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Service Dog, Therapy Dog, or Emotional Support Animal?

9/26/2014

19 Comments

 
Ever wondered what's the difference between a Service Dog, a Therapy Dog and an Emotional Support Animal? Does it even matter? Absolutely! Each is a different type of working dog and each is governed by different laws.  If you're thinking you want to train your dog in one of these areas, or if you want to know your rights as a business owner, this is the article for you!
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Service Dog

According to Federal ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) law, a Service Dog is a dog trained to perform work or tasks for a DISABLED individual that he or she CAN NOT do for his or herself. The disabled individual has the right to have a Service Dog with him or her in all public access locations.

There are two major qualifiers of a Service Dog.
First; the handler must have a disability. If you do not have a disability you do not have the legal right to be accompanied by a Service Dog.
​Second; the dog must be work or task trained to do something that aids with that aids and directly relates to that disability. If the dog does something on it's own, even if it is super helpful, without the actual training it does not qualify as a task. So if, for example, your dog starts alerting to your seizures, that does not suddenly make your dog a Service Dog. You must take those alerts mold them into something you want, such as teaching the dog to paw your leg or something whenever it starts alerting.


Businesses may ask if the dog is a Service Animal required because of a disability. They may then ask what the dog has been trained to do to assist you. They may not ask about your disability, they may not ask for a demonstration of tasks, and they may not ask for training certificates, ID, or proof of disability. If your dog is out of control, however, and you fail to take action to get him or her under control, the business has every right to ask you to remove the dog from the premises (they must still allow you without the dog). This includes but is not limited to barking (unless the dog is barking to alert to a medical condition), defecating or urinating, growling or behaving aggressively, harassing others, and damaging property. They may not ask you to leave if someone nearby is allergic or afraid of dogs. The other individual must be accommodated in another way. Each incident is handled on a case-by-case basis, so you are welcome to return another day and try again.

While there are a lot of different "certifications" out there that offer to certify your dog as a Service Dog, none of them are required in order for your dog to be a Service Dog, none of them will make your dog a Service Dog if you do not meet the two above qualifying factors, and none of them are officially recognized under ADA law.

The laws can get sticky with landlords, employers, schools, etc. so make sure you do your research before obtaining a Service Dog.

Therapy Dog

A Therapy Dog is a working dog trained to comfort the sick and infirm in hospitals, nursing homes, treatment centers, schools, etc. They are also used in programs that help children with speech and/or learning disabilities. Therapy Dogs are invited by businesses to work in their facilities on a case-by-case basis.  Handlers do not have any legal right to have a Therapy Dog with them in public places, or in housing or employment situations - they must always be invited.

While certification is not required in order for your dog to be a Therapy Dog, most businesses will require your dog to have some sort of certification in order to allow your dog to work there. They have the right to require this if they wish and can even require a specific certification should they choose.
​
Other working dogs, such as Police Dogs, Rescue Dogs, and Military Dogs, follow similar restrictions. Police, Fire, and Military handlers may have these dogs with them in public places if the dogs are actively working. When off-duty, however, handlers do not have any legal right to bring these dogs into public places.

Emotional Support Animal

An Emotional Support Animal, or ESA, is an animal that soothes anxiety and depression or other mental health disability simply by his or her presence. You must be diagnosed by a mental health professional with a mental health disability that is recognized in the most current version of the DSM in order to qualify for an ESA.

An ESA is NOT a Service Animal. The individual does NOT have the right to have an ESA with him or her in public places.

Under the Fair Housing Act, an individual with an ESA has the right to keep this animal in the home regardless of a landlord's pet rules (landlords who own 4 rental properties/units or less are exempt form this), so long as the individual can provide proper documentation (a doctor's or mental health professionals note) confirming the disability and recommending the individual the use of an ESA. The landlord may not charge pet fees, but he or she may hold the individual responsible for any damages done by the ESA. .

As of January 7, 2021, ESA's are no longer allowed on planes.

While no specialty training is required in order for your dog to be an ESA, if the dog is a nuisance (barks uncontrollably, harasses other tenants, etc), is aggressive or a danger in any way, or is overly destructive (causes damage that you cannot afford to replace yourself) the landlord can require removal of the ESA from the premises.

Just as with Service Dogs there is no actual certification required in order for your dog to be and ESA and without a mental health disability there is no certification that can turn your dog into an ESA.

Questions?

If you want to learn more, are interested in training your dog in one of these areas, and/or are interested in obtaining a Service Dog, I will be happy to answer your questions and help you find the resources you need.
Contact Me
Call the ADA helpline for information about public access, employment, and landlords with regard to Service Dogs.

Contact the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) for information about working dogs in housing situations.

Contact the Utah District Attorney's Office for specific information regarding Utah law and working dogs or to learn how to file a complaint against a business, landlord, or employer.
19 Comments
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3/14/2016 11:04:30 am

Dogs are just like people, but with a heightened sense of smell and taste.

