What's the difference between a Service Dog, Therapy Dog, and Emotional Support Dog?

Many people confuse the terms "therapy dog" and "service dog." Christy Hill has written an article on this and graciously allowed Doggie Manners to publish it here.

Please note that Doggie Manners does not have any information on where to get service dogs, therapy dogs, or emotional support dogs. Contact Christy Hill, whose contact information is at the end of this article.

Therapy Dogs provide affection and comfort to people in hospitals, nursing homes, retirement homes, or mental instutions. They are certified through various programs like Delta Society www.deltasociety.org, Therapy Dog International www.tdi-dog.org, and TherapyDog Inc. www.therapydogs.com. These organizations have certifiers throughout the country. Therapy dogs need to take and pass a certifying test and then can be approved to go to a hospital, nursing home, etc. where they visit patients or residents.

But -- Therapy Dogs also are used in therapy. Like physical therapy for someone that needs to use their hands more and can brush the dog or throw balls for movement etc. In addition, once a dog is certified, that doesn't mean a hospital will automatically accept them. Some hosptials have their own interview process.

A Service Dog (also called an Assistance Dog) is a dog that is individually task trained to assist a disabled person who has a legal and qualifying disability -- blind, deaf, mobility, etc. A Service dog is an accommodation under law for the disabled person. Under the American's with Disabilities Act, a disabled person has the legal right to bring an individually trained service dog into public.

Service dogs are NOT Therapy Dogs and Therapy Dogs are NOT Service Dogs. However a Service Dog can be a Therapy Dog if the handler chooses to do that type of work. A Therapy dog is NOT a dog that is trained to do service dog tasks for one individual that is disabled. If a Therapy Dog handler is not disabled under the American's with Disabilities Act, they do not have any legal rights to take their dog into public.

If a dog is being trained as a service dog, puppy raisers and trainers for service dogs can bring these dogs into public places under STATE law. Not all states allow dogs in training or trainers to bring service dogs into public. The ADA only covers disabled individuals -- NOT trainers.

IF someone is disabled under the ADA and wants to train their own dog, there are some programs that will help people train their own dogs along with some private trainers. The key is the person not going through a program will have to take meticulous records of their dog's training because in case they ever have to go to court, they will have to prove their dog is individually trained. They also have to prove in court they are disabled.

There is no certification for assistance dogs other than what a program gives their graduates. Certification is not required by law. This was to give the disabled commuity freedom to have their service dog and not be bothered by being interviewed every store, restaurant or public place. Unfortuately, this freedom has given a loophole for many non-disabled people to fake that they have a disability and bring their pet dog into public. They may think this is just an innocent act but do not realize the trouble that it has caused many disabled, especially those disabled
individuals who have a hidden disability. Those with psychiatric disabilities now have to
disclose their status because of people pretending to have a disability.

Many assistance dog partners fear that it will become mandatoroy for all assistance dog handlers to get certified through some body that has yet to be developed. This will cause a huge hardship on those who choose not to get a program dog.

Even though this contradicts the federal Ameican's with Disabilities Act, California has passed a law that assistance dogs must get a service dog tag. This was initiated by businesses that couldn't tell the difference between someone passing their dog off as a service dog and someone who had a hidden disability and had a service dog.

Housing is a different matter depending as they accept Emotional Support Dogs. ADA does NOT accept emotional support dogs.

By definition, an Emotional Support Dog is not a service dog and is only supported under Fair Housing Laws. They do not get public access with the ADA. The airlines do recognize emotional support dogs, but you have to have a doctor's note for the airlines.

Emotional support is not a task-trained dog. They just emotionally support the person. They are essentially "comfort" dogs. They provide support for those who may have a psychiatric disability.

For guidelines for evaluating only public access, The Assistance Dog International www.assistancedoginternational.org. has the PAT (Public Access Test).

I have tons of legal information on assistance dogs on my club's website http://home.att.net/~care4k9.
Christy Hill, Founder of San Diego Assistance Dog Support Club.

Just a reminder --
PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT Doggie Manners.
Contact Christy Hill. Thank you!