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Common questions about service and support animals

The confusion around service and support animals is widespread in the housing and social service fields, and there are many interpretations of what is allowed. Federal and state laws may differ, so it is always best to consult the education, testing and enforcement entities in your area and/or seek qualified legal counsel. Landlords or property managers must and should consider any and all reasonable accommodation requests carefully before responding.

Remember, pets are one thing, but legitimate service, support or companion* animals are another under local and federal law. (*In Idaho, ‘companion’ animals regarded as having a therapeutic purpose for someone with a qualifying disability may not be considered pets)

The Delta Society, a national organization promoting service animal training, education and use offers this detailed description of the various categories as follows:

“Service animals are legally defined (Americans With Disabilities Act, 1990) and are trained to meet the disability-related needs of their handlers who have disabilities. Federal laws protect the rights of individuals with disabilities to be accompanied by their service animals in public places. Service animals are not considered “pets.”

Therapy animals are not legally defined by federal law, but some states have laws defining therapy animals. They provide people with contact to animals, but are not limited to working with people who have disabilities. They are usually the personal pets of their handlers, and work with their handlers to provide services to others. Federal laws have no provisions for people to be accompanied by therapy animals in places of public accommodation that have “no pets” policies. Therapy animals usually are not service animals.

Companion animal is not legally defined, but is accepted as another term for pet (note exception under Idaho law above).

“Social/therapy” animals likewise have no legal definition. They often are animals that did not complete service animal or service dog training due to health, disposition, trainability, or other factors, and are made available as pets for people who have disabilities. These animals might or might not meet the definition of service animals.” (Source: Delta Society)

Fraudulent claims – While the vast majority of reasonable accommodation requests involving animals are legitimate, some abuse does occur (although the presence of fraud in a segment of overall requests is no reason to deny a specific request). Third-party professionals asked to write letters requesting a service, support or companion animal should not take the request lightly; in the event of a legal challenge, their judgment (just like anyone involved in a legal dispute) may be open to question. Many disability rights advocates stress that fraudulent or frivolous claims undermine the credibility of the process and ultimately insult those whom this law was designed to protect. It is in everyone’s interest to maintain the integrity of this legal right.

Multiple animals – “The Fair Housing Act does not specifically limit the number of service animals an individual with a disability may have. Requests for multiple service animals may be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. It is possible that housing providers may impose limitations if it can be demonstrated that an individual’s request for reasonable accommodation exceeds what is necessary for that person to have full use and enjoyment of the premises.” (Source: Delta Society)

Damage, behavior and cleanup – Lease agreements may still hold tenants liable for damages caused by such animals and/or for unreasonable impacts to fellow tenants or neighbors. Tenants may still be expected to comply with local leash, kennel ordinances and/or laws involving animal waste.