OK, here is some good service dog news

Way cool Kelly, I can't think of anyone more deserving of good things coming to them.
Lizzy S

Kelly,

You should read the laws for Ohio yourself but from what I can tell it is similar to California.

I have a friends that gets high anxiety and especially when having to fly. She has a dachsund that she takes everywhere with her including sitting with her on her lap on a plane. She is a registered service dog and so legally they cannot deny the dog the right to be with her as long as she can prove she has an appropriate urination area if the flight lasts longer than 8 hours.

http://www.psychdog.org/

She never had official "service dog" trainging but for her issue (generalized anxiety) and yours as well you may not need official training other than what the average good behaved dog does. You can have extra tricks or service options thrown in there, but a small breed dog should be fine. Chihuahua's are a very loyal , loving dog and can be quite vocal about alerting to outside noises as well as dachsunds and miniature poodles. It really is your choice on the type of dog.

http://www.olrs.ohio.gov/service-animals





Good luck to you!

Actually, according to federal law (the Americans with Disabilities Act) a service dog does have to be trained to performs tasks that mitigate a person's disability.  Now, a person with a psychiatric disability that needs to have a pet with them on a plane to reduce anxiety can take that pet even if it's not a service dog, as long as they have a letter from their physcian.  That's covered by a different law than the ADA, I think it's the Air Carrier Act or something like that.  But if the dog is not trained to perform tasks to mitigate a disability, it is not legal to take it everywhere.  You can take it places if the business owner agrees, but federal law doesn't convey that right.

I do need the dog to perform specific tasks.  A very vocal dog probably isn't the best choice for a service dog because you'd have to train it not to vocalize in public places.  It's not appropriate for a service dog to be in a store or restaurant and be barking.