A Complete Guide to Service Animal Laws, Rights, and Resources

This FindLaw article defines what a service animal is and explains the protected rights of service animal handlers. It also discusses the costs of purchasing and training a service dog.

• What Is a Service Animal?
  
• Types of Service Animals
• ADA Service Animal Laws and Protected Rights
• Service Dog Etiquette
• Service Animal Registration
• How Much Does a Service Dog Cost?
• How To Afford a Service Dog
• Service Dogs for Veterans
• Hire a Lawyer

What Is a Service Animal?

Federal law defines service animals. The two major regulatory bodies that handle concerns related to service animals are the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). Under the ADA, a federal law, a service animal is "a dog that has been individually trained to do work or perform tasks for an individual with a disability."

Further, the work or tasks "must be directly related to the person's disability." This means that if a dog is trained to perform specific tasks that are not directly related to the person's condition, the dog may not qualify as a service animal.

Some examples of qualifying tasks include:

• Calming people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) during an anxiety attack
• Guiding people with vision impairments
• Pulling the wheelchair of someone with mobility impairments

Service animals do not include comfort, companion, emotional support, or therapy animals. If the mere presence of the animal provides comfort, it is an emotional support animal. These animals do not have the same protections as service animals (though state and local laws on this may differ).

Note that the animal's presence alone is not enough to warrant the animal as a service animal. Comfort animals and companion animals are animals whose presence calms someone with a disability. The difference between a comfort animal and a service animal is that the comfort animal does not perform specific work or tasks for that disability.

Types of Service Animals

Under the ADA, only two types of animals are service animals: a canine and a miniature horse.

Even with these restrictions, many types of service animal categories are based on their work or tasks. These include:

• Allergen detection dogs: These animals work with people who have life-threatening allergies. The service dog can sniff food, medication, soaps, balms, or entire rooms to detect possible allergens. Suppose it does smell the allergen in question. In that case, it alerts the person by performing a trained behavior like laying down or offering a paw.
• Autism support dogs: An autism support dog can accompany someone with autism in public or traveling. They can recognize self-harming behaviors or sensory meltdowns. These dogs perform tasks to alert before a sensory meltdown or can provide deep pressure therapy to ground the handler.
• Diabetic alert dogs: People with diabetes use a service animal to monitor their blood sugar levels. When a person with diabetes experiences a blood sugar change, they emit a distinct but faint odor undetectable to humans. Diabetic alert dogs recognize these smells and alert the person.
• Guide dogs: This service animal, also known as a seeing-eye dog, helps people with visual impairments. These dogs navigate public areas and obstacles without human assistance. Guide dogs walk straight and avoid obstacles. These dogs do not turn corners unless instructed and stop at curbs or steps.
• Hearing dogs: These dogs can alert handlers to specific noises, such as fire alarms, telephones, doorbells, or speech from others. They do so by nudging or pawing people with hearing impairments. They can also guide people to the source of the sound.
• Mobility assistance dogs: This service animal accompanies people with mobility impairments to help them complete specific actions and more easily navigate the world. They can open automatic doors or pick up dropped items. They may serve as a brace for people with difficulty standing.
• Psychiatric service dogs: Psychiatric service animals help lessen the effects of a person's psychiatric condition. This includes guiding the person to a friend or family member during a panic attack. These service dogs interrupt self-harming behaviors, bring medications, and ground their owners.
• Seizure response dogs: People with epilepsy can rely on seizure response dogs to react when an episode happens. They may alert others nearby or trigger an alarm for help. These dogs can move to protect the person having a seizure from crashing to the ground.
• Miniature horses: Revised ADA regulations allow miniature horses trained to perform work or tasks for people with disabilities. Covered entities must allow for miniature horses where reasonable. The horse must be house trained, so you sometimes see them in diapers.

This list is not exhaustive.

Types of Service Dog Training

Under federal law, the animal needs full training for protection. Under the ADA, a "service dog in training" is not recognized as an actual service animal. But check your local and state laws. States like Louisiana allow state protections for service animals in training.

Service animals do not require professional training. Handlers can train the dog themselves. Many service dog organizations sell trained service animals. You can also bring your dog to a dog trainer specializing in service dog training.

