ADA & California
Under both the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and California law, service animals are defined as dogs individually trained to perform specific tasks directly related to a person’s disability. These dogs are not pets—they are working animals that assist with a wide range of physical and psychiatric needs. Emotional support animals, while important companions, do not have the same legal protections under public access laws.
Service dogs are allowed in all public spaces where the general public can go, including restaurants, hospitals, schools, and public transportation. California expands these protections even further, offering broad definitions and stronger legal safeguards for individuals with disabilities.
Where They’re Welcome
Businesses, government agencies, transportation providers, and other public facilities must allow trained service dogs to accompany their handlers. This includes:
- Restaurants, theaters, and retail stores
- Hospitals, medical clinics, and care facilities
- Hotels, public parks, and modes of transportation
Service dogs can only be excluded if they are out of control or not housebroken. In these rare cases, the handler must still be offered full access to services without the dog. Allergies or fear of dogs are not valid reasons to deny access.
You Probably Don't Qualify For Charity
Service Dog School of America is here to help you get a service dog perfect for you.
Service Dog School of America provides fully-trained psychiatric and medical service dogs for individuals who need a finished, reliable working dog. We do not train customer-owned dogs, we do not run group classes, and we do not require owner participation in training. Every dog is trained by us from start to finish and placed only when the work is complete.
Our program focuses exclusively on psychiatric and medical service dogs. Training commonly includes support for PTSD, anxiety and panic disorders, autism, neurological conditions, emotional regulation, grounding tasks, interruption of harmful or compulsive behaviors, and deep-pressure therapy. We do not train diabetic alert dogs.
All training is conducted in real public environments rather than controlled classrooms alone. Dogs are conditioned to remain calm and responsive in crowds, during travel, and around everyday distractions. Obedience is taught to a standard that allows the dog to work reliably on or off leash, without pulling, reactivity, or dependence on physical restraint.
We train Golden Retrievers only. Dogs are selected for stable temperament, low reactivity, emotional resilience, and strong human focus. Breed selection is deliberate and central to producing service dogs that are dependable over the long term.
Unlike many programs that operate on multi-year waitlists, our dogs are trained continuously. When a dog is available, it is already fully trained and ready for placement. We do not promise future dogs or unfinished training.
Placement is not the end of the relationship. We provide lifetime access to professional support from the trainers who developed the dog. Support is direct and ongoing, not outsourced to call centers or third-party services.
Every placement is backed by a one hundred percent money-back satisfaction guarantee. If a dog is not the right fit, we address it directly.
This program is designed for individuals who need a completed service dog, do not qualify for charity programs, and value reliability, discretion, and time. What we provide is not a pet, a class, or a process. It is a fully-trained service dog developed over twelve to sixteen months and ready to work.
Know the Rules
There is no federal or California requirement for service dogs to wear vests, carry ID, or be certified. However, handlers must maintain control of their dogs at all times using a leash, harness, or through voice or signal commands if those tools interfere with the dog’s job.
When it’s not obvious what a dog does, staff may only ask two questions:
- Is this dog required because of a disability?
- What task has the dog been trained to perform?
They may not ask for personal medical documentation or request a demonstration of the dog’s skills.
California-Specific Protections
California law provides even greater protections than federal standards in some areas. It recognizes a broader definition of “disability” and protects access to more types of public places. Additionally, it’s a misdemeanor to falsely claim a dog is a service animal—punishable by fines or jail time.
In unique environments like zoos or wild animal parks, where safety is a concern, businesses may offer kenneling and additional accommodations instead of direct access.
Psychiatric vs. Emotional Support
Psychiatric service dogs are trained to perform tasks for mental health conditions such as PTSD, depression, or bipolar disorder—like waking someone during a depressive episode or interrupting panic attacks. These dogs are fully protected under service dog laws.
Emotional support animals, by contrast, provide comfort simply by being present. They are not trained to perform specific tasks, and as such, they do not qualify as service animals under public access laws. However, they may still have protections under housing or employment laws.
Know Your Rights
