What’s the Difference Between an Emotional Support Animal and a Service Dog? New California Law Spells It Out
As a veterinarian, I’m often asked how to register dogs as service animals. When I hear that question, I know many people are referring to emotional support dogs rather than actual service dogs. Both types of dogs do very important work. Both support their humans in challenging times. Both are incredible. And yet, service animals and emotional support animals are very different. The people they are partnered with are also afforded very different rights.
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, a service animal is defined as a dog who is specially “trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of the individual with a disability,” which may include a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability. Depending on their training, service dogs can remind people to take medication, recognize a drop in blood sugar, assist individuals during a seizure, provide physical stability to those with balance or mobility issues, signal sound for the hearing impaired, or assist blind and visually impaired people with navigation. While dogs are the only species to be defined as true service animals, recent ADA provisions may also recognize some miniature horses as service animals if they have been appropriately trained and if they meet specific size and safety considerations.
By contrast, an emotional support animal, as defined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, is any animal that “provides emotional support and alleviates one or more symptoms or effects of a person’s disability.” These animals don’t require special training; they just have to show up. They provide companionship, prevent loneliness, or help with depression and anxiety, and their presence alone gets the job done. Unlike service dogs, an emotional support animal may be any domesticated pet species, such as a dog, cat, bird, mouse, or rabbit. Housing providers must reasonably accommodate people with emotional support animals as long as the animal is not a safety threat to others.
Guide dogs in training. photo: Guide Dogs for the Blind
Another major difference is that people with service animals are allowed to take them anywhere the general public is allowed to go, including restaurants, hospitals, public transit, and small businesses. People with emotional support animals aren’t. You will often see a service dog in your favorite ride-share vehicle, but you may not see an emotional support dog. If an animal has not been specifically trained to do a specialized task for someone’s disability, by law, it is not a service animal. Even with a doctor’s note, you do not have the same access rights for an emotional support animal as people with service animals do.
This issue has been confusing and only made worse by fraudulent online registration services, so-called certifications, and fake service dog clothing. Unfortunately, these set people up with unrealistic access expectations, put untrained animals into unsafe situations, and complicate travel for people with legitimate service dogs. The reality is that no registry service, certification card, or clothing available online can act as a substitute for the hard work and training that goes into creating a legitimate service animal. (To learn more about the type of work required, including volunteer opportunities, visit guidedogs.com)
California recently took action to clear up some of this confusion and provide penalties for fraudulent activities. Effective January 1, 2022, California Assembly Bill 468 provides a framework for defining animals as emotional support animals versus service dogs. It also establishes requirements for healthcare professionals who issue emotional support animal documentation and provides restrictions on the sale of emotional support animals and associated paraphernalia, with hefty fines for violators.
Other good things to know:
Licensed human healthcare professionals, not veterinarians, provide the documentation for emotional support animals.
Any breed of dog may be a service dog.
Service animals are not required to wear a vest, and they do not need to be ‘certified.’
To determine if an animal is an actual service dog, you may ask two questions: (1) Is the service animal required because of a disability? (2) What work or task has the dog been trained to do?
Service animals and emotional support animals both play significant and meaningful roles in our society. While it’s important for us to understand the differences between the two, both can make the world a better place if they are well-behaved and trained for their respective roles.