where do I find Federal laws about service animals?

MunoRN, RN · Mar 19, 2018

The Federal law that covers service animals is the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), googling ADA and service dogs will provide a number of explanations and FAQ pages.

A federally protected service dog is one that performs a specific task for someone with a disability. This should not be confused with "therapy" dogs which don't have the same protections.

mmc51264, BSN, MSN, RN · Mar 19, 2018

thanks. I knew there was a difference but someone said something funky about not being able to ask about the circumstances of a therapy dog I believe. I know service animals have papers, etc. It's very complicated and it is very abused. They few that I have had to deal with were legitimate service dogs. Being an ortho floor, we get veterans with PTSD dogs. Most do not stay long

MunoRN, RN · Mar 19, 2018

You can't legally ask what disability the person utilizes a service dog for, but you can ask what specific task the dog performs that assists with a disability. Unlike true Service Dogs, therapy dogs don't perform a specific task to assist with a disability.

While therapy dogs, emotional support dogs, etc are protected in the case of residential accommodation, they don't have the same legal protections for being allowed into public places, such as hospitals that Service dogs do.

klone, MSN, RN · Mar 19, 2018

What you're allowed to ask:

Is this dog a service animal required because of a disability (note "dog" because only dogs are recognized as the ADA as a service animal)

What task has the dog been trained to perform?

As Muno stated, a "therapy" or "emotional support" animal is NOT an ADA service dog. They must be trained to perform a specific task related to a person's disability.