# What exactly is an ESA?



## FloofyPoodle (May 12, 2020)

Okay, this question has been on my kind forever. What exactly does an ESA do? Are they just... There with the person? Do they have any particular training? I can see maybe helping with anxiety attacks or something, but wouldn’t that be considered a flat-out SD? Where exactly can they go in the U.S.? 

The reason I ask now is that for some reason, there has been an uptick in animals brought to my (public) workplace. And animals are not allowed, unless they are legitimate service animals, for public health reasons. We recently had to tell someone to take their cat outside. A CAT. It had its own stroller and everything.


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## Mufar42 (Jan 1, 2017)

I think ESA is a bit of a joke...sure pets give emotional support..always have to many but at home. You go about your daily business come home for emotional support. I don't believe you need to take animals with you to give you support otherwise there is really something wrong and you need mental health assistance. And I don't mean that in an ugly way, one must get to the root of their problems and not use a pet as a bandaid.


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## Asta's Mom (Aug 20, 2014)

If your dog is supposedly an ESA - there are really no standards or tasks the dog is required to do for the owner. So I agree with Mufar that an ESA is a bit of joke.
Working with Asta and training him in many ways to help me qualifies him as my PSA. One of the tasks he does is when I have needed his help. My command is "Help me". It was the 1st command I taught him. On command he is to seek out my husband and lead him back to me. Turns out I needed this command this week- I- took a bad fall in the yard. Asta was with me bur I needed his help. My husband was in the house. So Asta goes looking for my husband -At the door, he raised a ruckus. My husband opened the door and saw Asta alone barking then led him to me.
Click knows the laws that govern qualifying as a SD - hope she will answer your post and chime in to clarify this.


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## twyla (Apr 28, 2010)

The only Provision for E.S.A. is for housing


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

ESA have not public access rights as service animals do. The only animals recognized as service animals under the ADA are dogs and miniature horses. So cats, turtles, parrots on people's shoulders and the like may make the person feel good, but not in restaurants, on airplanes, in food stores and such please. Service animals have to have been properly trained to do at least two specific tasks that aide their handlers.


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## FloofyPoodle (May 12, 2020)

Asta's Mom said:


> If your dog is supposedly an ESA - there are really no standards or tasks the dog is required to do for the owner. So I agree with Mufar that an ESA is a bit of joke.
> Working with Asta and training him in many ways to help me qualifies him as my PSA. One of the tasks he does is when I have needed his help. My command is "Help me". It was the 1st command I taught him. On command he is to seek out my husband and lead him back to me. Turns out I needed this command this week- I- took a bad fall in the yard. Asta was with me bur I needed his help. My husband was in the house. So Asta goes looking for my husband -At the door, he raised a ruckus. My husband opened the door and saw Asta alone barking then led him to me.
> Click knows the laws that govern qualifying as a SD - hope she will answer your post and chime in to clarify this.


Wow--good boy, Asta! Hope you are okay.


lily cd re said:


> ESA have not public access rights as service animals do. The only animals recognized as service animals under the ADA are dogs and miniature horses. So cats, turtles, parrots on people's shoulders and the like may make the person feel good, but not in restaurants, on airplanes, in food stores and such please. Service animals have to have been properly trained to do at least two specific tasks that aide their handlers.


Horses? Huh. Would never have thought that. What type of tasks would be considered to be 'aiding' (I'm picturing getting items for the handler, or tasks such as Asta's mom detailed)? Are there any grey area lines that people should be aware of?


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Sorry I can't quite address that question since I have no horse experiences, but there would still have to be at least two specific tasks. I suppose physical assistance is a major one for a service horse and getting/retrieving objects could be another.


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## Michigan Gal (Jun 4, 2019)

A pet is not necessarily a 'band aid' for mental health. Dogs have been shown to be extremely helpful to our veterans with PTSD. Pit bulls are tough and make wonderful therapy dogs for those suffering from PTSD.


