What's the Difference Between Service Dogs, Therapy Dogs, and Emotional Support Animals?
There is controversy surrounding the roles of animals in the lives of individuals with disabilities or chronic illnesses. A lot of us have seen the posts online about registering your animal being an emotional support animal with a little fee, and having the capacity to keep your animal in a no pets allowed setting. It has led visitors to question the legitimacy of all service animals and their roles. A feeling of distrust among people who do not understand the difference between these animals, and the rights that accompany them, has been emerging as more folks utilize these services.
Service Dogs will be the most protected and trained of the 3 types of dogs. Even though many people refer to all 3 types as "service animals", the official names for this type is Service Dog. These dogs are legally considered medical equipment and have a price tag to complement, which range from $10,000- $50,000. They're intensively trained for 1.5-2.5 years, needing to pass various tests to be serviceable including, however, not limited to, opening cupboards, retrieving dropped objects, staying calm in public areas, etc.
Beneath the Americans with Disabilities Act, Service Dogs are allowed anywhere their handler is, and can't be turned from an establishment or refused to go to work with their handler. DOT's Air Carrier Access Act, and DOJ/HUD Fair Housing Act and Federal Rehabilitation Act cover other circumstances that the ADA doesn't. While there is an improvement between Service Dogs and Emotional Support Animals, there exists a gray area for dogs which are used to calm anxiety attacks under ADA rules. Psychiatric Service Dogs are covered beneath the ADA only when they perform specific action in order to avoid or lessen an attack. If they're just there for comfort then they are considered an Emotional Support Animal.
Therapy dogs are sort of the opposite side of exactly the same coin as Service Dogs. Rather than offering physical aid to their handlers, they provide psychological or physiological therapy to others and are accompanied by a handler who doesn't usually need their service. The best example of a therapy dog will be dogs that go to children's hospitals to create comfort, or dogs that work in school systems.
These animals, like the Service Dogs, require extensive training. Therapy dogs are also encouraged to be very social and connect to a range of people, unlike Service Dogs who need to focus on their handler. https://wellnesswag.com/ could be trained by anyone, but they need to meet standards to be certified. Therapy dogs don't have exactly the same rights as service dogs, though many places will allow a therapy dog to accompany their owners, they're not required to for legal reasons.
The last type we have been discussing are Emotional Support Animals. That one may be the most vague and open-ended. An Emotional Support Animal doesn't have to have any special training and most of the time is registered by its owner because it brings comfort. Also, an Emotional Support Animal does not have to be always a dog. These animals are not protected beneath the ADA and cannot accompany their owners in establishments where you can find no animals allowed. Owners with a registered support animals will keep them in housing that otherwise does not allow pets according to the Fair Housing Act.