Category Archives: Articles

Things First-Time Dog Owners Should Know Before They Bring Their Furry Friend Home

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first time dog owners tips

Getting a new dog is exciting especially to people who are doing it for the very first time. There are things that first-time homeowners deserve to know to make the transition easier and ensure the success of the experience. Veterinarian Sarah Evans, DVM, shares these tips below:

Mix 75% of the dog’s old diet with 25% of the new diet for a few days.

To prevent gastrointestinal problems, a dog owner should not suddenly introduce a new diet. Mixing previous food with the new food helps the dog adjust. Dr. Evans says that within 2 weeks, the dog should be fully adjusted. She also recommends buying high-quality dog food for sensitive stomachs.

Enroll your pup in a puppy class to receive behavioral training.

Training puppies to behave can be frustrating. Basic training programs allow pets to socialize with other dogs. To increase your pup’s motivation, reward him with a treat after a good behavior. Along with the healthy treat, provide praise.

Walk your dog at least once a day for 30 minutes.

Stay-at-home pets require more movement, so walking them for half an hour each day lets them complete their exercise needs. But take note that this can vary depending on the breed. Supervision, while the dog is at play, is a must to prevent mishaps.

Be well-prepared when traveling.

If you are to go on a road trip with your dog, feed him 2 hours before the trip to avoid nausea. You wouldn’t want motion sickness to prevent your dog from enjoying the experience. When it comes to air travel, you need to know airline rules and rules that govern assistance animals, if you happen to own one.

Article source: Refinery 29

Do you own an assistance animal? Register your pet. 

The Service Animal Registry of California invites you to have your assistance animal registered in order to designate its status. We also encourage you to take our online classes so you can be fully aware of your rights and gain more knowledge about your support animal.

Finally, we present to you our book entitled, “ASSISTANCE ANIMAL LAWS: LEARN YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING SERVICE ANIMALS, EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMALS, THERAPY PETS, AND OTHER DOGS, CATS, AND ASSISTANCE ANIMALS” to provide you with a complete education on assistance animals.

Purchase your copy of the book by clicking the text or image below.

Making Reasonable Accommodations for Emotional Support Animals

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emotional support animals reasonable accommodations

You’ve probably heard about emotional support animals. Emotional support animals such as dogs provide companionship and comfort to people who are suffering from mental and emotional conditions. Examples of these conditions are PTSD, depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder. Making great companions, emotional support animals assist psychologically disabled individuals so they can live a fuller, more meaningful life.

Take note that emotional support animals can be any type of animal. What matters is that adopting this animal won’t violate local or state laws.

Over the last five years, there has been an increase in the number of requests to bring along emotional support animals in facilities, including those that have a “no pet policy.” These include condominiums, rental housing, and universities. After all, the Fair Housing Amendments Act (FHAA) prohibits any form of discrimination against emotional support animals and their owners.

Now that more requests are being made to accommodate ESAs, it’s important that property managers know how to address these requests. Denial of these legitimate requests can lead to legal consequences.

The Process of Making a Request to Grant an Accommodation

As mentioned earlier, your emotional support animal has the right to live with you even in a housing or building that has a “no pets” policy. The first step to living in a housing with your ESA is to create a written request that notifies the landlord, property manager, or association (for condominiums) of your disability.

Also, your request needs to be accompanied by a letter from a licensed medical practitioner specifying the need for the emotional support animal. This letter helps demonstrate your disability, and that your landlord has the right to ask for this piece of documentation. Let’s say that you are receiving medical treatment for depression. Your physician will be specifying in the letter that your emotional support animal offers you the assistance you need to perform even the most basic activities of daily living.

letter for esa

Landlords, property managers, and homeowners associations need to realize that not all disabilities are obvious. Emotional support animals usually cater to people with disabilities that are psychological and emotional in nature. The absence of signs of disability does not imply that a request made by the individual can be denied.

What If Your Request Is Denied?

Once the association receives your letter request and they evaluate it, they can now decide whether to approve or disapprove your request.