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## For Want of Poodle (Feb 25, 2019)

FloofyPoodle said:


> Wow--good boy, Asta! Hope you are okay.
> 
> Horses? Huh. Would never have thought that. What type of tasks would be considered to be 'aiding' (I'm picturing getting items for the handler, or tasks such as Asta's mom detailed)? Are there any grey area lines that people should be aware of?


Guide mini horses have been used for the blind, as they live far longer than a guide dog. I wonder if they might also pull a wheel chair?? 

As for ESAS - for a genuine anxiety disorder, if it helps the person get out of the house and live a normally life I am fine with it. So long as the dog is trained to the same high standards for public acess you would see in a service dog


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## Click-N-Treat (Nov 9, 2015)

An ESA is covered by The Fair Housing Act in the USA. If a person rents an apartment in a no pets building, and they have an animal that helps with mental illness or emotional distress, the landlord must make an exemption for the animal. The Air Carrier Access Act requires airlines to allow animals that provide emotional comfort to people with mental illness or emotional distress to ride in the cabin.

ESAs are required to have the same training as your neighbor’s snarling cocker spaniel. Zero training at all, not even a CGC award. Not even a STAR Puppy.

Do these laws get abused? Yes. Should at least a CGC be required? Yes.

ESA’s are not trained for public access. Emotional comfort is not a task under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Individually trained tasks separate psychiatric service dogs from ESAs. An ESA is a pet. A psychiatric service dog is tax deductible medical equipment. If an ESA is stolen, its a minor theft. If a Psychiatric Service Dog is stolen, it’s grand theft, and a felony in my state. Service dogs are valued between $25,000 and $50,0000 due to the years of training.

Service dogs are highly trained in both public manners and assistance tasks. The difference between a psychiatric service dog and an ESA is vast. An ESA is a lump of coal. A psychiatric service dog is a diamond.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Well Click as often is the case you made the differences clear much more articulately than most of us could dream of.


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## FloofyPoodle (May 12, 2020)

lily cd re said:


> Well Click as often is the case you made the differences clear much more articulately than most of us could dream of.


Well said. 


Click-N-Treat said:


> ESAs are required to have the same training as your neighbor’s snarling cocker spaniel. Zero training at all, not even a CGC award. Not even a STAR Puppy.


That’s insane. And landlords are required to let these animals in their homes? Seems that would lead to some tricky situations for other owners, some of which with legitimate service animals...

How would you go about approaching someone if you knew the ESA was not allowed? Or should you?


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

These days I try not to say anything since I have had some very screw ball interactions with mask up please requests and with people going the wrong way in the aisles of the supermarket. I think we have lost a level of effectiveness in communications since we can't read people's facial expressions. I would talk to a store manager or a landlord rather than directly the offending person. ESA in the supermarket particularly bother me. I have worked very hard to get Javelin worthy of going in the supermarket to have a reactive dog give us a set back experience.


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## Spottytoes (Jul 28, 2020)

I think ESA animals definitely have a very important and necessary role for some folks, for sure! However, I do definitely think there needs to be required training, consistent standards and certifications for providing that support in public places and multiple dwelling living spaces. I work at a public library and it is so frustrating to have people with untrained dogs blatantly lie to us. People use that line so often just try bring their dog inside and so often you just have to take them at their word. I think it does a great disservice to those who genuinely need and use a true support animal, or any trained type service dog. My dog gives me emotional support but never would I lie and pass him off a genuine ESA.


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## Click-N-Treat (Nov 9, 2015)

If you are in the USA, throw them out of the library where you work. Emotional Support is NOT a task under the Amerian's With Disabilities Act. ESA's are pets, not service dogs. Kick them out. You are following the law. Right here, clear as day:

"The work or task a dog has been trained to provide must be directly related to the person’s disability. *Dogs whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support do not qualify as service animals under the ADA.*" 

Print this out, and hand it off to the people who whine and complain. You are following the law. ADA 2010 Revised Requirements: Service Animals


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## Spottytoes (Jul 28, 2020)

I totally agree but try and convince the system of that. We are allowed to ask if the dog has a specific job which folks lie about and we are allowed to ask them to leave if the animal is disruptive. Other than that, it’s pretty gray and we have to take them at their word. It doesn’t happen everyday or anything but through the many years I’ve worked for this system I’ve seen my share of folks who take advantage.


