Companion Dogs and No Pet Policies
Thanks to the Federal Fair Housing Amendments Act (FHAA), those with recognized disabilities can not be discriminated against and this includes those who have emotional issues and require the presence of their companion dogs at all times. The Fair Housing Act protects owners of companion dogs due to the fact that these animals are not technically considered “pets”. Therefore, even places that have ‘no pet’ policies have to respect the needs of a disabled person and allow them to keep their companion dog with them.
This is not a blanket protection against being asked to leave however as the owner or landlord of the establishment is only required to make reasonable accommodations to you and your companion dog. If your companion dog isn’t well-behaved and causes excessive noise or damages the property, you can still be legally asked to leave. This is why it’s important to make your companion dog doesn’t cause disturbances and is kept neat and clean.
In order to be able to keep your companion dog with you even in places where animals would otherwise not be permitted, you need to have the support and approval of a physician. Having a companion dog prescription letter will help ease the process of gaining access to locations with your companion dog in tow.
Companion dogs can come in all shapes and sizes and breeds! The best breed for each person is unique to their preferences, needs, and ability to provide care for the animal. Some people prefer to have smaller companion dogs because they can be stowed under the owner’s seat as a carry-on on airplanes and are generally easier to travel with. Others find more comfort in the presence of a larger animal and don’t mind that their companion dog takes up a bit more space than other breeds.
Some of the more common breeds of companion dogs are:
This breed is happy, energetic, and renowned for its gentle nature and loyalty. Labs are great companion dogs thanks to their intelligence and high capacity for learning trained behaviors. Their size allows them to provide a sturdy and reliable presence, but they aren’t ideal for those who travel often as special accommodations will need to be made for them since they won’t be able to fit under a seat.
These animals have many great benefits such as being highly intelligent, excellent with people, and being hypoallergenic thanks to their non-shedding coat. Poodles also have a fairly long lifespan which makes them great companion dogs that will stay with you for a long time. Poodles require regular grooming due to their non-shedding coat which is constantly growing. They need to be detangled and have their hair trimmed to avoid getting mats and knots in their fur.
Named after King Charles II, these loving little pups were bred as loyal companion dogs for nobility. There are also some hybrid breeds that feature the Cavalier such as the Cavapoo which is a mix between Cavaliers and Poodles which have the benefits of the Poodle intelligence and hypoallergenic coat. Cavaliers are smaller in stature and can make great companion dogs thanks to their portability and loving nature. These are a better choice for those who might find themselves traveling regularly.
Until recently, ESAs could travel in the cabin of an airplane thanks to the Air Carrier Access Act. However, the Department of Transportation (DOT) has revised the act so that emotional support animals are no longer included. Now, it is legal for airlines to turn away ESAs and require them to travel in cargo instead of in the cabin.
If you wish for your pet to travel with you in the cabin of an airplane, you have two options. The first depends on the size of your dog. If your dog is small enough to meet the carry-on limits for weight and dimension, it may be possible to bring your dog in a carrier to be stowed under your seat. Of course, this will not be free and the airline is entitled to deny your dog from being transported as a carry-on.
The only other way for your dog to travel with you in the cabin is for it to be considered a psychiatric service animal (PSA). A psychiatric service animal is different from an ESA because it has been trained to perform certain tasks that aid an individual with their disability. For example, a PSA dog might be taught to lick or paw at an anxiety patient in order to help ground them. You can train a PSA by yourself, but you may benefit from going through some sort of program as airlines can now require you to fill out forms before allowing your service dog to fly with you. These forms, developed by the DOT, often ask for the dog trainer’s name and phone number.
Getting an official companion dog certificate will help you gain access to all kinds of places without being challenged. While emotional support animal vests and tags are not required, they can go a long way in avoiding potential issues and being challenged by employees. Anything you can do to avoid confrontation is ideal because there are so many people who don’t understand companion dog laws and the rules that allow you to have your animal with you at all times.