What should you do if, in case, they deny your request? You may then file a complaint with state agencies. They will review your complaint to determine whether the reason for the disapproval of your request is discrimination. If there is indeed discrimination, you can file a lawsuit against the association. On the other hand, the association will need to explain why they denied your reasonable request.

The Abuse of “Emotional Support” Animals

While emotional support animals help people with disabilities by providing companionship and assistance, many people tend to abuse their use. There are travel restrictions for animals, and this alone has led to the increase in the number of people claiming to have a disability so they can travel with their “emotional support” animal without extra fees.

plane travel with esa

Because when it comes to traveling, airlines require an ESA letter issued by a physician within the same year of travel. It would help to find out what an airline’s expectations are. It was recently announced that Delta and American Airlines now require additional documentation from ESA owners. They now do this to keep fake ESA owners at bay.

Are you an owner of an assistance animal?

The Service Animal Registry of California invites you to have your assistance animal registered in order to designate its status. We also encourage you to take our online classes so you can be fully aware of your rights and gain more knowledge about your support animal.

Finally, we present to you our book entitled, “ASSISTANCE ANIMAL LAWS: LEARN YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING SERVICE ANIMALS, EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMALS, THERAPY PETS, AND OTHER DOGS, CATS, AND ASSISTANCE ANIMALS” to provide you with a complete education on assistance animals.

Purchase your copy of the book by clicking the text or image below.

ASSISTANCE ANIMAL LAWS: LEARN YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING SERVICE ANIMALS, EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMALS, THERAPY PETS, AND OTHER DOGS, CATS, AND ASSISTANCE ANIMALS

assistance animal laws

 

 

Restaurant owner asked customer to show proof of her seizure alert dog

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seizure alert dog

Savanah Overtruf, a Loveland woman, is a regular customer of a restaurant. She visits the place weekly with her mother and her service dog, Liea, who alerts Overtruf before she experiences seizure attacks. Overtruf has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, depression, migraines, and Tourette syndrome.

Overtruf was surprised because one Tuesday night, the restaurant owner, Khai Tran, suddenly asked her to show proof that Liea was a real service dog. Tran told Overtruf that he can service her for that night but next time, she must show him proof of her service dog. When interviewed by CBS4’s Jeff Todd, Overtruf said,  “When something like this happens it makes me feel lesser in my community.”

It’s common for business owners to misunderstand assistance animal laws. While Khan was only concerned about people bringing fake service animals to his restaurant, experts state that asking for proof of a service animal is against the ADA and Colorado Anti-Discrimination laws. Restaurants are allowed to ask assistance animal owners only 2 questions: 1) “Is the animal required because of your disability?” and 2) “What task does it perform?”

Overtruf said that adherence to the law is important for her and other service animal owners. She would love to go back to the restaurant and simply wants the owner to know that what he did was against the law.

Article source: CBS Denver

Are you an owner of an assistance animal?

The Service Animal Registry of California invites you to have your assistance animal registered in order to designate its status. We also encourage you to take our online classes so you can be fully aware of your rights and gain more knowledge about your support animal.

Finally, we present to you our book entitled, “ASSISTANCE ANIMAL LAWS: LEARN YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING SERVICE ANIMALS, EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMALS, THERAPY PETS, AND OTHER DOGS, CATS, AND ASSISTANCE ANIMALS” to provide you with a complete education on assistance animals.

Purchase your copy of the book by clicking the text or image below.

ASSISTANCE ANIMAL LAWS: LEARN YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING SERVICE ANIMALS, EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMALS, THERAPY PETS, AND OTHER DOGS, CATS, AND ASSISTANCE ANIMALS

War veteran filed a lawsuit against his landlord

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war veteran and service dog

Army veteran Matthew Kopcsak has been paralyzed by a roadside bomb blast in Iraq in 2004. He claims that his landlord named Roger Dale Register violated his right to have a service dog accompany him in his rented home. Kopcsak filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court after waiting for more than 18 months for the other civil lawsuit he filed in Santa Rosa County Court to be resolved.

However, Register said that he is exempted from the federal Fair Housing Act since he only owns one rental property. He adds that the act only applies to those who own three or more properties. At the time that Kopcsak was to sign the rental agreement, Register made it clear that he wouldn’t allow any dogs.

