Some people love their pets and find comfort in having them with them wherever they go. But, those animals — and it can be any kind of animal: bird, reptile, etc. — can cause confusion because although they offer emotional support, they are not trained to do a specific job.

Even more than that, because they aren’t trained, they can be a danger to people and also to legitimate service animals that need to remain focused on the person they serve.

Dogs are usually what people think of as service animals and while it is true that any breed of dog can serve in that capacity, miniature horses are also recognized by the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) as service animals, according to Karen Koch, advocacy coordinator at the Center for Independent Living.

“A service animal is trained to provide a specific service to one person, a person with a disability. Examples might be to retrieve medication when someone has a seizure, maybe get clothing, all different kinds of tasks, retrieve things, bring things,” Koch said.

“An emotional support animal is very different. They are not trained to provide a specific service. They just make you feel good because they’re an animal. I love dogs. Just being around a dog makes me feel really good. So there’s no specific training for an emotional support animal, you know, maybe some obedience training but basically it just helps the person to feel better versus providing a service,” she added.

Information from the Mid-Atlantic ADA Center defined a service animal as one that is “trained to perform specific tasks (guiding, retrieving, alerting, etc.) and work for one particular individual with a disability, often for the life of the animal.”

Emotional support or comfort animals may be socialized and have been obedience-trained, but they aren’t trained to perform any specific tasks related to their owner’s disability. They provide benefits passively. Their presence brings comfort.

A third category of animal — therapy animals — as defined by the ADA are “typically considered those which are trained to accompany handlers to places like nursing homes, hospitals or schools to provide therapeutic benefits” in those settings. Unlike a service animal, they serve a general population, not an individual.

If someone wants to have a service animal, it is up to them to obtain the animal from an appropriate trainer, Koch said.

Again, training is the key difference between all of these types of animals.

“A lot of service animals are looking at two years of training before they’re actually ready to provide that service. There’s obedience training, and then you have the actual service training where they’re working with that person that’s going to have that animal and receive that service. So it could be a lengthy process to train a service dog,” Koch said.

The Center for Independent Living does not provide clients with the service animal, but they do have clients who have service animals. They also work with individuals who have emotional support animals.

“Emotional support animals require having a doctor’s note saying that the person requires this emotional support animal, a service animal there is no involvement from a physician whatsoever. A physician does not need to write a letter. A physician does not need to provide any documentation for a service animal,” Koch said.

“Emotional support animals require something from your doctor and that is what allows people who live, for example, in public housing. We have fair housing laws that say a person with an emotional support animal is allowed to have that animal in their housing complex, even if a complex says no pets,” she said.

Unfortunately, she said, a lot of people abuse that.

“They try to pass animals off as service animals and they’re not. A service animal can go anywhere that its owner goes. One or two exceptions would be in a sterile medical setting. For example, if I have a service animal and I’m going to have surgery. I cannot bring that dog into the surgical bay because of it being a sterile area. But a service animal can go anywhere with its owner. Emotional support animals can not,” she said.

An example would be a grocery store. If the store’s policy is no pets, service animals only, then emotional support animals would not be allowed.

“Emotional support animals are not permitted in public places,” she said.

“Service animals must be individually trained to perform active work or tasks for an individual with a disability and animals that provide emotional support or comfort through their presence alone are not considered service animals,” information from the ADA Center said.

“One of the things that a lot of people don’t realize is that a service animal is not required to wear a vest. It does not have to have any identifying marking on it or anything that says I am a service animal,” she said.

“We will often see people with a pet or perhaps an emotional support animal and they will put a vest on it that says service animal. That is often the first clue that it’s not truly a service animal. I know there are some people who have a service dog who may put a service dog vest on it, but like I said it is not required,” Koch said.

Local laws requiring dogs to be leashed also do not apply to service animals. Emotional support dogs have to be leashed.

“The ADA supersedes a municipal law that says that — the reason being, if it’s a service animal and it’s leashed, it quite possibly wouldn’t be able to provide the service,” Koch said.

An example would be a service animal that is trained to retrieve items for their owner couldn’t perform that service if they were leashed.

Another reason that a leash might not be feasible is if the owner can’t hold on to a leash because of their disability.

The ADA also overrides any limitations on the breed of dog used as a service animal. A landlord might allow pets, but specifies that a certain breed, such as pitbulls or akitas, is not permitted, that is not allowed under ADA guidelines.

Under the ADA, Title II deals with state and local governments or public entities, while Title III pertains to businesses and nonprofits that are open to the public.

When an individual enters a site or vehicle covered under Title II or Title III, they can be asked if the animal is a service animal needed because of a disability. They may also be asked what tasks or work the animal has been trained to perform, but they can only be asked if the answer is not obvious, such as in the case of someone in a wheelchair with the dog pulling the wheelchair. They cannot be required to produce documentation or certification.

“There are two questions you are permitted to ask that person. You may ask that person is that a service animal? And what service does that animal provide? You can’t request a demonstration of the service. I’ll go back again to an example. If a person has epilepsy, and the animal retrieves medication, you can’t very well say OK, you have to have a seizure so we can see your dog work to assure that it is a service animal,” Koch explained.

“For emotional support animals, there’s no requirement for them to say ‘I’m an emotional support animal.’ It is up to the owner to be responsible to follow the laws in their community. But unfortunately, many people do not do that. I saw a gentleman a couple months ago in Wegman’s with a litter of puppies, literally, he had a red wagon and was pulling a litter of puppies. And I said something to him. I said, ‘Oh, I didn’t realize they allowed dogs in the store.’ And he said, ‘Well, they’re service dogs and training’ — no,” she laughed.

Incidents like that, where people might try to say an animal is a service animal when it is not, are often frustrating to members of the disability community.

“I know that members of the disability community who have service animals have expressed some unhappiness about this because what often will happen if you have a service dog, that service dog is incredibly trained. He is going to ignore any other dogs in the area. His focus is going to be on the person he’s serving. And providing that service,” Koch said.

“So, if an individual comes in and they’ve got an emotional support animal that is not trained, that dog is often disruptive, disturbing and possibly trying to interact with their dog. So emotional support animals do not belong (in public). People should not be bringing them into public spaces that do not permit pets because an emotional service dog or emotional support animal is a pet,” she added.

For more information about the regulations governing service animals and emotional support pets, visit the Mid-Atlantic ADA Center online at www.adainfo.org and Click on the “Learn About the ADA” tab.