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11/2/2016 01:46:33 am

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Luke Smith link
11/18/2016 08:02:08 am

I didn't realize that an Emotional Support Animal was different from a Therapy or Service dog. It sounds like a great thing though, I can imagine how having a loving animal with you could really soothe an anxious mind. I wonder if there are pet training and evaluation programs for support animals like these.

Reply
emotional support dog link
3/4/2017 12:25:10 pm

I just got to this amazing site not long ago. I was actually captured with the piece of resources you have got here. Big thumbs up for making such wonderful blog page!

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Oliver link
4/6/2017 02:21:49 am

Thank you this is so informative. Thumbs up!

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Ivy Baker link
9/16/2017 02:03:04 pm

I liked that you explained that a service dog must be trained to be a service dog. My grandmother has extreme anxiety and she has been thinking about make her dog into a service dog or a support animal. It seems like a making her dog a support animal would be her best bet.

Reply
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10/9/2017 11:33:00 pm

Very informative. thanks for sharing keep posting in future.<a href="https://www.pdscenter.com/esa-letter.html">Animal Support and Travel</a>

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Steven Freeman link
11/14/2017 04:49:09 am

Well, a service dog is a trained dog who always ready to assist the person with a disability. For example- some dogs are trained enough to pull wheelchairs, track the footprints of the thieves etc. Whereas a therapy dog is also a trained dog, but his responsibility is different from that of a service dog. His job is to give psychological treatment to the person other than the doer. Lastly, emotional support dogs are not allowed to all the public places like service dogs. They usually provide contentment and assistance in the form of tenderness and fellowship. But whatever may be the fact, each category of dog needs some vet care to stay healthy and safe from death-dealing infections. Thus, a dog owner should do regular checkups of his at a trusted vet center to make sure his dog is physically fit and mentally stable.

Reply
Penelope Smith link
12/3/2018 05:44:46 pm

My family has been thinking about getting my grandmother an emotional support dog soon. It is good to know that we will need to get an emotional support animal will need to get a doctor or therapist note to allow her to use the dog as a service dog. It might also be smart for us to get her a dog vest for her animal.

Reply
Molli Dogs
12/3/2018 06:25:44 pm

I think you may have misunderstood a bit. You need a doctor or therapist's note just to legally have the dog as an emotional support dog, not as a service dog. Emotional support is not a task and does not legally qualify a dog as a service dog. The dog would have to be trained to do actual physical tasks for your grandmother to assist with a disability that she has. If the dog is not trained to actually assist her in some way and only is with her for the sake of comfort or emotional support than the dog is not a service dog and she would be committing service dog fraud. Penalties for this can range from fines to even jail time.

Reply
Jennifer
1/30/2020 12:02:49 pm

Part of the confusion may come from how you said "cuddling" is a task in your chart at the top.of the page. It isn't

Michael Mesa link
1/14/2021 09:14:48 pm

Loved reading tthis thanks

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Hot Tub Removal Staten Island link
12/30/2021 07:34:05 am

The AKC strongly supports the rights of persons who require a dog to perform essential services to access as provided by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and to be permitted to keep the service dog without regard to the dog’s size, phenotype, or breed.

Reply
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12/31/2021 09:31:01 am

They may not ask you to leave if someone nearby is allergic or afraid of dogs. The other individual must be accommodated in another way. Thank you, amazing post!

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Olivia Smart link
5/13/2022 07:21:56 am

Thank you for explaining that a service dog must be work or task trained to aid someone that directly has that specific disability. My daughter has severe anxiety and has been talking about getting a service dog to help her. I think that it would be interesting to learn about how a service dog might be able to help her with that.

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8/30/2022 01:17:00 pm

Aclaradas las diferencias entre educar y adiestrar a un perro, es momento de conocer a fondo las ventajas del adiestramiento canino. Un aprendizaje nos obligará a tener paciencia, un elemento indispensable para que el adiestramiento canino cumpla su finalidad; pero, también, implicación. Aunque es nuestro perro el que va a ser adiestrado, nosotros como dueños somos una pieza indispensable en su evolución. Él tiene que aprender a obedecer, pero nosotros también hemos de descubrir cómo hacerlo.
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Zoe link
10/18/2022 02:13:35 am

Nice article! Thanks for sharing this informative post. Keep posting!

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Mia Evans link
10/25/2022 03:12:34 am

It's interesting to know that there would be a law wherein a service dog can be trained to perform work or tasks to help a disabled person. I hope that pet laws would be able to protect those kinds of dogs to ensure that they could still enjoy their lives aside from helping a disabled person. In my opinion, they are still animals that would need to have time exercise, have fun, and rest that is why I hope that these would be recognized by the owners.

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    I love dogs and I love teaching people about dogs! Here on my blog I can do just that!

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