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## Click-N-Treat (Nov 9, 2015)

Drives me crazy when people take their untrained dog with them into a public space and it acts a fool. At least you get to ask them to leave if Fluffy is barking or making a fuss.


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## Cats&Poodle (Aug 26, 2020)

FloofyPoodle said:


> The reason I ask now is that for some reason, there has been an uptick in animals brought to my (public) workplace. And animals are not allowed, unless they are legitimate service animals, for public health reasons. We recently had to tell someone to take their cat outside. A CAT. It had its own stroller and everything.


Cats can actually be legitimate Service Animals. Just like some breeds/dogs are more trainable as service animals, so are cats. Obviously they wouldn’t be used for guide animals or mobility assist, but things like medical alert services, absolutely. Here’s a great example:






As a disabled person who already gets enough grief from non-disableds about so many things (much of which is illegal) I think it’s important to respect other people’s experiences & needs that may be so different from our own that on first glance we may think they’re “scamming” or “faking.” (e.g. invisible disabilities or atypical service animals like miniature horses which are amazing mobility & guide service animals but I saw people rolling their eyes at in another thread...)


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## Click-N-Treat (Nov 9, 2015)

ADA 2010 Revised Requirements: Service Animals Unfortunately, the ADA changed in 2010 to define Service Animal as a dog. Mini horses can possibly be service animals. Cats can no longer be service animals under the ADA. However, state service animal laws may cover cats. I know my cats have responded to my low blood sugar by licking my face. Before I got Noelle, the cats were a big help.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

I don't understand why there are people who think this has shades of grey. The language in the ADA is crystal clear. If I worked in an environment where people wanted to bring cats, iguanas and whatever else I would suggest that an enlarged copy of the text of the law about what animals can work in that environment be printed out, enlarges, laminated and securely attached to all of the doors. Include a web address for non-believers. Unqualified animals that enter and then perhaps cause problems make things difficult for those with legitimate service dogs by creating a skeptical environment.


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## Cats&Poodle (Aug 26, 2020)

lily cd re said:


> I don't understand why there are people who think this has shades of grey. The language in the ADA is crystal clear. If I worked in an environment where people wanted to bring cats, iguanas and whatever else I would suggest that an enlarged copy of the text of the law about what animals can work in that environment be printed out, enlarges, laminated and securely attached to all of the doors. Include a web address for non-believers. Unqualified animals that enter and then perhaps cause problems make things difficult for those with legitimate service dogs by creating a skeptical environment.


My post wasn’t suggesting there’s “shades of gray” - the OP mentioned “a CAT” as if it’s ludicrous to even think they could perform legitimate service animal duties, so I showed that they do and can. 

The ADA is federal law which means it’s the minimum states must permit, but as someone replied above, individual states can have laws that allow for other animals. Think of it like marijuana: federally it’s not allowed but individual states have chosen to legalize medical marijuana or even marijuana without any need to prove a medical purpose.


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## FloofyPoodle (May 12, 2020)

As an update, people have stopped bringing their pets to my workplace (and the level of people coming in angry about masks has gone down). I guess word got out that we don’t tolerate that kind of thing. But if they start coming in again, Catherine, that sign idea is a good one. We already have one for masks, so if it comes to that, it would be easy to implement.

It’s been on my mind for a while, so forgive me while I rant, but to be honest, if I would have to choose between people keeping their jobs and an animal that should not be there in the first place, the animal is gonna have to go. Now, I do respect people with both silent and physical disabilities and want everyone to treat them as equals, accommodations included, but I don’t appreciate people who think the rules don’t apply to them at the cost of so many others. Especially if the people doing so throws people who need accommodations such as service animals under the bus.

