There are many terms and labels thrown about these days when talking about dogs that assist humans. Service Dog is the most familiar term, having entered our general language around World War I (with the advent of dogs for the blind). However, it was not until the 1990 American with Disabilities Act (ADA) that Service Dog was defined in a legal sense, along with definitions for Guide Dog (for the blind) and Hearing Dog (for the deaf).  Between 1990 and 2012, there have been many descriptions and terms used to address the growing types of disabilities that can benefit from a Service Dog. Terms like autism service dog, seizure alert dog, PTSD dog, and psychiatric service dog have been added to our well-known terms of Guide Dog, Hearing Dog, and Service Dog.

The most recent ADA (2012) laws have attempted to simplify the term Service Dog¹: "A service dog is any dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability."²  This eliminates any legal discrimination based on the type of disability. The legal rights are the same whether the Service Dog is assisting with blindness, epilepsy or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). An individual may choose to use a descriptor of the type of Service Dog they are using, but it is not required.

Assistance Animal (AA) is a broad term used to refer to an animal (dog or otherwise) that assists its owner with a disability or disorder, requiring medical confirmation of need. Assistance Animal is the term defined and used by the Federal Housing Association (FHA) and Air Carriers Access Act (ACAA), laws that protect people with Assistance Animals from being discriminated against or charged fees when seeking housing or airline travel. There are two subsets of Assistance Animals (AA): Service Dogs (SD) and Emotional Support Animals (ESA).

The key differences between Service Dogs and Emotional Support Animals is that Service Dogs are trained to do tasks to assist the needs of the individual's disability, while an Emotional Support Dog provides relief of symptoms of an individual's medical condition.

While the phrase emotional support animal is sometimes used to refer to anything from a family pet that makes someone feel more relaxed to a Service Dog trained to assist someone with a non-physical disability (also sometimes called a psychological service dog), Emotional Support Animal is really only applicable under the legal terms defined by the FHA and ACAA legal documents. The laws and protections of the ADA do not apply to Emotional Support Animals. This means that an individual has medical documentation for needing their Emotional Support Animal, has been allowed to live in an apartment with their dog without paying a pet fee, and might even choose to put a vest on their dog to identify him or her as an Emotional Support Animal. However, to enter a premise that does not allow animals, with an Emotional Support Animal under the guise of it being a Service Dog, is against the law.

Outside of the scope of Service Dogs and Emotional Support Animals are Companion Animals (pets). And while Therapy Animals are significantly different from the 'average' Companion Animal because of their temperament and training, the laws of the ADA, FHA, and ACAA do not apply to Companion Animals or Therapy Animals. Entering a no-animal premises (without prior authorization) thinking that the Therapy Animal vest will allow your dog to "pass" as a Service Dog is against the law.

It is critically important that everyone honor the special rights afforded Service Dogs. Business owners, proprietors and the general public may become prejudiced against Service Dogs because of bad experiences with what they believed in good faith to be a real Service Dog but was not. And that makes it all the more difficult for those with legitimate Service Dogs to exercise their rights and to enjoy their life without prejudice.

We, as a community who advocates for the continued increase of dogs to assist our fellow man, owe it to make sure that we never provide any excuse for someone to refuse a legitimate Service Dog.

Stepping away from the legal definitions, the primary difference between a Service Dog and any other category is that a Service Dog is trained to focus 100% on their owner and to ignore all other individuals in any and every environment and situation. An Emotional Support Dog is sometimes trained to focus on their owner but may or may not have been trained for public environments or to cope with environmental distractions. Whereas a Therapy Animal is trained specifically to be engaging, even drawn to, the individuals they meet in a controlled environment (such as a school or nursing home).

Two Austin Dog Alliance programs aim to meet the needs of individuals who may benefit from a Service Dog or Emotional Support Dog.    

Special Dogs for Special Needs (SDSN) takes dogs with mild temperaments and trains them to live as Companion Animals for families who have children with special needs. These special needs may or may not fall under the category of disability; therefore a SDSN dog may qualify as an Emotional Support Dog if there is medical need. Hounds for Heroes trains dogs to assist and comfort veterans coping with PTSD. Depending on the level of training and the details of the disability, Hounds for Heroes will, at minimum, qualify as an Emotional Support Dog, and may also qualify as a Service Dog.

                                                                     Assistance Animal   /    Companion Animal                           

1. As of 2012, only dogs can be service animals, with no breed or size restrictions. There are one or two exceptions where a miniature horse can qualify as a Service Animal.
2. http://www.ada.gov/service_animals_2010.htm