Doctors Letters to Support Assistance Dogs

Many of us have probably been there, gone to a doctor and either they’ve introduced the idea of an assistance dog or you have. In some cases, it’s you saying “I’ve decided to have an assistance dog”.

Legally you do NOT need your doctors to sign off on an assistance dog and some doctors will not sign off on one anyways. But having your doctor’s support behind you having an assistance dog can make a huge difference in your journey as a disabled individual.

There is also the issue of knowing what to write, how to write it, why you’re writing it, and is it correct and accurate. Are you giving out too much information? Do you need to give out more information?

Legally your medical information is between you and whoever you wish to discuss it with, you do NOT have to disclose it to a stranger simply because they said so.

So with all the information above, we (alongside Westcreek Labradors) have created 4 templates for you to present or use with your doctor to help support your assistance dog journey. These include those specifically for assistance dogs in training.

Now, remember we said these are NOT a legal requirement and we don’t recommend that you go about shoving them in every business owner’s face (we always recommend calm communication as far as possible). But if it came down to a court decision over an access issue or any dispute, any and all evidence that can support your claim over an assistance dog will be helpful. They can also be of use during immediate access disputes. Of course, we hope it never comes to this but life isn’t always sunshine and rainbows unfortunately. Especially here in rainy, cloudy England.

You can find these templates on our downloadables page here.