Benefits of Service Dogs

Service dogs provide many benefits to people with disabilities. These include:

• Stopping flashbacks and nightmares: Service dogs can paw or lean on someone who shows signs of either. This can have an immeasurable impact on mood.
• Reducing thoughts of suicide: Trained dogs can detect when a veteran is becoming anxious, depressed, or panicked. They can then act to comfort the owner. For instance, they can use their body weight to "ground" the owner through a process known as deep pressure stimulation. This helps reduce suicidal ideation.
• Reducing hypervigilance: Trauma victims or those with mental health concerns may struggle with feeling secure in public areas. Service dogs can reduce hypervigilance by serving as a lookout and a source of assurance.
• Helping with medication: Dogs can remind handlers to take medication through trained behaviors. If someone experiences a medical emergency, service dogs can even react by fetching necessary medicines. This can help keep the handler safe and stable during trying times.
• Offsetting medical/psychiatric costs: The many benefits of service dogs can mitigate the effects of disabilities and prevent them from increasing. This can offset extra costs associated with treatment.
• Retrieving dropped items: People with physical disabilities may struggle when picking up dropped items. Service dogs recognize when their handlers need help and react by picking the items up for them.

Service dogs can be invaluable to those with mental or physical impairments.

ADA Service Animal Laws and Protected Rights

A service dog has to perform a specific task related to the handler's disability. There are a few more qualifications to consider. If your service animal meets these requirements, you have several protected rights. State and local laws can vary, but national law provides the following protections:

According to the ADA, "state and local governments, businesses, and nonprofit organizations that serve the public generally need to allow service animals to accompany people with disabilities in all areas of the facility where the public is normally allowed to go." Stores, restaurants, hospitals, schools, and government buildings are places of public accommodation. This means you must be allowed to bring your service animal there.

• Landlords can't discriminate against tenants with disabilities. Under the Fair Housing Act and U.S. Housing and Urban Development, housing providers must make reasonable accommodations to handlers of service animals. This includes long-term housing, rentals, and university housing.
• People with disabilities with service animals cannot be denied access to transportation, including subways, buses, trains, taxis, and limos.
• Commercial airlines follow the Air Carrier Access Act, not the ADA. Yet many of the stipulations in the ADA are like those in the Air Carrier Access Act. Each airline has its service dog policies; most require the handler to fill out a U.S. Department of Transportation Service Animal Air Transportation Form.
• Your service animal is not required to wear a harness, vest, or ID tag for public access. But using such devices can help others in public areas to identify your dog as a service animal and avoid obstructing them.
• Service animals are not required to be nationally accredited or licensed. There is no verification or certification process. While many license and certification programs are online, the ADA and the DOJ do not recognize them.
• A person can bring more than one service animal with them if each animal performs a task related to that person's disabilities. For example, a person with hearing impairments and severe allergies can use a hearing dog and an allergen detection dog.
• Suppose it is not obvious that the dog is a service animal. In that case, covered entities may ask two questions: (1) whether the dog is required because of a disability, and (2) what task the dog is trained to perform. Other questions related to the service animal are not permitted.
• Service animals can be any breed. Even if local ordinances prohibit specific breeds, service animals are exempt.

Besides these rights, service animal handlers have certain responsibilities:

• As a handler, you or another person you choose is responsible for caring for your service animal. This includes feeding, grooming, and maintaining a bathroom schedule for the animal. Business owners or government officials are not responsible for supervising or caring for them. This is also true in hospitals when the dog and handler are not together. Handlers must have time to make accommodations for a friend or family member to supervise them.
• Service animals must follow local animal control or public health laws on vaccinations and local dog licensing requirements. Handlers don't have to register the dog as a service animal. Handlers only need to follow regulations that apply to all dogs.
• The dog must not use the bathroom inside a building or non-designated bathroom area. If a service animal becomes overly agitated or excited and cannot be controlled, it may be prohibited from entering an area.

Covered entities may prevent your service dog from entering if it "fundamentally alters the nature of the goods, services, programs, or activities provided to the public." There are very few instances where this happens, but it does happen. For example, hospitals may not allow your service animal to enter a surgical room due to sterilization concerns. But, it might allow the animal in the handler's recovery room post-surgery.

