Honors Program
Date of this Version
10-2020
Document Type
Thesis
Citation
Eggert, H. 2020. General and Veterinary Care of Service Dogs and How Service Dogs Benefit Their Handlers. Undergraduate Honors Thesis. University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Abstract
Service or assistance dogs are protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act and provide handlers with disabilities assistance by performing specific trained tasks. Different types of service dogs, such as guide dogs, hearing dogs, mobility dogs, and PTSD dogs, are trained with different sets of tasks. A survey was conducted to compare the care of service dogs with nonservice or pet dogs. The survey covered general and veterinary care, and analysis focused on veterinary visit regularity and frequency, vaccines, and parasite prevention. The tasks of service dogs survey were also complied. Analysis was conducted using independent sample t-tests to look for statistical significance when comparing the two groups. Following analysis of the collected data, the physical, mental, and environmental engagement benefits of service dogs were examined as part of a literature review. Possible future directions of research include examination of differences in care for different types of service dogs, and an analysis of how care of service dogs may relate to their ability to perform their jobs.
Comments
Copyright Hannah Eggert 2020.