Assistance Dogs International

What about emotional support animals and therapy dogs? Are those synonymous or not? So, no, they're not.

There are some really, really good resources on Assistance Dogs International.

It's a great website.

I highly recommend if you have any interest in pursuing a service dog or different types of dogs, which I'll talk about here in just a second, Assistance Dogs International is a great website to go get that information from.

Canine Companions also has some really good education on their website as well.

So an ESA, emotional support animal, is an animal that provides that emotional support to an individual with a mental health condition, an emotional disorder, just by being present.

And where was the website to get that information again on knowing the differences? Yeah.

So it's

And we're doing that.

We also belong to Assistance Dogs International.

They're our umbrella organization, kind of like your... consumer or better business bureau or chamber of commerce.

They're more like, you know, while the businesses we do join that organization and they have a breeding coalition under it.

Yeah, well, that is so exciting because that is I hear that so much from our listeners about the issues that they have when they're out in the community with their working dog.

I've experienced it myself and especially to traveling and on airplanes and having dogs that are.

are beloved dogs by the person that they're with, but the dogs are not at all trained to the level of ECAD and other Assistance Dogs International organizations that are not trained that way.

And tell us, Olivia, why is that important? Yeah.

Well, I think I'd say a couple of things.

One, if you are someone that needs a service animal, regardless of where you are, there is an organization called Assistance Dogs International.

And it is the only international accrediting body for assistance dog organizations outside of guide dogs because those are kind of two different.

If you look them up online, you can actually look at a directory of all of the accredited service dog organizations across the world to see who's close to you and then reach out to them.