What is the difference between emotional support animal and service dog?

There is an argument surrounding the roles of animals in the lives of people with chronic illnesses or disabilities. Most of us have seen the posts online about registering your animal as an emotional support animal with a small charge, and being able to keep your animal in a no pets allowed environment.

This has led people to doubt the authenticity of all service animals and their roles. A feeling of mistrust among people who don’t realize the difference between these animals, and the rights you get along with them, has been emerging as more people use these services and look for service dog registration.

Service dogs are awesome. They have been trained strictly but loved and nourished by their owners unlike anybody else. The ability of these dogs and also to warn owners of heart attack or stroke make these dogs real life savers.

With all the incredible things these animals can do, it’s no marvel that we have learned to accept them in places we generally wouldn’t, such as an office or restaurant. However, there is a growing cynicism towards service and support animals in general, and mainly because of the misunderstanding that people have regarding these animals.

Service dogs are the most trained and protected among the 2 types of dogs. While many people address both the types as "service animals", the official names for this type are Service Dog. These dogs are legally considered medical devices and come with a price tag of thousands of dollars. They are intensively trained for a couple of years, having to pass various tests before Service pet registration, but not restricted to, retrieving dropped objects, opening cupboards, staying calm in public etc.

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, service dogs are permitted anywhere their handler is, and can’t be turned away from any establishment or refused to go to work with their handler. Although there is a difference between emotional support animals and service dogs, there is a gray region for dogs that are used to calm anxiety attacks under ADA rules. Psychiatric service dogs are covered under the ADA only if they perform a specific action to lessen or avoid an attack. If they are just there for comfort purpose, then they are considered as emotional support animal.

So here we are going to discuss about the emotional support animals. This one is the most changeable and dim. The emotional support animals don’t have any special training and in most cases, is registered by its own due to its convenience. Moreover, the emotional support animals don’t have to be a dog. These animals are not protected under the ADA and can’t accompany their owners in establishments where there are no animals permitted. Owners with registered support animal can keep them in home that otherwise doesn’t permit pets.

Author Bio:-

US Service Animal Registry is your one-stop solution for Emotional support animal, Service pet registration, Service dog registration.

Dominic Libatique is an expert Dog Trainer and has written several pieces about dogs, their life and related topics. http://usserviceanimalregistry.org/