Service Animals and Emotional Support Animals

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If you have axial spondyloarthritis (AxSpA), you might have considered a service animal to support you. Service animals are often associated with those needing a seeing-eye dog or mobility assistance. However, they are actually used for a wider variety of chronic illnesses, including various arthritis diseases.

Both service animals and emotional support animals can be helpful for those with AxSpA. There are differences between the 2 types of animals, including how they protect and perform roles to help their handler.

Service animals

Service animals are trained to perform tasks to assist someone with a disability or chronic illness. Tasks that service dogs are trained to help their handler with include:^1-3

Crossing streets
Shopping
Navigating buildings
Pushing elevator buttons
Retrieving dropped items

Service dogs are not pets. They should not be touched or interacted with by others while working. Service animals need to stay focused on keeping their handler safe. Service animals are usually dogs, though occasionally miniature horses are also trained. Only dogs are protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) as service animals.^1-3

Service animals may enter places that deny entry to pets. Businesses are allowed to ask if the handler is using the animal for a disability and what tasks it performs. The handler should be able to list specific tasks the dog performs.^1-3

Service animals spend several months in extensive training before being matched with a handler. The handler and dog then go through additional training together. The handler learns how to command the dog, and the dog learns the specific needs of the handler.^1-3

Emotional support animals

An emotional support animal, or ESA, is a companion animal that provides comfort, support, and helps to relieve symptoms of a person's mental or emotional disability. Unlike service animals, they are not trained to perform specific tasks. Any common domesticated animal can be an ESA, from a dog or cat to a rabbit or bird. Their primary role is simply to be present and offer a calming, therapeutic presence to their owner, helping with conditions like anxiety, depression, or PTSD.^1-3,5,6

These animals do not go through the extensive training of service dogs. Emotional support animals are not protected under the ADA. They do not meet the criteria of performing specific tasks to assist a handler. They can be refused entrance to those places that deny entry to pets.^1-3,5,6

An emotional support animal is not the same as a therapy animal. A therapy animal, such as a therapy dog, is trained to provide comfort and affection to people in various settings, such as hospitals, nursing homes, and schools. Misrepresenting a therapy dog or household pet as a service animal can result in fines or jail time.⁶

Support for ankylosing spondylitis

People diagnosed with AxSpA or other arthritis conditions have found service and emotional support animals to be valuable. With an emotional support animal, the comfort of a dog or cat curling up with you on flare days can be soothing.

As for service dogs, they can be enormously helpful in aiding with daily tasks such as:^4-5

Providing stability when walking or standing
Picking things up off the floor
Parting crowds to avoid being bumped and losing balance
Getting dressed or undressed
Bringing items left in another room
Reminders to take medicine
Carrying groceries

Many people with AxSpA or other arthritis diseases worry that requesting a service dog is taking an animal from someone whose need is greater. This is not true! Only certain dogs match with a handler who has severe limitations. Many are available to those who can benefit more broadly from a service dog’s assistance. Such handlers have more ability to command and control the dog. It is important to remember that dogs are an investment. A handler must be able to care for and provide for their service dog.^4,5

Getting a service dog

Many organizations throughout the United States train service dogs. After finding one in your area, you need to submit an application. Once your application is approved, you may wait for 1 to 3 years before being matched with a service animal. It is important that you be matched with an animal that meets your specific needs. The cost of service animals can be expensive and is not covered by insurance.^2,4,5

If you have a service or emotional support animal, share in the comments below.

This article represents the opinions, thoughts, and experiences of the author; none of this content has been paid for by any advertiser. The AxialSpondyloarthritis.net team does not recommend or endorse any products or treatments discussed herein. Learn more about how we maintain editorial integrity here.

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Kathy.Smyser Community Admin

<inline-mention username="pahair4" user-id="4582468"/> Thank you for weighing in on this topic. I will ask that the article be reviewed and updated where necessary. All the best, Kathy (Team member)
Latoya.Juniel Community Admin

<inline-mention username="pahair4" user-id="4582468"/> Thank you so much for sharing this updated information and clarification! Since the article was originally posted in 2023, it’s really helpful to make sure the distinctions between therapy animals and emotional support animals are understood correctly. -Latoya (Team Member)
pahair4 Member

The definitions of an Emotional support animal and a therapy animal are combined, which is incorrect. As a provider of service dogs for over 20 years and an instructor in animal-assisted therapy (pet therapy) for at least 18 years, I would like to clarify. Someone owns a therapy dog, which is a dog trained to visit in the community with a handler, bringing comfort and joy to many people. It is not trained in skills or tasks and lacks legal access. It must be invited into a facility. An Emotional Support Animal (ESA) is a person's own pet (such as a dog, cat, or bird) that requires no formal training. The person has a letter from a mental health professional stating that the animal is necessary for their emotional well-being and comfort. ESA has no legal authority to enter public buildings, but it is granted certain rights for housing under the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Employers, doctors, or other professionals do not have to allow the animal to attend an appointment. https://www.ada.gov/resources/service-animals-faqs/
Rebecca C Member

<inline-mention username="Houseofchristina" user-id="4207949"/> Yes, there is a difference between support animals and service animals. "The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) defines service animals as, “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.” Service animals are protected under the ADA. Meanwhile, emotional support animals are “any animal that provides emotional support alleviating one or more symptoms or effects of a person’s disability. Emotional support animals provide companionship, relieve loneliness, and sometimes help with depression, anxiety, and certain phobias, but do not have special training to perform tasks that assist people with disabilities.” Emotional support animals are classified the same as therapy animals, and are not protected under the ADA. Instead, Emotional Support Animals (ESAs) are protected by the Fair Housing Act, which states that people cannot be discriminated against due to a disability when obtaining housing. Therefore, rules such as no pets, species bans, or pet-size limitations do not apply to people who have a prescription for an ESA, and they cannot be charged a pet deposit for having their ESA live with them. They are also protected under the Air Carrier Access Act which allows service animals and ESAs to accompany their handler in the cabin of an aircraft. *above from - <a href='https://medium.com/tmi-consulting-inc/the-difference-between-service-and-emotional-support-animals-7d8d684d0146' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer ugc'>https://medium.com/tmi-consulting-inc/the-difference-between-service-and-emotional-support-animals-7d8d684d0146</a>
Houseofchristina Member

This article mentions that Emotional Support animals are not covered by the ADA, many people do not realize a support animal is NOT a service animal, according to the DOJ. Locally we have ppl bringing PETS into the store saying they have anxiety, LMAO, this is complete exploitation of the service animal rules. A service dog can be any breed, even toy breeds carried in a pack, but no emotional support animal is a service animal.