The federal lawsuit states that Kopcsak has experienced shame and embarrassment, as well as psychological distress, emotional and economic damages as a result of being deprived of his right to have a service animal in his home.

Register also happens to be a war veteran. He said that the dispute has also aggravated his physical disabilities and gave his family heartache and sleepless nights.

Article source: Pnj.com

Are you an owner of an assistance animal?

The Service Animal Registry of California invites you to have your assistance animal registered in order to designate its status. We also encourage you to take our online classes so you can be fully aware of your rights and gain more knowledge about your support animal.

Finally, we present to you our book entitled, “ASSISTANCE ANIMAL LAWS: LEARN YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING SERVICE ANIMALS, EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMALS, THERAPY PETS, AND OTHER DOGS, CATS, AND ASSISTANCE ANIMALS” to provide you with a complete education on assistance animals.

Purchase your copy of the book by clicking the text or image below.

ASSISTANCE ANIMAL LAWS: LEARN YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING SERVICE ANIMALS, EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMALS, THERAPY PETS, AND OTHER DOGS, CATS, AND ASSISTANCE ANIMALS

Laws aim to deal with the use of fake service animals

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laws deal with fake service animals

Service dogs are invaluable to people with real disabilities, but a lot of people who are not entitled to the use of service dogs have already abused the system. Christine Slavin, a service animal owner who had a snowboarding accident in 2007, told CBS News that this growing incidence has hurt the image of real service animals and their owners.

Slavin shares what her service dog, Earle, a labrador, can do for her: “Earle does a lot of retrieving for me. When I lose my phone he’s actually very good about finding it.” Earle got his training from NEADS, an organization that provides service and hearing dogs for over 40 years.

Slavin has seen people misrepresenting service dogs every day. Some of these dogs have bitten people in stores while others were generally disruptive. CBS News correspondent Don Dahler said that one time, within 24 hours of logging on to one website, he was able to purchase a fake certificate and ID for his pet. The gear arrived and he was not asked to show proof of a disability.

Dahler reports that in 12 states, misrepresenting a service animal is already considered a violation of the law. Massachusetts would soon join these 12 states. In California, anyone caught using a fake service animal could be fined up to $1,000 and imprisoned for six months.

Article source: Cbs58.com

Are you an owner of an assistance animal?

The Service Animal Registry of California invites you to have your assistance animal registered in order to designate its status. We also encourage you to take our online classes so you can be fully aware of your rights and gain more knowledge about your support animal.

Finally, we present to you our book entitled, “ASSISTANCE ANIMAL LAWS: LEARN YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING SERVICE ANIMALS, EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMALS, THERAPY PETS, AND OTHER DOGS, CATS, AND ASSISTANCE ANIMALS” to provide you with a complete education on assistance animals.

Purchase your copy of the book by clicking the text or image below.

ASSISTANCE ANIMAL LAWS: LEARN YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING SERVICE ANIMALS, EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMALS, THERAPY PETS, AND OTHER DOGS, CATS, AND ASSISTANCE ANIMALS

Owners must consider their support animals’ welfare

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support animal

For a lot of students, college can be a very stressful time in life. The idea of having a support animal can be appealing especially to those who suffer from anxiety or depression. Several studies have demonstrated the capacity of support animals to balance a person’s emotions.

But before you rush into getting yourself one, you need to know that owning a support animal is a lot of responsibility. Audra Peterson, an education major at USAO and owner of a support animal, says, “You have to be ready to take care of it. She needs a lot of attention and has to go outside often, even if it is raining or cold.” Peterson also adds that noise can also be a major concern.

The presence of support animals can be good news for other students in campus who happen to be animal lovers. But what about those students who fear dogs and are allergic to cats? Catelyn Perry, director of counseling, disability & career services at USAO, says that service animals should strictly follow guidelines provided by the ADA and that the animal should be prescribed by a physician or mental health professional.

If you think you need a support animal, you have to do your own research. Look for a breed that can live in your apartment or college dormitory. Ask your roommates if they are okay with a support animal around. Most of all, make sure that you are capable of meeting all your animal’s needs and that includes time and attention.

