Animals

This group is about trained professional Assistance Animals and those in training to become Assistance Animals. The most common are dogs, but other species can be Assistance Animals too!

This group is also for Working Animals of the non-Assistance variety, such as police dogs, search and rescue dogs, military dogs and any animal that provides a valuable service to society. Those in training for these services are also welcome.

We also welcome retired Assistance/Working Animals as well as photos of those who have passed.

Assistance Animals include Service, Hearing, Seizure Alert/Response, Guide and Psychiatric animals.

This group also welcomes animals that are not legally Assistance Animals but are still trained to provide a valid professional service for their partners, such as Social Support, Emotional Support, and Therapy animals. Please note: These animals must be TRAINED to do a specific task that mitigates a disability or contributes a service.

Guidelines:

1. All photos submitted must include an Assistance Animal, Assistance Animal in Training, Working Animal or Support/Therapy Animal. Retired Assistance/Working animals also welcome.

2. DO NOT submit pictures of animals other than those listed in #1. These include untrained animals, wildlife, or regular pets, as well as pets that may provide support of some kind but are not trained to do a specific task for their job. While the benefits of simply petting, cuddling, being licked by, or being near an animal are not being refuted here, these do not count as trained tasks and do not make an animal an assistance/working animal. Being "trained" to "tolerate" these actions do not count as trained tasks either (those are just called good manners). They are still pets.

3. Other people or animals in photos WITH the animals listed in #1 are ok, just be sure to specify who is whom in the description, and don't forget to identify specifically which are the working animals.

4. Only a description of the animal's occupation is required. (I.E. Guide Dog, Service Pig, Medical Alert Cat, Service Dog in Training, Social Support Dog, Law Enforcement Dog, Search and Rescue Rat). Other information, such as name, location, age, etc are not required but are very helpful. Also helpful is whether or not the animal is owner trained or program trained, and which program.

5. Admins reserve the right to delete any submission deemed not appropriate for this group, or submissions that don't belong or fit into this group. Please make sure to identify what the animal is trained for, or if the animal is in training or retired. You may do this either in the photo's description, or on the discussion board for the group. This will help ensure your photo stays in the pool.