Many websites promise to certify any pet as an emotional support animal, and the sites claim they can go almost anywhere, including restaurants and stores, “no pets” apartments, and college dorms. . The ease of obtaining certification makes it difficult for states to crack down on fake assistance animals without violating federal fair housing and non-discrimination laws.
Emotional support animals, which are supposed to help people overcome anxiety and other psychological ailments, help people with disabilities navigate their surroundings, and alert owners of physical ailments such as hypoglycemia. This is different from a “service animal” that has been trained to
State or federal laws have specific standards for service animals, primarily related to training or performing specific tasks, and animals are protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act. Emotional support animals do not have the same ADA protection.
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Emotional support animals are permitted in homes and apartments under the guidance of the Federal Housing and Urban Development Administration. A landlord can request documentation that the person needs the animal. In practice, certification from a therapist or counselor that animals help with anxiety, depression, and other ailments is usually enough.
This standard does not allow assistance animals in restaurants or other indoor environments where pets are prohibited. In practice, however, gatekeepers are usually reluctant to use support animals to challenge people.
The vague definition has led to an explosion of websites like Pettable, CertaPet, and US Service Animals, touting how easy it is to qualify, even with remote bookings, in days.
These animals primarily fall under the Federal Fair Housing Act, which allows animals in apartments, homes, and college dormitories, with some restrictions.
Apartment custodians, store attendants, and restaurant hosts may insist on allowing pet owners with or without furry friends Dealing with pet owners Some doorkeepers will acquiesce without fighting, but regulars with animal allergies or those who don’t want to be near where they live, eat or shop. You may come into conflict with your customers.
According to Rebecca Wish, editor of Michigan State University’s Animal Law History Center, which tracks legislation, about a dozen states have penalized people who make false claims that they need a service animal in their home. However, most of these laws are concerned with trying to disguise animals as service dogs when they are not emotional support animals and need not be associated with a disability, furthering confusion. doing.
Opponents of permitting breeding of assistance animals argue that the easier it is to obtain assistance animal certification, the more likely it is that the owner will be able to keep the animal safe, even if the need for it is only crudely assessed. Ordinary pets are more likely to receive false designations, they say. Assistance animals were previously allowed to fly for commercial use, but the U.S. Department of Transportation said he stopped that in 2020 with new rules limiting the animals allowed to service dogs. All others are classified as pets and must meet airline regulations, such as being in a carrier or fitting under a seat.
“The problem is that there are online ‘therapists’ who sell letters to support emotional support animals and who sell entries into non-existent ‘registries.’ The school also handles student requests for emotional support animals, said Mike Rutledge, coordinator of veteran services at Northern Michigan University. “They’re stealing people’s money.”
In an interview, Rutledge said he’s seen a surge in students seeking support animals in college dorms, blaming the surge for the pandemic, which research has exacerbated student anxiety and depression.
He estimates that about 3% of students living in college dormitories in northern Michigan have pets. He said we need to consider both the needs of students who need assistance animals and who don’t want to live with them, as well as the concerns and justifications for keeping animals in small spaces such as dorm rooms. I was. request.
Rutledge, a 22-year retired military veteran with mobility problems and assisted by Wells, an English Labrador retriever, met with all the students and wondered if he just bought a certificate or had a relationship with a therapist. Check if you really need it.
Michigan law allows emotional support animals in homes, and landlords cannot ask for additional fees or security deposits. Animals should be provided with reasonable accommodation.
California’s new law, which went into effect last year, is the toughest law designed to crack down on counterfeiting. By law, mental health professionals must have a relationship of at least 30 days with a client before they are permitted to prescribe an emotional support animal, and such animals are not guide dogs or service dogs. It states that the sale of is not permitted. , restaurants and other indoor public places.
Support animals are permitted at the residence. Violations of the law can subject practitioners to disciplinary action and fines by the Licensing Board.