Removal of Service Dogs

If the service dog is a direct threat to other people or animals, when unprovoked, then the business or organization can remove the animal. The animal is no longer a reasonable accommodation because it poses a risk to the safety of others. The business cannot deny the handler services when this happens. Prohibiting services to a person with a disability would discriminate against the person.

Service Dog Etiquette

If you are handling a service animal, there are some best practices you should consider following about etiquette. These are suggestions and are not legal obligations. It could prevent any confrontation or confusion with your animal:

• Inform your housing provider, housemates, employer, and any other relevant parties when you must begin using a service animal.
• Use a harness, ID tag, or collar that identifies your dog as a service dog. This is not a legal rule, but it could mitigate potential confusion.
• Do not feel pressured to give more information. You do have to engage in a good-faith conversation with your employer for an accommodation.
• You do not have to answer any questions about your condition or the dog's training except to say what work or tasks the dog performs for you. If someone's questions make you uncomfortable, let them know.

If you encounter a person with a service dog, respect their privacy. Remember that the dog focuses on completing its task, not on receiving the affection of passersby. The handler is completing their day-to-day activities. They may not want to answer your questions, no matter how well-intentioned they are.

Examples of behaviors to avoid include:

• Eye contact with the dog
• Petting the dog
• Talking or whistling at the dog
• Taking pictures or video of the dog
• Any other action intended to get the dog's attention

In essence, you should act as though the dog is not present. Interfering by interacting with the dog in any way is poor etiquette. Handlers often use vests, tags, or collars to identify their service dogs. This alerts the public that they should not be bothered. Even if it isn't immediately obvious, use your best judgment to determine if the dog is a service animal. If there is any sign that they might be, do not interfere unless the handler shows clear signs of needing help.

Service Animal Registration

Many people with disabilities want to register their service animals. This is not a national rule or law. While you will find many alleged service animal certification or licensing organizations online, the ADA and DOJ do not recognize them. State or local governments can't compel you to register your dog as a service animal with any organization or board.

Nevertheless, many people register their service animals with one of these organizations.

Reporting Federal Law Violations

Know that requests for documentation are not consistent with ADA regulations. Suppose someone demands to see certification or licensing information for your service animal. They refuse to allow your animal to enter the public property. In that case, you should file an ADA complaint. You can file an ADA complaint online at ADA.gov or by sending a completed ADA complaint form to:

U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Civil Rights Division
Disability Rights Section
Washington, D.C. 20530

How Much Does a Service Dog Cost?

The cost of a service dog depends on various factors. The training needed is determined by your specific disability and the dog's temperament. Depending on the skills needed, the cost can range from $5,000 to $30,000.

This cost can present a barrier to many who could use a service dog's help. But there are ways to decrease costs. Service dogs do not need to be professionally trained, so you may be able to train a dog to perform necessary tasks. Even paying for a few training sessions may prove to be more cost-effective than buying a fully trained service animal.

How To Afford a Service Dog

If you need help to afford a service dog, there are options for funding:

• Crowdfunding campaigns
• Flexible spending account attached to your insurance policy to use toward the costs of a service dog
• Loans
• Nonprofit service dog programs or scholarships

Besides these methods, many programs connect people with disabilities with service or assistance animals to help them.

Social Security Disability Service Animal Assistance Programs

No state or federal medical coverage through Medicare or Medicaid will cover the cost of a service animal. But, disability benefits can pay for a service animal.

When first approved for disability, most applicants receive a lump sum of back pay. This can make affording a service animal a much more viable proposition. Monthly benefits provide a constant source of income. This may help you afford the expenses associated with caring for and training a service animal continuously.

If you do not yet receive them, you can apply for disability benefits online. To determine if you are eligible, you must have a diagnosed physical or mental impairment that restricts you from doing any "substantial gainful activity" and has lasted (or will last) for longer than a year. There is a disability appeals process if the agency denies your claim.