Article source: Trend.usao.edu

Are you an owner of an assistance animal?

The Service Animal Registry of California invites you to have your assistance animal registered in order to designate its status. We also encourage you to take our online classes so you can be fully aware of your rights and gain more knowledge about your support animal.

Finally, we present to you our book entitled, “ASSISTANCE ANIMAL LAWS: LEARN YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING SERVICE ANIMALS, EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMALS, THERAPY PETS, AND OTHER DOGS, CATS, AND ASSISTANCE ANIMALS” to provide you with a complete education on assistance animals.

Purchase your copy of the book by clicking the text or image below.

ASSISTANCE ANIMAL LAWS: LEARN YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING SERVICE ANIMALS, EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMALS, THERAPY PETS, AND OTHER DOGS, CATS, AND ASSISTANCE ANIMALS

A woman from Tasmania suggests that ferrets could be alternatives to service dogs

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Ferret service animal

Nicole Flint used to work in emergency response. After she was diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), she moved to Tasmania and got herself a ferret as a pet. She named him Deamon. Flint never intended for Deamon to be an assistance animal until she realized that Deamon was helping her cope with her PTSD.

Flint says, “Wherever I felt anxious, he would sense that and he would come and sit with me until the anxiety passed.” Because of Deamon’s help, Flint realized that maybe ferrets could be trained to respond to emotional distress. Flint started training several rescued ferrets herself.

Flint knows that there are no service animal accreditations in Tasmania. She looked to the United States so her ferrets could be officially recognized. What she did was that she filmed one of her ferrets doing “service work” to prove the ferret’s abilities.

Although she knows that service or companion animals should be dogs, she believes that ferrets could serve as alternatives. According to her, there are cases in which a person is simply not allowed to have a dog. Flint says, “[Ferrets are] compact, they’re smart, you can have them in flats.”

Article source: Abc.net.au

Are you an owner of an assistance animal?

The Service Animal Registry of California invites you to have your assistance animal registered in order to designate its status. We also encourage you to take our online classes so you can be fully aware of your rights and gain more knowledge about your support animal.

Finally, we present to you our book entitled, “ASSISTANCE ANIMAL LAWS: LEARN YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING SERVICE ANIMALS, EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMALS, THERAPY PETS, AND OTHER DOGS, CATS, AND ASSISTANCE ANIMALS” to provide you with a complete education on assistance animals.

Purchase your copy of the book by clicking the text or image below.

ASSISTANCE ANIMAL LAWS: LEARN YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING SERVICE ANIMALS, EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMALS, THERAPY PETS, AND OTHER DOGS, CATS, AND ASSISTANCE ANIMALS

Why are assistance animals good for kids and people in general?

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animals good for kids

Assistance animals have become widely popular in the United States, as more people have seen their benefits for improving their mental and emotional health. For sure, you’ve heard of reports of emotional support animals such as dogs, cats, pigs, miniature horses, and ducks being used to assist patients with PTSD and autism in their day-to-day lives.

Despite assistance animals’ popularity, we can all agree that animals, in general, have helped people in many ways. Whether it’s an emotional support animal or simply a pet, animals help ease feelings of loneliness. You get to take them for a walk which allows you to exercise.

When it comes to children with or without developmental disorders, interaction with assistance animals has been shown to increase learning motivation, social skills, empathy, a sense of responsibility, and self-esteem. Therapy animals also help decrease pain among hospitalized children.

As owners of assistance animals, we need to make sure that our furry companions get all the care and training they need to stay safe and healthy so they can continue keeping us happy.

Are you an owner of an assistance animal?

The Service Animal Registry of California invites you to have your assistance animal registered in order to designate its status. We also encourage you to take our online classes so you can be fully aware of your rights and gain more knowledge about your support animal.

Finally, we present to you our book entitled, “ASSISTANCE ANIMAL LAWS: LEARN YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING SERVICE ANIMALS, EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMALS, THERAPY PETS, AND OTHER DOGS, CATS, AND ASSISTANCE ANIMALS” to provide you with a complete education on assistance animals.