This virus has escalated those feelings, and I regularly see people who just don’t seem to care about others. I had someone straight-up tell me the other day they couldn’t wear a mask because it rubbed against their nose, and so they went without face protection altogether. Another person cursed at the top of his lungs the whole time they were there because the mask we made them wear was hot. I was worried they would punch someone. To be honest, it’s made me a little wary of who I can actually trust. Sigh... Sorry. I just need to vent somewhere.

Oh, and that cat was not being passed off as a service animal. The owner just wanted to take them into my workplace.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Cats&Poodle my remark about shades of grey was not specifically addressed to be a response to you. And at this point the law has been amended to only allow dogs and miniature horses. I know the law very well since my service training of my male poodle has been all hung up in COVID issues and switching to a home work environment. Since I have health concerns that have mostly kept us at home until very recently much of his public access work has been on hold.

FloofyPoodle we were typing at the same time and you hit submit before me so I will edit to add that I totally understand how you feel these days. It seems we are destined to just have to deal with extremes. Some people have shown remarkable generosity and kind spirit and others, just well, not so much. I have heard much discussion recently about the idea that if you don't believe people are showing you who they truly are at your first meeting you haven't really watched closely enough. Masks of course also have removed a major set of communication signals like smiles and scowls. I try to be careful after having made a couple of surprising misreads.

In my neck of the woods almost every store that survived the shutdown to now be open again in some way has big signs that say no mask no *___* (service, help, entry or something along those lines).


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## service dog vera (Sep 14, 2021)

FloofyPoodle said:


> Okay, this question has been on my kind forever. What exactly does an ESA do? Are they just... There with the person? Do they have any particular training? I can see maybe helping with anxiety attacks or something, but wouldn’t that be considered a flat-out SD? Where exactly can they go in the U.S.?
> 
> The reason I ask now is that for some reason, there has been an uptick in animals brought to my (public) workplace. And animals are not allowed, unless they are legitimate service animals, for public health reasons. We recently had to tell someone to take their cat outside. A CAT. It had its own stroller and everything.


Hi. I am a service dog handler, and one of Vera's jobs is to be a psych service dog. The difference between a psych service dog and an ESA is what the dog actually does. In the US, a SD is a dog trained to *preform* a task that directly relates to and mitigates the handler's disability. For example, simply existing and receiving pets to calm the owner down is not a task, but the dog laying on the handler's lap and providing deep pressure therapy is a task. This is why I emphasize the word "preform". Does the dog actively do something? 
Now to answer your other questions; ESAs cannot go anywhere a pet is not allowed. ESAs do not have public access rights. In public, they are considered pets. The ESA designation is really only useful or applicable when it comes to housing (and in the past, flying). Service dogs can go anywhere the general public is allowed, if the dog's presence doesn't fundamentally alter the service the place provides. What this means is someone can refuse a service dog coming into their house. To my understanding, private schools can also refuse service dogs (unless they receive certain forms of public funding). Service dogs are allowed in restaurants, but they wouldn't be allowed in the kitchen because A) the general public doesn't go in the kitchen, and B) that's a health issue. Service dogs are allowed in pool areas (ie the indoor pool area at the YMCA, JCC, community center), but they are not allowed in the actual pool water. Service dogs are also allowed at zoos, but they can restrict the areas the dog can go if it causes a safety issue for the zoo animals. 

As an employee of anywhere, according to the ADA you can ONLY ask these questions to determine if an animal is a service animal:

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

If the answer is Yes and they list actual tasks, you are required to permit them. However, they can be removed service dog or not, if the handler does not have proper control over the dog, ie barking excessively (excluding alerts), growling, urinating excessively (I say excessively because just like people, dogs can have accidents), and other unruly dog behavior. 

