Are Emotional Support Animals Ruining It for Well-Trained Dogs? Discussions

This might be a bit controversial, but I keep seeing people label their dogs as emotional support animals just to bring them into places like restaurants, planes, or even therapy groups. Some of these dogs have no training or social skills at all. Meanwhile, responsible dog owners who spend months working on manners and behavior are still limited by the rules.

Out of curiosity, I looked into what actually qualifies a dog as an ESA, especially in the US. I came across HelpfulPets.com, which actually connects you with licensed professionals to determine if you qualify. It seems like a more legitimate path compared to those sketchy sites that send a PDF in five minutes. Even there, it's clear that ESAs do not have the same access rights as service animals.

So here is the question. Has the rise in ESAs helped bring attention to the value of companion animals, or has it made things harder for people who truly need a well-trained working dog? Have any of you run into issues in public or housing situations because of dogs labeled as ESAs that are clearly not ready for those environments?

Curious what other trainers and breed enthusiasts think about this.

I think that in the UK it is only Service Dogs that have a specific right to accompany their owner into normally dog-free areas. Service dogs usually wear a lettered uniform coat - Guide dogs are identifiable by their distinctive harness.
There are people who would like their emotional support dogs to be granted the same privileges, but to the best of my knowledge, this is not a right and access for non-service dogs has to be by negotiation with the property management. Some do give permission and some will not.

As your screenname is Helpful Pets and you are including a link to a website called helpfulpets, this is most likely an advertising not a true concern. However, I'll respond to it as if it is a true concern...

First, a true ESA is not just just a pet. For those who truly need an ESA, they are extremely important to help the person get through their day. Any online or in-person source who claims to "certify" an ESA is a scam - there is no certification, there is no special tag or vest, etc. There is also no "qualifying" to have an ESA. Whether you truly need one is a discussion between you and your healthcare provider. The healthcare provider will decide if you have a true need and, if so, will sign the letter that you will use for housing purposes.

If you need to go on the internet to get a signed statement about needing an ESA, then you are most likely scamming. People go to the internet for this because their own doctors won't sign off on the letter - and that is most often because they know the person is trying to scam the system.

In California, ESAs only have protected rights in regards to housing. If you have a legitimate ESA, a landlord cannot refuse to let you have that animal in the home with you. HOWEVER, that protection ONLY applies if the dog is not a nuisance or danger to others. Meaning, if the dog pees all over the house, the landlord can require that the animal be removed. If the animal lunges, snarls, growls, or bites at other residents in communal areas, the landlord can require the animal be removed. If the dog barks all night every night and disturbs neighbors, the landlord can require the dog be removed. This is also true with Service dogs.

With all that, the abuse of ESA legislation DOES significantly hurt those who need Service dogs and/or ESAs. Every person who goes on the internet to get a letter stating their pet is an ESA because they can't find a rental that will allow the animal otherwise is putting the current protections at risk.

I'm a camper. As a kid, dogs were allowed in most all campgrounds. If they weren't allowed it was due to an ecological or safety reasons (eg, protecting the snowy plovers or the presence of bears creating a danger). There were general rules - keep your dog under your control, pick up the dog's poop, don't leave the dog unattended, etc. Well, people started thinking the rules didn't apply to them. They left dog poop all over the trails, they left the dog alone at the campsite all day where the dog barked non'stop, they let the dog run all over the campground, picking fights with other dogs, scaring kids, stealing other campers' food, and so on. So, guess what? Those campgrounds got fed up. They got tired of telling people to control their dogs. They got tired of other campers complaining. They got tired of the owners of these dogs arguing and getting angry when they were told to leave. So, they stopped allowing dogs in the campgrounds. If a few can't follow the rules, then no one gets to bring their dog camping.

And that is what will happen with ESAs. The more people scam the system, the more people claim false ESAs, the more claimed ESAs behave poorly, the sooner those protections get taken away. And then those really truly need ESAs will not be able to have them. All because some selfish idiot decided they were special and the rules shouldn't apply to them.

You "came across" the Helpful Pets website and named your account after it.

I am mostly replying to the other users who have replied to this thread, since the OP was only here to advertise.

In my area of the USA, the Publix grocery stores put up new signs which state that only trained, certified service animals are permitted. Apparently the "emotional support animal" craze caused problems.

In the US, there is confusion about what a business may ask regarding service dogs. The law is very specific. You can ask two questions:

1. Is the dog a service animal required because of a disability
2. What work or task has the dog been trained to perform?

Because businesses cannot ask for "proof" that dog is a service dog (eg, certificates, licenses, etc) and they cannot ask that the dog perform the task or ask what the person's disability is, many businesses are afraid to question people at all.

The law also provides a business with the right to remove the dog if it is not under control. The ADA explains "under control" as follows:
The ADA requires that service animals be under the control of the handler at all times. In most instances, the handler will be the individual with a disability or a third party who accompanies the individual with a disability. In the school (K-12) context and in similar settings, the school or similar entity may need to provide some assistance to enable a particular student to handle his or her service animal. The service animal must be harnessed, leashed, or tethered while in public places unless these devices interfere with the service animal’s work or the person’s disability prevents use of these devices. In that case, the person must use voice, signal, or other effective means to maintain control of the animal. For example, a person who uses a wheelchair may use a long, retractable leash to allow her service animal to pick up or retrieve items. She may not allow the dog to wander away from her and must maintain control of the dog, even if it is retrieving an item at a distance from her. Or, a returning veteran who has PTSD and has great difficulty entering unfamiliar spaces may have a dog that is trained to enter a space, check to see that no threats are there, and come back and signal that it is safe to enter. The dog must be off leash to do its job, but may be leashed at other times. Under control also means that a service animal should not be allowed to bark repeatedly in a lecture hall, theater, library, or other quiet place. However, if a dog barks just once, or barks because someone has provoked it, this would not mean that the dog is out of control.

The scammers all depend on businesses NOT knowing the law.

In most cases, a person with a disability entering with a service dog will be polite yet firm if asked about the dog. The dog will be under control.

If someone enters with a barking dog, the dog is running around or jumping up, peeing on stuff, and/or barking at people, the odds are the dog is not a service dog. And since the law allows businesses to request the dog be removed if it is not under control, businesses should feel confident to do so. They should not fear a lawsuit. They should document the behavior of the dog, the answers given in response to the two questions above, and retain any video recordings made of the interaction and/or dog's behavior. That way if a complain against the business is made, the business has documentation to validate their request for removal.

Whenever questions about service dogs come up, I always provide this information and a link to the ADA's FAQ:
www.ada.gov/resources

Hopefully people will read this info and check the link for details. The more who know the law, the fewer people can scam.