Emotional Support Animals VS Service Animals.
How was your holiday season? Good? Great. Now that we've gotten that out of the way, we need to talk about something that's pretty important.
All too much over my lifetime I've seen something that is absolutely ridiculous. One of my goals for 2018 was to spend as much time as I can educating those who seem to need it, at least on this subject. So I really just want to get this out in the open.
Your Emotional Support Animal (ESA) is 100% NOT a Service Animal (SA). If you don't know the difference, keep reading. If you do know the difference and think this doesn't apply to you, keep reading. Even if you don't care, keep reading. Anybody in any public place needs to know the difference and know the rights that go along with it.
First off we are going to talk about service animals. The ADA government website defines exactly what a service animal is, a dog that has been individually trained to do work or perform tasks for an individual with a disability. The tasks these dogs are trained to do are specific to that specific person and their specific disability. They could be trained to pick things up that had been dropped, help with clothing, open doors, alert to medication alarms, alert to early signs of a seizure, alert to a diabetics blood sugar, to be the eyes and ears to an individual who has hearing and/or sight loss, keep an autistic individual from wandering away, etc. Service dogs go through extensive selection and training to help ensure they will be the right dog to help that person. They are also not considered pets, they're there to work for that person.
Now for the emotional support animals. ESAs are companions, they're your pet. And there's nothing wrong with that. They make you feel better when you're depressed, they help you calm down during a panic/anxiety attack. But they aren't trained to recognize the signs that you're about to have an attack, or that you're slipping into a mentally dark place. Not having that training to recognize those signs means your ESA is just that, an ESA. You can't take your ESA everywhere you go. They can't go to restauraunts with you, or the grocery store, or the dentist, etc. Your ESA can go for car rides, and maybe to a park where pets are allowed (some city parks do not allow dogs, check your local parks to see if you can). Service animals are also (mostly) dogs. ESAs can be any animal you can get your doctor to write a note for. I've even seen people say that their pet snake is their ESA. Even if you pay money for service animal certification, you're not going to convince me that your box turtle is a service animal.
Speaking of which, if you're paying money to "register" your service animal, you're probably not doing your research. ADA law states that your service animal does NOT require specific certification for being a service animal. You do need to follow your city law and have your animal registered, licensed, and vaccinated (if the law states as necessary). Though, if the city is trying to say you have to register your service animal as such, they are doing so unlawfully. Business staffs are only allowed to ask if the service animal is required because of a disability, and what work or tasks they are trained to perform. They are NOT allowed to require the dog to perform the tasks, to request documentation on the service animal, or to inquire about the persons disability. You're also not going to be turned away from a pet-free hotel because of your service animal, if you are then you can report that hotel to the appropriate agency.
Of course, none of that above applies to your ESA. Your ESA does NOT have the same rights. If you book a hotel with an ESA claiming as a service animal, you may (rightfully) be asked to leave. I've had experience with this before as I have worked in the hotel business. Service animals are, normally, extremely well behaved. They don't really bark (unless their bark is part of their training to alert and is usually one bark, not continuous), and they don't chew up everything in site, just to name a couple. I've seen guests with their ESAs who are incredibly vocal, not fully potty trained, and destructive. Service animals also go with their handler when the handler leaves their room for the day, ESAs are usually left behind depending on the situation.
The main thing that I'm trying to say is that service animals have worked hard to be able to help these people, they deserve the rights they have been given. Emotional support animals haven't gone through that extensive training. People who believe that their ESAs deserve all of those rights are diminishing what the service animal has worked so hard to achieve. It also makes it harder on service animal owners, as they are more likely to be met with a shady eye when they really have every right!
Below is the link to the ADA website's FAQs on Service animals. Take the time to educate yourself a little bit, it might be handy to you in the long run!
