There’s a lot of confusion out there about the difference between a Service Animal and an Emotional Support Animal, which are two different categories of animals that help people.
A Service Animal is an accommodation for a disability, not a pet, and performs tasks to support their owner. An Emotional Support Animal provides their owner with comfort and emotional support through their presence.
Service Animals can be either dogs or miniature horses and are allowed in all places where the public is allowed, superseding any “no pets” policy, as long as the animal is under control and housetrained. Emotional Support Animals can be almost any kind of animal but are afforded less access to places where animals are banned.
Service Animals
Determining if an animal is a Service Animal should be handled carefully. There is no registration, certification, or vest that documents a Service Animal, though in Marin County, the required dog license should indicate Service Animal status.
You may ask only two questions of a person with a Service Animal:
- “Is this animal a Service Animal required because of a disability?”
- “What work or task has the animal been trained to perform?”
Do not ask about a person’s disability, for medical proof of it, or for a demonstration of the dog’s trained ability.
Don’t isolate a person with a Service Animal from areas that customers normally access, charge them special fees or ask them to leave your business solely because they have a Service Animal.
There are a few narrow exceptions to Service Animals’ broad access:
• If the animal is out of control and the owner cannot control them after you ask
• If the animal is not housebroken
• If your business involves a sterile environment
• If your swimming pool has an existing “no pets” policy
A business must still give the person with the disability the option to obtain goods or services without the animal present.
Share this outline with your staff so that all members of your business act consistently and in accordance with the law. Document any incidents involving service animals objectively.
Emotional Support Animals
Emotional Support Animals are not afforded the same access that Service Animals are granted, with some exceptions below. They can be also a wide range of animals, not just dogs or miniature horses.
If you wish to ask someone to remove an Emotional Support Animal from your business, consider using this model language:
“I understand your animal provides emotional support, but Emotional Support Animals don’t have access rights to our business under the law. Only trained service animals that perform specific tasks are allowed in our establishment.”
If a person insists their animal is a Service Animal, but you suspect its actually an Emotional Support Animal, you may ask the two questions outlined on the previous page. If the answers don’t articulate specific trained tasks, only that the animal provides comfort or emotional support, you may assume the animal is not a Service Animal.
Don’t debate or argue about the person’s need for the animal. Recognize that the person may genuinely need the animal’s support but may not understand the legal distinctions.
Visible Indications
Vests, collars or other indications worn by an Emotional Support Animal have no formal meaning. Marin County dog licenses will not indicate if a dog is an Emotional Support Animal, only if it is a Service Animal.
Rental Housing Exceptions
Landlords must accept tenants with an Emotional Support Animal (ESA) unless doing so would create an unreasonable burden. Landlords can request documentation from a tenant/applicant’s healthcare provider that the animal provides support for a disability. You may not request details of the owner’s disability itself.
• Landlords may not charge pet fees or pet deposits for an ESA
• Landlords cannot refuse housing solely because a tenant has an ESA
Workplace Exceptions
California law considers work to be a “major life activity” and therefore workplaces must accommodate an Emotional Support Animal unless it is disruptive to the workplace.
As with housing, employers can request documentation from an employee/applicant’s healthcare provider that the animal provides support for a disability, but not details of the owner’s disability itself.
The easiest way to handle or de-escalate conflicts involving Emotional Support Animals is to be respectful and understanding of someone accompanied by one.
Courtesy of: Pet Inclusive Novato