One of the best ways to have your companion dog look as official and professional as possible is by registering your animal with a service like USSA’s emotional support animal registration process.
Does your dog need a friend? Let’s find out.
Getting a dog friend for your canine can sound like an awesome idea, but it can sometimes lead to aggression and physical injuries if it isn’t a good fit. Surprisingly, despite being the friendliest of animals, dogs don’t always get along with other dogs easily.
Like humans, dogs can be really picky about choosing their roommate or companion. Before you decide to get a new dog, ask yourself a few questions
Does gender matter when selecting your dog’s friend?
Gender compatibility matters the most while choosing a new dog for your pup. Watch your dog when he is around other dogs. Does he get along better with males or females?
Your dog may not want another male in the household but would be okay with a female, or vice versa. Most veterinarians suggest choosing the opposite gender whose size is not more than 50 percent different.
Does my dog need a companion dog? | Sweetie Pie Pets
At Pets for Patriots, we get calls from service members, veterans, and caregivers requesting our help to secure service dogs.
But when we ask if a well-mannered companion dog or cat would be better, people always asked, “What’s the difference?”
According to the Defense Department, since 2003 more than 46,000 U.S. military personnel have been wounded in action in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
Anecdotally, huge numbers of veterans with such wounds are not counted in the official Wounded In Action statistics. And criteria for the diagnosis and treatment of disorders like PTSD vary widely.
Veterans of prior conflicts have and continue to suffer from these very same afflictions. But it took Iraq and Afghanistan to bring the true scope, nature, and human cost of these types of ailments into sharp relief.
However, the Veterans Administration’s own statistics cite a higher incidence of PTSD among Vietnam veterans than OIF/OEF veterans.
The public today is more aware of PTSD and, to a lesser extent, TBI and other trauma-related afflictions.
Many veterans with PTSD cope with feelings of isolation, depression, anger, heightened sensitivity to loud sounds, fear of crowds or anxiety in social situations in general.
It is therefore unsurprising that attention has turned to the human-animal bond as a way to help people overcome many of the emotional impacts of their conditions.
We celebrate the extraordinary, innate therapeutic abilities of everyday companion dogs and cats. It is why we focus solely on companion pets to achieve our mission.
Our organization advocates for pets, who – through no faults of their own – are relinquished to shelters with little hope of adoption. They can deliver many wonderful physical and emotional health benefits. However, they have no legal access to places where pets are normally not permitted (for limited exceptions, see “Emotional Support Animals”).
Despite their lack of legal access, companion pets can have life-changing – even life-saving – impacts on peoples’ lives.
Many veterans in our program with PTSD, depression, and other psychological challenges tell us that their adopted companion pets give them a renewed sense of purpose – even a reason to live. They are more able to re-establish healthy relationships with family and friends, and even forge new and positive relationships.
Read some of the many real-life stories of veterans who have experienced the life-altering love of a companion pet.
The federal government defines a service animal as one who is trained to perform specific tasks on behalf of a disabled individual. The American Disabilities Act (ADA) defines a disability as:
“A mental or physical condition which substantially limits a major life activity such as caring for one’s self, performing manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning and working.”
The term “service animal” includes a wide range of animals highly trained for specific types of needs, such as signal dogs for the deaf, or seeing eye or guide dogs for the blind.
Federal law does not consider service animals as pets. They are viewed as equipment necessary for disabled people to manage the basic tasks of daily living.
Service animals are protected under the ADA and enjoy broad access to accompany disabled individuals wherever they need to go. This includes public transportation, private places of business, workplaces, residential complexes, and houses of worship.
The ADA neither legally requires service animals to be certified nor has a certification standard. This gives disabled individuals latitude to have their animal trained to address their specific disability. But it invites abuse and diminishes the needs of those with real, serious, and legitimate disabilities.
Federal law prohibits businesses from asking individuals about the nature of their disabilities or demanding documentation for service animals. However, business are permitted to ask if the animal is required because of a disability, and what work or task the animal is trained to perform.
