Emotional support animals ARE however protected as reasonable accommodations for housing and air travel, but most of the time additional documentation from a physician may be required. These animals are NOT considered service animals by the ADA or Washington State Law, and are not protected by the laws outlined for service animals. Other Support or Therapy AnimalsĮmotional Support Animal: Although many medical professionals have been turning to emotional support animals as a treatment plan to aid in psychiatric disabilities, (including loneliness, phobias, anxiety, depression, and other related conditions) by providing companionship and comfort to the animal’s owner, these animals often do not receive specialized training to aid the owner with skilled tasks. A doctor’s letter does not turn an animal into a service animal. It does not matter if a person has a note from a doctor that states that the person has a disability and needs to have the animal for emotional support. The work or tasks performed by a service animal must be directly related to the individual’s disability. Other species of animals, whether wild or domestic, trained or untrained, are not considered service animals either.
The ways in which persons with disabilities use service animals are growing and evolving as we discover additional ways in which animals can be utilized by persons with disabilities.Įmotional support animals, comfort animals, and therapy dogs are not service animals under Washington State Law. Service animals can remind handlers that it is time to take medication, and can summon help in the case of fainting or a seizure. Service animals may allow persons with anxiety disorders, PTSD or other emotional illnesses to function in society, by alerting their handlers to avoid anxiety triggers, by recognizing and blocking behaviors, or by stimulating the person to “snap back” to a conscious state. They may also carry and pick up items, be used for balance, and provide warnings of impending seizures or low blood sugar. Service animals may lead blind people or serve as the ears of a deaf person.
Service animals are utilized by persons with a variety of disabilities and in many different ways. RCW 49.60.040 defines a dog guide as a “dog that is trained for the purpose of guiding blind persons or a dog that is trained for the purpose of assisting hearing impaired persons.” RCW 49.60.040 defines service animal as “an animal that is trained for the purpose of assisting or accommodating a disabled person’s sensory, mental, or physical disability.” The following are definitions described in RCW 49.60.040: This is a guide to the laws regarding the use and access rights of service animals in Washington State.
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