Service, Emotional Support, and Therapy Animals: What’s The Difference?
More than just faithful companions, service animals and emotional support animals are highly trained professionals who spend their days working to ensure accessibility and quality of life for their owners. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a service animal is defined as a dog that has been trained to do work or perform specific tasks or services for a person with a disability, while an emotional support animal is an animal whose presence provides comfort for its owner. Meanwhile, a therapy animal is an animal that may be used as a part of a therapeutic treatment process in order to achieve certain goals for a patient. The lines between service, emotional support, and therapy animals can sometimes be a bit blurry. In this guide we will seek to define the differences between each category, the services they provide, and the intricacies of bringing one of these animals into your life.
Service vs. Emotional Support vs. Therapy Animals
What is a service animal?
DO SERVICE ANIMALS HAVE TO BE DOGS?
The ADA has been revised to allow for miniature horses to function as service animals in certain situations. Miniature horses have longer lifespans than dogs and are hypoallergenic, which makes them a fantastic alternative service animal.
Service animals are dogs that are considered working animals. While they may provide emotional support to their owners in addition to their other tasks, their primary function is to “perform a task directly related to a person’s disability.” The ADA’s page on service animals details tasks that they may perform, such as retrieving objects for people with reduced mobility, or detecting the onset of a seizure in their owner. Service animals are regularly allowed to enter places with their owners that do not otherwise allow animals, such as restaurants and schools, due to the fact that they are actively working, unlike regular pets. To qualify to have a service animal, a person must fit the ADA’s legal definition of disability, which differs from a medical definition of disability.
What is an emotional support animal?
An emotional support animal (ESA) is a dog or other common domesticated animal that provides support and comfort to its owner through companionship. They may be part of a course of treatment for mental illness or prescribed to ease their owner’s symptoms. An ESA must be deemed medically necessary by a licensed mental health professional. ESAs are considered pets rather than working animals and therefore do not receive the same accommodations that service animals do. It is legally permissible for ESAs to be denied entry to locations where animals are not commonly allowed, and airlines are not required to accommodate service animals. For more information, check out the American Kennel Club’s page on ESAs.
What is a therapy animal?
A therapy animal is an animal that provides affection and comfort to members of the public. A person does not need to be diagnosed with a disability to be the handler or owner of a therapy animal, and therapy animals do not provide support to just one person. Therapy dogs do not receive the same accommodations as service animals but may be invited into otherwise restricted spaces such as hospitals, nursing homes, and schools for a specific event or window of time. Therapy animals have been used in some Ronald McDonald Houses to provide comfort and entertainment for those staying.
Which laws govern the use of service, emotional support, and therapy animals?
Both federal and state laws can provide protections to people with disabilities which allow them to use service animals or emotional support animals. If state law differs from federal law, the law that provides the most protection for the individual with the disability will be used. Service animals are considered working animals, while emotional support animals and therapy animals are considered pets. Therefore, the laws that allow service animals access and accommodation are not required to apply to emotional support or therapy animals.
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) – Various titles of the ADA allow people with disabilities to have service dogs in certain places. Title II allows them in government buildings and Title III allows them in public accommodations. Although Title I of the ADA does not specifically mention service animals, it requires employers to make “reasonable accommodations” for employees with disabilities. A service animal is typically considered a reasonable accommodation and will therefore normally be allowed in the workplace. The ADA does not provide any protections for emotional support animals.
Fair Housing Act (FHA) – The Fair Housing Act (FHA) is a federal law that provides tenants throughout the United States with protection from housing discrimination. The FHA requires most property owners to make reasonable accommodations for tenants with disabilities—including service animals. Some property owners/landlords are exempt from the FHA. For those properties governed by the FHA, both service animals and emotional support animals are considered reasonable accommodations and are therefore allowed.
Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) – The ACAA allows disabled people to have service animals on a plane with them in the passenger cabin at no extra cost. As of 2020, airlines are no longer required to accommodate emotional support animals, and policies vary by airline.
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) – IDEA gives students with disabilities the right to a free appropriate public education (FAPE). Qualified special education students may be allowed to have service animals in school as part of their IEP. IDEA does not cover emotional support animals.
