The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) grants special access and rights to service dogs for individuals with disabilities. Incomplete knowledge of the ADA and misunderstanding of the differences between service dogs, emotional support animals, and therapy dogs have created the potential to abuse the system and resulted in recent controversy.
To help clear up some of the confusion and misinformation, K9s For Camo has listed some excerpts from Revised ADA Requirements: Service Animals, as well as general information about emotional support animals (ESAs) and therapy dogs, explaining what they are and how they differ from service dogs in both function and legal rights.
Service Dogs
Emotional Support Dogs
Therapy Dogs
Reminder: It is unethical and illegal in some states to misrepresent an animal as a service animal.
The Air Carrier Access Act allows ESAs to accompany their owner in the cabin of commercial airplanes. Airlines can require documentation, and rules vary from airline to airline.
The Fair Housing Act also includes ESAs in the definition of assistance animals and requires that ESAs be allowed in many housing situations, otherwise banning pets.
Reminder: It is unethical and illegal in some states to misrepresent an Emotional Support Animal as a service animal.
Reminder: It is unethical and illegal in some states to misrepresent a therapy dog as a service animal.
More reading: AKC Therapy Dog Program
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Address: 2733 East Battlefield Road #125 Springfield, MO 65804
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