DEFINITIONS
Under harassment of assistance dogs law:
“Assistance dog” means a dog that is or has been trained by a licensed or certified person, organization, or agency to perform physical tasks for a physically challenged person. Assistance dogs include guide or leader dogs that guide individuals who are legally blind; hearing dogs that alert individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing to specific sounds; and service dogs for individuals with disabilities other than blindness or deafness, which are trained to perform a variety of physical tasks, including, but not limited to, pulling a wheelchair, lending balance support, picking up dropped objects, or providing assistance in a medical crisis.
Note under equal accommodations law that allows guide or service dog to accompany blind and deaf individuals:
“The guide dog or service dog must be identified as having been trained by a school for seeing eye, hearing, service, or guide dogs.”
Accommodation Law
Every totally or partially blind person shall have the right to be accompanied by a guide dog, and every physically disabled person and every deaf person shall have the right to be accompanied by a service dog in public places and accommodations, and shall have full and equal access to all housing accommodations.
Every person engaged in the training of a guide dog or service dog for the purpose of accompanying a person shall have the same right to be accompanied by such dog so long as such trainer is identified as an agent or employee of a school for seeing eye, hearing, service, or guide dogs.
Denial or interference is misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature punishable by a fine not to exceed $2,000.00, imprisonment for not more than 30 days, or both.
Harassment of/Interference with Service Dogs
Any person whoknowingly and intentionally harasses or attempts to harass an assistance dog, knowing the dog to be an assistance dog, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
Punishable by imprisonment for not less than 90 days or a fine not to exceed $500.00, or both.
Any person whoknowingly and intentionally allows his or her dog to harass an assistance dog, knowing the dog to be an assistance dog, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
Punishable by imprisonment for not less than 90 days or a fine not to exceed $500.00, or both (second violation punished as a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature).
Any person whoknowingly and intentionally allows his or her dog to cause death or physical harm to an assistance dog by rendering a part of the assistance dog’s body useless or by seriously disfiguring the assistance dog, knowing the dog to be an assistance dog, shall be punished as for a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature
. Ga. Code Ann., § 16-11-107.1
Driving Law
The driver of every vehicle shall yield the right of way to any blind pedestrian who is carrying a walking cane or stick white in color or white tipped with red or who is accompanied by a guide dog.