…You can’t!
There is no such thing as a legitimate Online Doctors note, Registry or Certification for a pet to be a Service Animal.
Taken from the ADA’s website: “There are individuals and organizations that sell service animal certification or registration documents online. These documents do not convey any rights under the ADA and the Department of Justice does not recognize them as proof that the dog is a service animal.”
There are major differences between the three types of Service Animals: Emotional Support, Therapy and Service Animal.
The ADA defines a Service Animal as any dog, or other animal individually trained to provide assistance to an individual with a disability. Otherwise meaning, the only ones lawfully covered by the DoJ are Task-trained Service Animals.
Emotional Support Animals (ESAs) are NOT the same as Task-Trained Service Animals. They are not covered by the ADA or Department of Justice, they do NOT have public access rights to “go anywhere you want”. They are not a license to have dogs where you otherwise couldn’t, and it is illegal and unethical to claim an Emotional Support/Service Animal to get around breed restrictions in apartments. Additionally, faking a Service Dog team can land you up to a $5,000 fine in California.
Including fines and other legal issues that those will run into when bringing their pet dogs to Wal-Mart or the grocery store? They are putting real, legit Service Dog teams in danger simply by just being there. These teams are highly trained and have spent countless hours and money on becoming what they are, and getting to the point of working together in public. More than likely, the pet dog has not had nearly the same amount, nor type, of training and can distract, react to, or attack a legit Service Dog Team.
Not all disabilities are visible. Sometimes a handler may need their dog to alert them to an impending seizure, a drop in blood pressure, an oncoming anxiety attack, someone or something approaching proximity boundaries. It could be anything, and it is nobody’s business what disabilities the handlers have except their own and their Service Animal’s. The point is, if the animal misses his target because he’s distracted by Pet Dog, Fido, barking at him? His handler could get very seriously injured or worse.
Remember, you don’t need to be the Fake Service Dog Police. If you suspect a pet dog is pretending to be a Service Dog, seek out the store’s manager and alert them to your suspicions. It is up to them to ask the two individual questions that grant public access.
Emotional Support Animals DO have their place, and play a very important role in providing comfort and support in their human’s lives. ESA’s are not required to have any specific training because they don’t perform any tasks. ESA’s can also be other animals such as cats, rabbits, or parrots, though those animals may not be allowed to travel on airlines.
If you feel you could benefit from an Emotional Support Animal; you are still required to get your personal doctor or therapist to sign a letter stating your need for the ESA, in order for you to receive Reasonable Accommodations for housing or travel. Your ESA letter does not grant you public access into non-pet friendly stores. They are seen as pets and can be a distraction to Service Dog Teams.
Emotional Support Animals can, however, accompany you to pet-friendly places such as pet stores, some hardware stores, some banks, and some outdoor cafes. If you’re fortunate enough to live in places like the Bay Area – You’ve got Stanford Shopping Center and Santana Row. Monterey County is quite dog-friendly, especially Carmel-by-the-Sea. All of these places are very dog-friendly and encouraged! Most stores will even have water bowls and treats hidden in the back for all the good boys & girls.
Therapy Dogs and Mini horses have a special place as well. These are the animals that visit hospitals, homes and schools to provide comfort and love to their residents. They are there for petting, resting, talking and reading to. These animals DO have a certification process that they generally go through to become a volunteer team. Most hospitals & homes will not allow individual Therapy Dog teams to visit their premises unless they belong with a specific Therapy Dog organization. Many of these Therapy Dog Organizations will require the dogs go through CGC Certification before, and to remain current on for the duration of their service.
Therapy Dogs and Mini horses do NOT have public access rights. They are only permitted in their designated places of service, and pet-friendly businesses.
Dogs and Mini Horses are the two most used animals as Service Animals. They have many different jobs that range from Guide Dogs, to Medical Alert, Mobility, and Psychiatric Service Dogs. These are considered Task-Trained Service Animals.
Psychiatric Service Dogs are very different from Emotional Support Animals. PSD’s are individually trained in tasks to help mitigate their handlers disabilities. They may perform Deep Pressure Therapy (DPT) for anxiety attacks, alert to an oncoming panic attack from PTSD, perform Grounding, remind handler for medications, break dissociative episodes, wake from nightmares, etc. The amazing list of things goes on and the tasks are all individual to each handler team. These teams spend all day together. Some handlers need their Service Animals on an hour-by-hour, a day-by-day or a week-by-week basis. These animals are truly their daily side-kicks and Superheroes all rolled into one.
Banner The Super Dog
Superheroes indeed, I wanted to share some Service Animals that I follow on social media. This girl’s name says it all: “Banner, The Super Dog”. What I love most about her is that she’s a Husky that has been very well trained by her handler. She gets to be a husky, and also takes her job very seriously. And who doesn’t enjoy a cosplaying dog?
Miniature Horses can also perform similar Service jobs; Vision Guide, Medical Alert, and they are a great option for handlers who may need more mobility support than a dog can give.
Flirty The Miniature Service Horse
One such Miniature horse I follow on Social Media is Flirty. She’s sassy and adorable and I really enjoy how open and honest her mama is. Her handler does more than her share of spreading education and information about Service Animals. She gives her readers a glimpse into the life of someone with invisible disabilities, dealing with the public, and the training and daily care of her service animal all while dealing with “real life” stuff. Flirty is her life line and it’s often shared, moments she has needed Flirty to jump into action to do her job. They are a great team, and you can see the love between them.
This is only part of the information I wanted to share. I created a whole second blog to cover the rest. Read Paw’rt Two Here!
Published by Amy Noble on 7/31/19
Amy is an Animal Behaviorist in Monterey Ca, with over Thirty years of experience and active knowledge working with animals. She has helped clients train Medical Alert, Mobility, and Psychiatric Service Animals, and is an AKC CGC Evaluator.