Most service animals are dogs and are bred for purpose. Standards are high since these animals are called upon to perform fairly complex tasks. They must be able to work in stressful environments such as crowded stores, busy streets, and other environments that are difficult for most pets to endure.
While we do not discount the merits of non-traditional service animals like monkeys or horses, the simple fact is that dogs are most often used for service functions.
Dogs are highly trainable, easily accommodated in most living situations, and have a long track record of working with people to perform various complex tasks.
A successful canine candidate must have the right combination of temperament, size, life expectancy, activity level, strength, and other characteristics, depending upon the service for which he is being trained.
Typically, such a dog can cost between $15,000-$20,000, which includes years of evaluation, medical tests and training. These activities occur both before and after being matched and trained with his eventual handler.
Some organizations, like Freedom Service Dogs, select and train shelter dogs. Those that do not meet their strict criteria are adopted out to the public.
We strongly discourage the adoption of pets for the purpose of training as service animals. Doing so stresses the animal unnecessarily by asking her to perform work for which she is ill suited.
A psychiatric service animal is a service animal who is trained to assist people who are disabled as a result of mental illness.
Animals trained for this purpose often provide life-saving tasks. These include preventing disoriented people from dangerous situations, bracing someone who is physically unstable from medication, or rousing a person who might sleep through a fire or burglar alarm as a function of being medicated.
Psychiatric service animals may be trained to detect an oncoming anxiety attack and take action to calm their handlers, or help them exit a stressful environment.
Many tasks performed by psychiatric service dogs are similar to those performed by mobility dogs. The only difference is that psychiatric service animals work for someone with an emotional versus a physical disability.
The International Association of Assistance Dog Partners (IAADP) details various tasks that a psychiatric service animal may be trained to perform.
Psychiatric service animals are often confused with Emotional Support Animals (ESAs). But a dog or cat who provides emotional comfort to someone with an emotional disability is not legally recognized as a service animal.
This category of animal is not defined or protected by federal law. However, some states do have laws granting limited accommodation to therapy animals.
A therapy pet benefits people other than her handler, who is typically her guardian as well. Think of dogs or cats who visits hospitals and nursing homes to comfort the sick.
Reading therapy dogs have become increasingly popular in schools and libraries to act as ‘literacy mentors’ for children. More recently courthouse dogs provide comfort to crime victims when they testify.
Since therapy animals are not protected under the ADA there are no federal laws requiring that they be given access to places where pets are typically not permitted. And, unlike a service animal, a therapy animal is considered a pet.
These types of pets are perhaps the most ambiguous as far as federal law is concerned. They are used by people experiencing mental illness or psychological distress, and provide comfort just by their mere presence.
Emotional support animals – known as ESAs – are not required by law to be trained to perform any particular task. They are companion pets whose mere presence is assistive to an individual with a psychological disability.
These animals are not accorded legal status. However, the federal Fair Housing Act requires landlords to make reasonable accommodations for individuals who are prescribed an ESA to have such a pet in their dwelling. They may not discriminate based upon the animal’s breed, size, weight, or other physical characteristic.
Previously, ESAs were permitted to fly in the cabin of commercial aircraft outside of their kennels and without extra fees. However, the Department of Transportation has issued a new ruling effective January 1, 2021. Airlines are no longer required to extend to ESAs the same permissions granted to service animals.
An assistance animal a term some people use to describe a service animal who performs or assists with physical tasks of daily life, such as picking up items, opening and closing doors or pulling wheelchairs.
While the ADA legally defines the term ‘service animal,’ some people and organizations use the term ‘assistance animal’ interchangeably. Others use the term in reference to any animal who helps an individual with a physical or emotional disability.
However, the term ‘assistance animal’ has no specific legal meaning and is not referenced in federal law pertaining to service animals. It is a generic term with no agreed-upon meaning and does not carry the force of law.