Ohio Revised Code and Ohio Administrative Code – There are two laws that pertain to service animals in Ohio. Both the Ohio Revised Code and the Ohio Administrative Code have laws that allow people with disabilities to have service animals in places of public accommodations. Neither of these laws provides protection for emotional support animals in public places.
Pennsylvania’s Human Rights Act — Pennsylvania's Human Rights Act provides protection for people with disabilities from discrimination in their use of a support animal. The law does not cover emotional support animals.
West Virginia’s White Cane Law — West Virginia’s White Cane Law provides protection for people with disabilities from discrimination in their use of a support animal. The law does not cover emotional support animals.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are service animals and emotional support animals pets?
Service animals are not considered pets—they are working animals performing a job. Emotional support animals are considered pets in most instances, except for housing. As of 2020, airlines are no longer required to accommodate emotional support animals.
Do service animals and emotional support animals need to be trained, certified, or registered?
Service animals, by definition, must be trained to perform a task or an activity for an individual with a disability. Emotional support animals do not have to be specifically trained. Certification and registration are not required for either service animals or emotional support animals. A letter may be obtained from a licensed mental health professional confirming a need for an ESA, but landlords or other similar figures who request a certification number or certificate are misinformed, as this type of certification does not exist.
Can my employer refuse to let me have my service animal or emotional support animal at work?
Under Title I of the ADA, employers are required to provide reasonable accommodations to employees with disabilities. A service animal is typically considered a reasonable accommodation in the workplace for a person with a disability and is therefore usually allowed.
In the workplace, an emotional support animal is considered a pet. Unless the employer has a policy that allows pets in the workplace, an emotional support animal can be banned.
Can I bring my service animal or emotional support animal to a restaurant, grocery store, mall, Or other places of public accommodation?
Under ADA Title III, a service animal is allowed in areas that are open to the public, including areas that may otherwise ban pets. This is because service animals are performing a job.
ADA Title III does not provide any protections or rights for individuals with emotional support animals in public accommodations.
Can my landlord refuse to let me have a service animal or emotional support animal in my apartment?
In most cases, the answer is no. Under the FHA, service animals and emotional support animals are both considered reasonable accommodations and must be allowed. There are limited types of property that may be exempt from the FHA. Additionally, the landlord may be able to deny the animal if they can prove that it creates an undue financial or administrative burden; poses a direct threat to the health, safety, or property of others; or fundamentally changes the nature of the property.
Can a landlord charge me a pet fee/deposit for having a service or emotional support animal?
No. Since these animals are not pets under the Fair Housing Act (FHA), pet fees and deposits do not apply. However, if the service or emotional support animal causes damage to the property, the landlord has the right to charge the owner for the damages.
Can I take my service animal or emotional support animal on an airplane with me?
The Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) allows individuals with disabilities to have service animals on a plane with them. As of 2020, airlines are no longer required to accommodate emotional support animals. Policies vary by airline—certain large animals and animals that may present a health and safety risk to others may be banned, and airlines are never required to allow rodents, snakes, and other reptiles as emotional support animals.
Do I have to provide documentation to prove I am entitled to a service or emotional support animal?
Owners of service animals are never required to provide documentation. In fact, the only two questions that the owner of a service animal can be asked are:
1. Is the animal required because of a disability?
2. What specific trained task does this animal perform?
Owners of emotional support animals may be asked to provide a letter from a medical provider stating the need for the animal. The letter must be no more than a year old. Certifications and certification numbers for service and emotional support animals do not exist.
What happens if someone complains about my animal because of an allergy or a fear?
In general, another person’s allergy or fear is not a valid reason to restrict a person with a disability’s right to have their service animal in a place they are legally allowed to be, as a service animal is performing a job.
Do I have to clean up after my animal and am I responsible for damages?
Yes, the owner of a service or emotional support animal is responsible for keeping their animal under control, cleaning up any mess, and for any damages.
Additional Resources
American Disability Rights – These heroes have four legs
Disability Rights Ohio – Service Animals
U.S. Department of Justice – FAQs about Service Animals and the ADA
This guide was developed as part of a project made possible by a grant from the Ohio State Bar Foundation. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of the Ohio State Bar Foundation. Lead researcher/author: Helen Livingston Rapp, Esq., RedTreehouse.org Volunteer.
Revised and updated by Sydney Emerson, RMHC NEO Marketing Intern, 2021.