Purchase your copy of the book by clicking the text or image below.

ASSISTANCE ANIMAL LAWS: LEARN YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING SERVICE ANIMALS, EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMALS, THERAPY PETS, AND OTHER DOGS, CATS, AND ASSISTANCE ANIMALS

Misrepresenting pets as service animals could soon be a civil offense

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Misrepresenting pets as service animals

A lot of people now claim their pets to be service animals in order to enjoy public accommodations such as shopping, dining out, or flying. What they these people usually do is they purchase a service vest or claim a service dog ID kit online.

According to disability advocates, this growing trend of misrepresenting pets as service animals would be considered a civil offense soon. In fact, legislators in Massachusetts are considering a bill that would penalize fake service animal owners.

This bill would not only punish owners of fake service animals but also expose operations that sell dogs that aren’t adequately trained to veterans. This places disabled people at risk. The main problem that many are facing is the lack of an official civil dog registry – although there are registries such as the SARC.

If the bill would be approved, disabled people will also be able to enjoy their rights since this reduces suspicion among business owners. Fakers can also get fined up to $500 and be required to render 30 hours of community service.

Article source: Bostonglobe.com

Are you an owner of an assistance animal?

The Service Animal Registry of California invites you to have your assistance animal registered in order to designate its status. We also encourage you to take our online classes so you can be fully aware of your rights and gain more knowledge about your support animal.

Finally, we present to you our book entitled, “ASSISTANCE ANIMAL LAWS: LEARN YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING SERVICE ANIMALS, EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMALS, THERAPY PETS, AND OTHER DOGS, CATS, AND ASSISTANCE ANIMALS” to provide you with a complete education on assistance animals.

Purchase your copy of the book by clicking the text or image below.

ASSISTANCE ANIMAL LAWS: LEARN YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING SERVICE ANIMALS, EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMALS, THERAPY PETS, AND OTHER DOGS, CATS, AND ASSISTANCE ANIMALS

Emotional support cat lives with college freshman in dormitory

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junior

Taylor Petrizzo, a freshman at the Florida SouthWestern State College, had witnessed the death of her relative and close friend in 2014. Petrizzo decided to get an emotional support animal which she named Junior. Junior now lives with her in the campus dormitory.

According to Petrizzo, she had knowledge on the difference between service animals and emotional support animals since she was in high school after attending a veterinarian technician course. That was the reason why she had Junior certified as an emotional support animal. Petrizzo says that Junior helps calm her anxieties whenever she feels pressured to meet school deadlines. Not only that, Junior has also provided comfort to Petrizzo’s roommates whenever they had to deal with some of their girl issues.

Petrizzo says that Junior helps calm her anxieties whenever she feels pressured to meet school deadlines. Not only that, Junior has also provided comfort to Petrizzo’s roommates whenever they had to deal with some of their girl issues.

More schools are now allowing service animals and emotional support animals in dormitories following the 2013 federal lawsuit against the University of Nebraska at Kearney. The said university denied the request of a student to bring her emotional support animal to the dorm.

Florida SouthWestern State College allows emotional support animals but confines them to dorm facilities. The school also checks on other students living in their dorm to see whether they have any problems living with an emotional support animal. Although schools are having difficulties on implementing emotional support animal policies, they are doing their best to adhere to the law.

Article source: News-press.com

Are you an owner of an assistance animal?

The Service Animal Registry of California invites you to have your assistance animal registered in order to designate its status. We also encourage you to take our online classes so you can be fully aware of your rights and gain more knowledge about your support animal.

Finally, we present to you our book entitled, “ASSISTANCE ANIMAL LAWS: LEARN YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING SERVICE ANIMALS, EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMALS, THERAPY PETS, AND OTHER DOGS, CATS, AND ASSISTANCE ANIMALS” to provide you with a complete education on assistance animals.

Purchase your copy of the book by clicking the text or image below.

ASSISTANCE ANIMAL LAWS: LEARN YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING SERVICE ANIMALS, EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMALS, THERAPY PETS, AND OTHER DOGS, CATS, AND ASSISTANCE ANIMALS