There’s a lot of confusion happening around service animals and emotional support animals. We hear about peacocks in planes, miniature horses guiding someone with visual impairments, and more. The problem is that only a few people understand the laws that apply to these assistance animals and because of that, controversies have arisen.

To clear up the misconceptions about service animals and emotional support animals, we need to consider three federal laws: The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Fair Housing Act (FHA), and the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA).

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) – Under the ADA, service animals can be dogs or miniature horses that are trained to perform tasks for individuals with disabilities. For example, a service dog of any breed is trained to alert his handler who’s about to have a seizure attack. The dog can also remind the person to take his prescribed medications. If its handler goes to a public place, the animal can accompany him as well, and people cannot require proof from the handler that the animal is certified.

The Fair Housing Act (FHA) – The FHA applies to emotional support animals. Emotional support animals don’t need any specialized training and are there to offer love and support to their owner. The animal can be a dog, cat, rabbit, bird, or something else. Under the FHA, people with physical or mental disabilities should not be turned away from housing because of the emotional support animal. This covers buildings and apartments with a no pets policy. However, when it comes to public places of accommodation such as a plaza, a business owner might not allow your emotional support animal (because such is not subject to the FHA).

The Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) – Please take note that airlines may not accept service animals that are questionable (usually, exotic animals such as snakes, reptiles, and spiders). Animals that may disrupt other passengers or are too heavy may be excluded as well. If you’re planning to travel with an emotional support animal, you should provide documentation from a licensed health professional.

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 image below.