If you have any further questions, feel free to ask me, or consult Frequently Asked Questions about Service Animals and the ADA


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## service dog vera (Sep 14, 2021)

FloofyPoodle said:


> Okay, this question has been on my kind forever. What exactly does an ESA do? Are they just... There with the person? Do they have any particular training? I can see maybe helping with anxiety attacks or something, but wouldn’t that be considered a flat-out SD? Where exactly can they go in the U.S.?
> 
> The reason I ask now is that for some reason, there has been an uptick in animals brought to my (public) workplace. And animals are not allowed, unless they are legitimate service animals, for public health reasons. We recently had to tell someone to take their cat outside. A CAT. It had its own stroller and everything.


Hi. I am a service dog handler, and one of Vera's jobs is to be a psych service dog. The difference between a psych service dog and an ESA is what the dog actually does. In the US, a SD is a dog trained to *preform* a task that directly relates to and mitigates the handler's disability. For example, simply existing and receiving pets to calm the owner down is not a task, but the dog laying on the handler's lap and providing deep pressure therapy is a task. This is why I emphasize the word "preform". Does the dog actively do something? 
Now to answer your other questions; ESAs cannot go anywhere a pet is not allowed. ESAs do not have public access rights. In public, they are considered pets. The ESA designation is really only useful or applicable when it comes to housing (and in the past, flying). Service dogs can go anywhere the general public is allowed, if the dog's presence doesn't fundamentally alter the service the place provides. What this means is someone can refuse a service dog coming into their house. To my understanding, private schools can also refuse service dogs (unless they receive certain forms of public funding). Service dogs are allowed in restaurants, but they wouldn't be allowed in the kitchen because A) the general public doesn't go in the kitchen, and B) that's a health issue. Service dogs are allowed in pool areas (ie the indoor pool area at the YMCA, JCC, community center), but they are not allowed in the actual pool water. Service dogs are also allowed at zoos, but they can restrict the areas the dog can go if it causes a safety issue for the zoo animals. 

As an employee of anywhere, according to the ADA you can ONLY ask these questions to determine if an animal is a service animal:

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

If the answer is Yes and they list actual tasks, you are required to permit them. However, they can be removed service dog or not, if the handler does not have proper control over the dog, ie barking excessively (excluding alerts), growling, urinating excessively (I say excessively because just like people, dogs can have accidents), and other unruly dog behavior. 

If you have any further questions, feel free to ask me, or consult Frequently Asked Questions about Service Animals and the ADA


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## service dog vera (Sep 14, 2021)

lily cd re said:


> ESA have not public access rights as service animals do. The only animals recognized as service animals under the ADA are dogs and miniature horses. So cats, turtles, parrots on people's shoulders and the like may make the person feel good, but not in restaurants, on airplanes, in food stores and such please. Service animals have to have been properly trained to do at least two specific tasks that aide their handlers.


Mostly correct, but service dogs do not need “at least two” tasks. There is no minimum other than they need to be task trained, so I guess the minimum is one. And the handler has to be disabled, and the task has to relate to the handler’s disability.


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## service dog vera (Sep 14, 2021)

lily cd re said:


> Sorry I can't quite address that question since I have no horse experiences, but there would still have to be at least two specific tasks. I suppose physical assistance is a major one for a service horse and getting/retrieving objects could be another.





lily cd re said:


> ESA have not public access rights as service animals do. The only animals recognized as service animals under the ADA are dogs and miniature horses. So cats, turtles, parrots on people's shoulders and the like may make the person feel good, but not in restaurants, on airplanes, in food stores and such please. Service animals have to have been properly trained to do at least two specific tasks that aide their handlers.


they only need 1 task. They do not need two tasks.


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## service dog vera (Sep 14, 2021)

For Want of Poodle said:


> Guide mini horses have been used for the blind, as they live far longer than a guide dog. I wonder if they might also pull a wheel chair??
> 
> As for ESAS - for a genuine anxiety disorder, if it helps the person get out of the house and live a normally life I am fine with it. So long as the dog is trained to the same high standards for public acess you would see in a service dog


That is not legal. ESAs do not have public access.


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