Emotional Support Animals Vs Service Animals

Emotional Support Animals Emotional support animals are companion animals who help their owners cope with the challenges associated with emotional and mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety by providing comfort with their presence.

Emotional support animals vs service animals. This is why emotional support animals and not therapy animals can legally accompany their handlers in many locations like airplanes and inside apartment complexes that normally have a no pet policy. Under Title II and Title III of the ADA a service animal means any dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability including a physical sensory psychiatric intellectual or other mental disability. In similar words an emotional support animal is an animal that offers some kind of emotional or mental benefits to the individual with a disability.

The key difference being that emotional support animals alleviate symptoms just by being present and providing cuddles or affection. Department of Housing and Urban Development are any animal that provides emotional support alleviating one or more symptoms or effects of a persons disability. While both service and emotional support animals do have access to public transportation one of them is slightly more limited than the other.

Emotional support animals are not usually trained for specific tasks. In order to qualify for an emotional support animal individuals must have a verifiable disability. Such animals do not need specific training to qualify for an ESA and typically offer emotional support.

If the dog has been trained to sense that an anxiety attack is about to happen and take a specific action to help avoid the attack or lessen its impact that would qualify as a service animal. Emotional support animals do not have the same level of access as service dogs and are only allowed in planes for travel and in homes that normally do not allow pets. Service animals are protected under the ADA.

While a service animal is there to do a specific job an emotional support animal is there to provide a source of therapy. Unlike service and therapy dogs emotional support animals are. Emotional support animals provide a necessary service to their handlers who suffer from emotional and mental disabilities.

However for physical disability the person will need a service animal. The biggest difference between an emotional support animal vs service animal is that service animals have more legal rights than ESAs. Emotional Support Animals ESA are companion animals that have are recommended by medical professionals to assist a person with a disability.