Ada Service Dog Definition

The ada makes a distinction between psychiatric service animals and emotional support animals.

Ada service dog definition.

Emotional support animals also called therapy or comfort animals have not been trained to perform work or tasks. A service dog is a specifically task trained to help an individual with a disability that substantially limits one or more life activities. Content was developed by the mid atlantic ada center and is based on professional consensus of ada experts and the ada national network. Dogs whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support do not qualify as service animals under the ada.

This definition does not affect or limit the broader definition of assistance animal under the fair housing act or the broader definition of service animal under the air carrier access act. The definition of a service animal under each of these laws is different from the definition under the ada. A service animal means any dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability including a physical sensory psychiatric intellectual or other mental disability. If the dog has been trained to sense that an anxiety attack is about to happen and take a specific action to help avoid the attack or lessen its impact that would qualify as a service animal.