There is a good chance that you have seen an assistance animal, most likely a dog, in action at least once. Assistance animals have become increasingly popular, and it is important that we understand the differences between service, emotional support, and therapy animals. The lines between each are being blurred, and people are irresponsibly labeling their animals as something they are not.

Here is a brief definition of each:

• Service animals are used to assist someone with physical, sensory, mental, and/or psychiatric disabilities. Dogs and miniature horses are the only animals that can qualify as service animals. (Miniature horses recently became an exception because they can accommodate for larger handlers and live considerably longer than dogs.) They are the only assistance animal that is allowed in all public places and is specially trained to assist one particular person and their individual needs. Since they must always accompany their owner, they live with their owner and must be able to handle all environments and situations.

Source

• Emotional support animals can be prescribed by a medical professional if the owner suffers from a mental illness. A variety of animals are used for emotional support, and they are intended to provide companionship to their owner and ease their emotions. These animals do not require any specific training. Emotional support animals live with their owners regardless of a “no pet” policy, but they do not have automatic clearance into public places.

Source

• Therapy animals are taken to hospitals, schools, nursing homes, etc., to comfort many people. They volunteer with their owner to interact with people and receive affection. These animals should have some sort of training and exhibit a calm disposition. They should be comfortable with all types of people and environments, but they require permission to enter public places.

Source

Animals truly do have a healing power, and the companionship and joy they bring is irreplaceable. I completely understand why we have relied on them to assist us in so many ways, and while I do not require any assistance, I selfishly wish every day that I could take my dogs with me wherever I go.

The increase in assistance animals, specifically emotional support animals, has created some obstacles for both people seeking the ability to own an emotional support animal and establishments having to control their guidelines in order to ensure everyone’s safety. Since emotional support animals do not require training, they are the easiest to “fake”; however, asking to see their documentation is allowed – unlike service animals.

Source

When people push the limits by taking their animals into public places, employees and staff are forced to confront the handler. Some will claim that their emotional support animal (certified or not) is allowed in public with them. Others will buy a random vest that says “service dog” across it and present their untrained dog as a service dog. Situations like these create unnecessary confusion and threaten the safety of other humans and animals.

Airlines have had to crack down on emotional support animals on flights by restricting service animals as the only animals allowed on commercial flights without having to abide by the carrier and size requirements. Other laws are being introduced to ensure that the mental health professionals have an authentic relationship with the owner before prescribing a support animal.

Source

With assistance animals on the rise, we must be able to find effective ways to verify the validity of these animals before less than ideal situations occur. By doing this, we will be removing obstacles for disabled handlers and increasing their safety as well as their animals’. The worst thing we can do is hinder a service animal’s ability to aid their handler, and understanding the role of each assistance animal is essential to avoiding this. A good rule of thumb to remember: if it is a real service animal, you shouldn’t even notice that they are there.