Service animals

A Terry Mossberg writes: (Text & Info sheet (c) & used with direct permission from A Terry Mossberg)

"I have been asked to post some correct information on what constitutes a "Service" animal. I created a meme with quotes taken directly from ADA.gov which is the entity that sets the rules and guidelines and defines ALL 'Service, Therapy and Emotional support' animals. No one is saying anything about Therapy or Emotional Support Animals being wrong or a bad thing. What is being said is that there are distinct differences between these and "Service" animals and people should know the difference so that the system is not abused. What is meant by abuse is this..... People that think by buying a vest from the numerous sites on the internet and throwing it on there 'Pet' and calling it a 'Service' animal so they they can carry their little purse pet into restaurants and other public places that do not allow animals. two specific questions: (1) is the dog a service animal required because of a disability? and (2) what work or task has the dog been trained to perform? Staff are not allowed to request any documentation for the dog, require that the dog demonstrate its task, or inquire about the nature of the person's disability.They take advantage of the fact that public entities are only allowed to ask. This 'Abuse' only hurts the truly disabled persons who have actual 'service' animals. Simply put..... "Service" animals perform specific trained tasks that 'physically' aid the disabled person and are allowed in any and all public areas. "Therapy" animals are any animal that go through very specific training, conditioning and temperament evaluation before being used to visit places, usually clinical, as a form of therapy to 'Others' and are only allowed is such places with written permission by the entities. "Emotional Support Animals" or ESA's are 'personal' PETS that bring comfort and emotional support to those suffering from emotional or mental disorders. ESA's are NOT allowed in public places where animals are not allowed without permission of the entity. Airlines, Hotels and rental housing are the exception WITH a letter from a psychiatrist stating the animals is prescribed for health reasons. I hope this helps clear up some confusion on the subject. Here are the links to the pages of the site where I obtained my very much so 'Up to Date' information." http://www.ada.gov/regs2010/service_animal_qa.html http://adata.org/publication/service-animals-booklet http://www.ada.gov/service_animals_2010.htm