In the United States, there are three common assistance dogs–each of which have different jobs and legal protections. Due to misinformation and lack of proper education, support dogs are often illegally brought into non-pet-friendly establishments and have put the lives of both handlers and service dogs at risk. Fully trained service dogs (and miniature horses) are the only assistance animals that are federally permitted to accompany their handlers into non-pet-friendly establishments. Read on to learn about the laws and differences between service dogs and support dogs.
American’s with Disabilities Act (ADA)
Service Dogs → A service dog, as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act, must be specially trained to perform specific tasks to mitigate the disability of only one handler. Fully trained service dogs are federally protected under the ADA to accompany their handler to public establishments where any non-disabled individual may attend. While service dogs in training are NOT federally protected under the ADA, some states may grant additional rights to service dogs and service dogs in training, including allowing a disabled individual to train their service dog prospect in the same locations where service dogs are allowed to accompany their handler. In the United States, there is no federally recognized certification or registration for service dogs and covered entities may not request such documentation to determine the legitimacy of a service dog. Some states may require specific licensing for service dogs or service dogs in training if their handler wishes to exercise legal protection under state law; however, this is NOT mandatory if a handler chooses to only be protected under federal law for a fully task-trained service dog and forgo state protections.
Emotional Support Animals → An emotional support animal’s primary function is to provide emotional support and comfort to their handler. Unlike service dogs, they require no specialized training since emotional support and comfort are not recognized tasks under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Contrary to popular belief, emotional support animals do NOT have public access rights and may not accompany their handlers to non-pet-friendly public locations. Covered entities are legally allowed to ask an emotional support animal’s handler to remove the handler from their establishment for any reason since emotional support animals do not have public access rights.
Therapy Dogs → Unlike service dogs and emotional support animals, therapy dogs’ primary function is to provide comfort and emotional to support to multiple individuals such as hospital patients or nursing home residents. Because therapy dogs provide support to many individuals and are invited to public venues, they must be specially trained and certified under a therapy animal organization. This certification will allow them access to approved locations where their organization’s dogs have been invited to enrich the lives of others. Therapy dogs do NOT have public access rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act and may not accompany their handlers to non-pet-friendly establishments, unless approved by management.
Fair Housing Act (FHA)
Service Dogs and Emotional Support Animals → According to the Fair Housing Act, assistance animals are not considered pets. As such, any conditions or restrictions that housing providers apply to pets (such as a pet deposit) may not be applied to assistance animals. When housing providers evaluate requests for reasonable accommodation, they must consider the following: (1) Does the person seeking to use and live with the animal have a disability that substantially limits one or more major life activities? (2) Does the person making the request have a disability-related need for an assistance animal? If the answer to both questions is yes, housing providers must make an exception to “no pets” rules or policies to allow a tenant to live and use an assistance animal. Housing providers may request reliable documentation of a disability and a disability-related need for an assistance animal if an individual’s disability is not readily apparent. The housing provider may not request access to medical records or for an applicant or tenant to provide detailed information pertaining to their disability. For more detailed information regarding requests for reasonable accommodation, please refer to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s online document.
Therapy Dogs → Therapy dogs do not have rights under the Fair Housing Act and are instead recognized only as pets.
Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA)
Service Dogs and Emotional Support Animals → Under the Air Carrier Access Act, service dogs may accompany their handler as medical equipment in the cabin of an airplane on flights. Service dogs are permitted to accompany their handlers in the space in front of their seat or on their handler’s lap, if it can be reasonably done so safely. At all times, service dogs must behave properly and be under the control of their handler or they will not be accepted as a service dogs. Spaces that must be unobstructed for safety reasons, such as aisles or routes to emergency exits, must not be blocked by service dogs. If a flight is scheduled for eight hours or longer, a handler may be required to provide documentation stating their service dog will not need to relieve itself or can do so in a sanitary way. Additional documentation, not older than one year from the date of the initial flight, may be required of passengers traveling with psychiatric service animals. For more information, please refer to the Air Travel with Service Animals tri-fold brochure or digital brochure.
Therapy Dogs → Therapy dogs do not have rights under the Air Carrier Access Act and are instead recognized only as pets.