By Amy Di Piazza
There is so much confusion about service dogs, therapy animals and emotional support animals (ESA’s)- what they are and what they do. There is also a lot of misinformation continually spread by well meaning (and not so well meaning) people and businesses. Let’s take a look at some of this confusion and misinformation surrounding these labels for helpful animals, and get come clarity. We’ll take a look too, at who they can benefit and if every one can have them.
Therapy animals are pets that have generally spent some time training, are of calm demeanor and visit people who might benefit from some love from an animal. Generally they are dogs, but can be mini horses, cats and other animals that can be harnessed and leashed and are snuggly and calm. These animals must be clean, up to date on vaccinations, well behaved and can only visit places they are invited to such as assisted living facilities, hospitals and courthouse or various locations after disasters or events that might affect the general public. They have no rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and are viewed as pets only and therefore limited to the same access as your everyday pet dog.
Emotional Support Animals can be most animals but are generally dogs. These animals provide relief and companionship to their owners only. They are pets who have the special privilege of being allowed to live with their owner in a place where animals would not be allowed.
Because they are pets, they also have no special privileges under the ADA except for living with their owner. They require a medical doctor’s order or prescription and are subject to the living facilities rules and regulations. They may not accompany their owner any place other than allowed to pet dogs.
Service dogs, or assistance dogs are protected under the ADA. These animals are highly trained, and are considered medical equipment, not pets. They must preform a trained task that helps to mitigate their owners disability and enhances their owners life. This can be physical help- for example, carrying things, opening doors, turning on lights; medical help such as retrieving medication, alerting to food allergens or diabetic episodes and a multitude of other tasks such as alerting to alarms and doorbells for hearing impaired, guiding the blind, or providing stability and counter balance for the physicaly challeneged.
To qualify for a service dog, a person must have a disability that can be verified by a doctor.
To clear up some misinformation there is no national registry for any of these types of animals, no paperwork or specific vesting or equipment required. There are rules about some places that they are not allowed to accompany their owner (in relation to the service dog as the other scan only go where a pet can go).
As the law reads now, owner trained service dogs are allowed.
You may wonder – can I or should I train my own service dog?
Training takes time and consistency, which many people with a disability can have a hard time supplying. Also task training can be very difficult and time consuming. It can often require technical skills that most owner-trainers do not have. However, professionaly trained dogs from companies that provide them for free can have waiting lists up to 5 years, and dogs trained privately can cost anywhere from $15,000 to over $45,000!
Perhaps the best way for owner trainers to manage some of the cost is to find a service dog trainer who they can work with when they need help, have questions or are seeking guidance. Utilizing a reputable trainer for random sessions can help to mitigate some of the frustration when the training goes awry, when teaching a task is too complicated or simply when a second set of eyes are needed for guidance.–
“Training Dogs To Thrive In A Human World”
Amy, Di Piazza
Fear Free Certified TrainerCGC Evaluator