{"id":735,"date":"2015-09-01T18:03:58","date_gmt":"2015-09-01T18:03:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.adainfo.org\/?post_type=article-archive&p=735"},"modified":"2022-04-28T20:22:38","modified_gmt":"2022-04-28T20:22:38","slug":"service-animals-and-assistance-animals-where-when-and-how","status":"publish","type":"article-archive","link":"https:\/\/www.adainfo.org\/article-archive\/service-animals-and-assistance-animals-where-when-and-how\/","title":{"rendered":"Service Animals and Assistance Animals: Where, When, and How"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"serviceThe topic of service animals and other types of animals that help people with disabilities has become nearly too hot to handle in recent years. This is an area where multiple laws, which sometimes overlap, apply in various settings. Many of these laws have different requirements and even fundamental differences in how these animals are defined. At the same time, most laws recognize a similar balance between rights and responsibilities, and establish limitations based on valid health or safety concerns with animals in certain settings.<\/p>\n

Terminology<\/h2>\n

The language and terms that describe various types of working animals or animals that help people with disabilities are not consistently used or understood. When different people say \u201cservice animal,\u201d \u201cassistance animal,\u201d \u201ccomfort animal,\u201d \u201cemotional support animal,\u201d or \u201ctherapy animal,\u201d they are not necessarily talking about the same thing.<\/p>\n

Service Animals<\/h3>\n

This term is currently defined in two different ways under the ADA. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has one definition and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has another (read on!). Generally, service animals are trained to perform specific tasks (guiding, retrieving, alerting, etc.) and work for one particular individual with a disability, often for the life of the animal.<\/p>\n

Emotional Support or Comfort Animals<\/h3>\n

These terms are generally used interchangeably. Emotional support animals may be socialized and obedience-trained, but they are not trained to perform any specific disability-related tasks. They provide benefit passively<\/em>; their mere presence is comforting. They are also usually paired with one particular person, often for life.<\/p>\n

Therapy Animals<\/h3>\n

Therapy animals are typically considered those which are trained to accompany handlers to places like nursing homes, hospitals, or schools to provide therapeutic benefits, such as comfort or socialization, to the general populations there. These are working animals, but they do not meet ADA definitions of \u201cservice animals\u201d because they serve general populations rather than particular individuals.<\/p>\n

Assistance Animals<\/h3>\n

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban (HUD) uses this term in relation to the Fair Housing Act (FHA), as well as Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (for recipients of HUD funding). The term can include animals of various types that perform tasks or provide emotional support for individuals with disabilities.<\/p>\n

Again, however, there is not universal agreement on the meaning and use of these terms. Let\u2019s take a look at some of the laws that address animals that help people with disabilities.<\/p>\n

ADA<\/h2>\n

The ADA itself does not define or address service animals. Animals are not even mentioned in the statute, but concepts like \u201creasonable accommodation\u201d and \u201creasonable policy modifications\u201d are established, and various federal agencies are charged with issuing regulations to guide implementation of the different parts of the law.<\/p>\n

Title II and Title III: State and Local Governments and Places of Public Accommodation<\/h3>\n

These titles of the ADA are regulated and enforced by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). DOT\u2019s regulation<\/a> covers transportation programs and services. DOJ\u2019s Title II regulation<\/a> covers all other types of programs and services provided by state or local governments (public health or social services, recreation programs, court systems, libraries, museums, schools, etc.), and DOJ\u2019s Title III regulation<\/a> covers a variety of places of public accommodation (privately owned and operated businesses such as stores, restaurants, movie theaters, hotels, fitness centers, banks, professional offices, and many others).<\/p>\n

Until 2010 the DOJ and DOT regulations defined service animals the same way (\u201cany guide dog, signal dog, or other animal individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability \u2026\u201d). In 2010 DOJ revised their regulations and eliminated the \u201cother animal\u201d part of the definition; now only dogs can be considered service animals under DOJ\u2019s rules. A service animal can be any type, size, or breed of dog, but cannot be any other type of animal.<\/p>\n

Cats, monkeys, goats, rats, snakes, rabbits, pigs, or other types of animals, regardless of whether they have been trained to perform tasks for people with disabilities or how well-behaved they might be, are not considered service animals under DOJ\u2019s rules.<\/p>\n

DOJ did include a unique new provision in their 2010 regulations for individuals with disabilities using miniature horses which are similar to service dogs. State and local government agencies and private businesses may take certain additional factors into consideration before allowing individuals to be accompanied by miniature horses (such as the size and weight of the miniature horse), but the provisions are otherwise similar to those related to service dogs.<\/p>\n

DOT has not<\/em> revised their ADA rules in relation to service animals, so their definition is not limited to dogs. The other provisions remain the same, but within transportation systems covered by DOT\u2019s rule, such as city bus or commuter rail systems, individuals with disabilities may be able to use other types of service animals (for example, cats).<\/p>\n

Service animals must be individually trained to perform active work or tasks for an individual with a disability, and animals that provide emotional support or comfort through their presence alone are not considered service animals. Many animals are trained, however, to perform active tasks that are designed to reduce anxiety or affect behavior for people who have what some might consider \u201cemotional\u201d disabilities. For example, an animal may be trained to take action<\/em> (applying gentle pressure by leaning against its owner, pawing him, etc.) to alert an individual with an psychiatric condition to take medication or move away from a situation that is becoming stressful. This is a service animal<\/em>, not an emotional support animal, even though the service provided may result in some emotional comfort or enhanced well-being.<\/p>\n

Service animals must be under control, house-broken, and well-behaved. Individuals can be required to remove from the premises any animal that is out of control, which would include not only animals that may be engaging in disruptive or threatening behavior like incessant barking or growling, but also animals that have been left unattended. When an animal is excluded for valid reasons, the individual with the disability must still be allowed to access goods and services without the animal.<\/p>\n

When an individual enters a place (or vehicle) covered under Title II or Title III, the entity can ask the individual if the animal is a service animal needed because of a disability, and what work or tasks the animal has been trained to perform. These questions can only be asked, however, if the answers are not obvious. For example, if an individual using a wheelchair enters a store with a harnessed dog pulling the wheelchair, it would be inappropriate to question the individual.<\/p>\n

Individuals cannot be questioned further about their disabilities or the animals\u2019 training, nor can they be required to produce documentation or certifications.<\/p>\n

Covered entities cannot charge fees to allow individuals to be accompanied by service animals, although they can charge people for any actual damage caused by their animals. For example, a hotel cannot charge a \u201cpet\u201d fee or an extra deposit before permitting a service animal on the property, but if the animal actually causes damage that would require more than routine types of cleaning, the hotel can charge guests the same way they would charge any other guest who causes similar damage.<\/p>\n

For more guidance on service animals under Title II or Title III, check out:<\/p>\n