“This[the law]is about creating awareness and action about wrongdoing that is meant to mislead the public,” Rep. Laura Friedman, a Democrat and the bill’s author, said in a telephone interview. said. “We’re not going to stop someone from having an emotional support animal, but ordering a harness off the internet isn’t going to change the law or give you more rights,” she said.
“People have been misled into believing something that is not true. We will not stop people from buying these animals. It doesn’t mean you’re trained.”
However, there is little evidence that the law is enforced. Freedman says the next step is to spread the word, especially among landlords and apartment managers.
A spokesperson for the California Attorney General said in an email that cases have been filed against mental health professionals for prescribing emotional support animals to people who were not entitled to them since the law went into effect. officials said they were not aware of. Additionally, the email states: To date, we are not aware of any such action being taken. ”
Also, Lenny Santos, director of public affairs for the California Department of Consumer Affairs, said the state’s Behavioral Science Board, which regulates therapists, will investigate complaints about recording emotional support animals. The agency has not received anything since.
Heidi Pultke, an attorney representing landlords with the California Association of Apartments, said California law had limited impact.
“We regulate providers of swag (vests, certificates, collars, etc.) from presenting animals as support animals,” she said in an interview. does not have the right to present “This carve-out in state law doesn’t give landlords the ability to say ‘no,'” she said.
“What’s frustrating for me is that there are people who really need these animals to have some kind of decent life,” she added. It’s actually being abused by people who want to keep pets in.”
According to her, the problem usually arises when a resident is evicted for having an unauthorized pet. After that notice, the animal “magically transforms into a support animal,” she said, and there is little the landlord can do.
But some websites clearly pay attention. When a Stateline reporter applied for an emotional support dog in her Pettable and made her hometown of Maryland, the site replied that the reporter was “pre-approved,” and in a follow-up email she was “amazing.” said to be a candidate. All that was left was to pay and see a therapist online within her next 24 hours. Fees reportedly range from about $100 to hundreds of dollars, depending on what the customer purchases.
But when the address was changed to California, the deal fell through. An email to Petable prepared a response citing California law with a 30-day relationship requirement, adding: To receive your ESA letter, you must wait 30 days and complete two consultations with your therapist. ”
CertaPet and US Service Animals could not be reached for comment.
Michigan Rep. Sarah Camvensey, a Democrat, wants her state to follow California’s lead. She sponsored a bill to punish people who sell fake emotional support animal certificates and gear.
A similar bill was approved by Congress in 2020, but Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said it could violate privacy rights, largely because of a provision that penalized owners of fake assistance animals. So I refused. The new bill does not include sanctions against animal owners.
Cambensy said in an interview that the problem has been highlighted in colleges in northern Michigan and elsewhere, but that it could apply to other homes as well. A pet owner herself (who has two golden retrievers, Ziggy and Archie), she said in interviews that people who don’t know how to take care of pets, especially in small spaces, sign up for them. The bill passed the Michigan House of Representatives unanimously in September and is scheduled to be heard in the Senate.
Deni Elliott, a professor of ethics at the University of South Florida and an expert on people with disabilities and service dogs, has studied service and emotional support animals extensively. About support animals, she said: California has done a better job trying to get this under control. ”
Elliott said many states have penalties for misrepresentation of service animals, but not necessarily emotional support animals.
She said the solution could be a single federal law governing emotional support animals that states could enforce. Although likened to the federal requirement to provide parking, it is left to states to enforce parking designations and fines for violations.
Elliott, who is legally blind and uses a black Labrador service dog named Koala, said a fake emotional support dog could interfere with her legitimate canine assistants.
She recalled queuing at an airport (before the U.S. Department of Transportation banned free flights for emotional support animals) with her guide dog when the little dog behind her started barking incessantly. The owner apologized, saying that he had given him an anti-anxiety medication and that the little dog would calm down in no time, Elliot recalled.
Elliot asked how the anxious dog helped the woman ease her own fears. I’m worried, but I’m not worried about myself.”
Stateline is a non-partisan, non-profit news service from Pew Charitable Trusts that provides daily reports and analysis on state policy trends.
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