Diagnosis-Based Assistance Service Animal Programs

Many diagnosis-based assistance programs can help you with a suitable assistance or service animal. These programs are designed to help people with diagnoses find a trained animal to help with those conditions. Here are a few of the many national programs:

• 4 Paws for Ability: This nonprofit seeks to give service dogs to children with disabilities on a case-by-case basis. It uses a large volunteer base to keep costs associated with service dog placements low.
• Assistance Dogs International: This is a worldwide coalition of programs designed to train and place assistance dogs with people in need. You can search for accredited members on its website. This is a great way of finding local help for getting a trained dog.
• Canine Partners for Life: CPL provides service dogs to people with disabilities. Applicants are evaluated based on need, willingness to accept responsibility for the dog's care, and a clean and safe home environment.
• Doggie Does Good: This organization aims to strengthen the bond between service dogs and their handlers. They seek to match those in need with qualified service animals.
• Dogs4Diabetics: D4D connects people with diabetes with trained diabetic alert dogs. They train dogs, provide them to applicants in need, and offer ongoing support for free. Applicants must submit their blood sugar logs and be able to provide a safe and stable home environment for a dog.
• Guiding Eyes for the Blind: Navigating public spaces can be challenging for people with visual impairments. This nonprofit provides people with guide dogs to improve their quality of life. Applicants must have had orientation and mobility training before being eligible.
• Paragon Service Dogs: Being unable to hear can be a dangerous impairment, particularly for hearing alarms, traffic, or crying young ones. This organization specializes in matching people with hearing loss with hearing dogs. Applicants must be able to care for and continue training a hearing dog.

Most of these programs have strict application standards and long waiting lists. Be realistic about your chances of approval. Generally, you must show a strong need for the service animal for consideration.

Service Dogs for Veterans

The transition back to civilian life is difficult for veterans, particularly if they return from service with a physical or mental disability. To aid during this time, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) offers programs to help veterans get service dogs. The VA pays for all premiums, co-payments, or deductibles associated with the service dog. It will also cover treatment, travel, and any extra hardware needed (such as braces). The veteran will then be responsible for the finances involved in caring for the dog.

Applying for a service dog requires meeting with your VA clinical care provider or your VA mental health provider (depending on your disability) and expressing your interest. They will help you begin the application process. Suppose a service dog is the best option for addressing your disability. In that case, they will help you through the rest of the application process. If a veteran is not disabled or a specialist determines that a service dog is not best, the VA may deny the veteran coverage for a dog.

Service Dogs for Veterans Programs

There are many programs designed to help veterans access and train service dogs. Check out the below programs to see how they can help you:

• American Humane: This organization's Pups4Patriots program provides service dogs to veterans. They do this by taking in unwanted rescue dogs and training them to help veterans with PTSD or traumatic brain injuries (TBI). They also award grants to veterans requiring financial help to care for service dogs.
• America's VetDogs: Veterans with mobility impairments can apply for a guide dog from America's VetDogs. Applicants must have participated in a two-week training program. The program aims to improve the pride and self-reliance of veterans with disabilities.
• Angel Canines and Wounded Warriors: This organization helps address the increase in PTSD and depression diagnoses in military personnel. Veterans get free or reduced transportation to a vetted service dog organization.
• K9s for Warriors: This is the nation's largest provider of service dogs to veterans with PTSD, TBI, or military sexual trauma. They provide service dogs with all the equipment and training needed to help veterans with disabilities. This program is completely free for veterans.
• Patriot PAWS: This organization trains and provides high-quality service dogs to veterans at no cost. It aims to build relationships with national, state, and local organizations to help restore veterans' physical and mental well-being.
• This Able Veteran: This Able Veteran pairs veterans with service dogs with veterans with PTSD. Their dogs detect anxiety or nightmares and intervene. This program offers a trauma resiliency program designed to teach veterans essential coping skills.
• Warrior Canine Connection: This program gives veterans with PTSD or combat stress an opportunity to train service dogs to help fellow recovering veterans. When a veteran gives positive reinforcement to a dog whenever they feel anxious or numb, they train the dog to recognize those feelings.

Service animals, particularly service dogs, can provide many benefits and services. From diabetes management to seizure response, these canines help alert and protect people. By being task-trained, these dogs give their owners the emotional and physical support necessary for an elevated quality of life.

Need Help Filing a Claim for Service Dog Discrimination?

While many organizations know service dog handler rights, you can still face discrimination in public spaces. Some states have criminal laws that make denying a service dog in a public space a misdemeanor criminal charge. Some states, like California, even fine businesses at increased rates based on the number of extra illegal questions asked of the handler.

When faced with discrimination, consult a disability attorney in your area.