Emotional Support Animals vs. Service Animals vs. Therapy Animals

By Ashley Robinson, MA, LPC

What Is an Emotional Support Animal?

Emotional support animals (ESA) provide comfort to those with physical or mental disabilities. A wide variety of animals can qualify as ESA’s, such as dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, and birds. Unlike service animals, emotional support animals are not covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act. However, there are housing laws that protect ESA’s. The Fair Housing Act protects individuals with a disability “from discrimination in obtaining housing” (Brennen & Nguyen, n.d.). ESA’s are not allowed cabin access on flights as of 2021, but service dogs are (USAR Editorial Team, 2026).

How Do I Get an Emotional Support Animal Letter?

Emotional support animals don’t require any formal training. One requirement for an ESA is the individual must have a mental health diagnosis. A licensed mental health professional or doctor can provide an ESA letter to recognize the animal as an ESA.

What Does an ESA Letter Need to Include?

The ESA letter must include the healthcare professional’s information, state the ESA supports a mental health condition, and include the date the letter was issued (Bergsten & Dexter, n.d.).

Emotional Support Animals and Housing Accommodations

Fair housing laws protect ESA’s. Regardless of breed or size, landlords must make accommodations for ESA’s (Fair Housing Institute, n.d.). Furthermore, an individual can have multiple pets that are identified at ESA’s (Fair Housing Institute, n.d.).

Benefits of an Emotional Support Animal

According to Curl et al., (2023), emotional support animals promote self-care and improve mental health. Having an ESA was found to be helpful for participants to take care of their hygiene and their space. Having an emotional support animal also promotes mental health. A study by Curl et al. (2023) found that having an emotional support animal reduced anxiety, depression, and loneliness and improved mood. In addition to combatting loneliness, ESA’s increased social interactions for college students (Curl et al. 2023).

Emotional Support Animals vs. Service Animals

What Qualifies as a Service Animal?

Service animals are defined as “dogs trained to complete specific tasks for individuals with disabilities” (Curl et al. 2023). Service animals can be any dog breed and any size (U.S. Department of Justice, n.d.).

State and local governments, businesses, and nonprofit organizations serving the general public must allow service animals in all areas the public is allowed to enter. Service animals do not need any specific certification and are not required to wear a vest or ID (U.S. Department of Justice, n.d.). However, it is optional to use a vest, harness, or ID tag to identify your service dog.

Specific types of service animals include “Seizure Response Dogs, Psychiatric Service Animals, Autism Assistance Dogs, Mobility Support Dogs, Medical Alert Dogs, Hearing Dogs, Severe Allergy Alert Dogs, Visual Assistance Dogs, and Diabetic Alert Dogs” (Feinberg Consulting's Multidisciplinary Staff, 2025).

Where Are Service Animals Allowed?

A business or government entity can ask someone to remove their service animal if the owner cannot keep the dog under control or the dog is not housebroken (U.S. Department of Justice, n.d.). Employees may ask if the service animal is required because of a disability and what task the dog has been trained to perform. However, employees may not ask for documentation or require the dog demonstrate the task it is trained to do (U.S. Department of Justice, n.d.).

Service Animals and Workplace Accommodations

Employers are required to provide accommodations for individuals with a disability. Therefore, having an emotional support animal or service animal may be an accommodation. Proper documentation may be needed for workplace accommodations.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice (2020), miniature horses can be service animals, however, there are certain regulations they must meet. The qualifications for a miniature horse are they must be under the owner’s control, be house trained, the facility must be able to accommodate the horses type, size, and weight. Finally, the miniature horse must not interfere with safety standards of an establishment (U.S. Department of Justice, 2020).

Emotional Support Animals vs. Therapy Animals

What Qualifies as a Therapy Animal?

Therapy animals support overall wellness of individuals, usually in a clinical setting. “Although most therapy pets are dogs, other species are good candidates, such as cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, and horses” (Weir et al., 2025).

Where Are Therapy Animals Used?

Therapy animals may visit counseling offices, hospitals, retirement homes, schools, hospice centers, or nursing homes. (Weir et al., 2025). Therapy dogs are not allowed to enter public places like service animals.

To certify a therapy animal, they must be well-groomed, well-tempered, obedient, up to date on vaccines, and well-behaved (Feinberg Consulting's Multidisciplinary Staff, 2025). The Alliance of Therapy Dogs (2017) explains the process of getting a therapy dog certified is to receive a test on the dog’s “good manners, demeanor, and handling skills“. Requirements for therapy dogs are they must be friendly and at least one year old.

What Is Animal-Assisted Therapy?

Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) is a treatment approach that uses trained animals. According to Tahan et al. (2022), “AAT is defined as any intervention with participation of an animal as a part of the process”.

Mental Health Benefits of Animal-Assisted Therapy

The use of animals in therapy has been found to be helpful. According to Tahan et al. (2022), animal-assisted therapy was found to be effective in reducing anxiety in preschool age children. Overall, clients feel more calm and relaxed with the presence of an animal (Koukourikos, 2019). Participation in animal-assisted therapy has been found to decrease both anxiety and depression symptoms (Koukourikos, 2019). Animal-assisted therapy also helps reduce anhedonia, which is a lack of ability to experience pleasure in things that are normally enjoyable (Koukourikos, 2019).

Emotional Support Animal, Service Animal, or Therapy Animal: What’s the Difference?

Emotional support animals are pets for those with physical or mental disabilities and are protected under the Fair Housing Act. Emotional support animals can be dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, or birds. For an animal to be identified as an emotional support animal, a letter from a mental health professional or doctor must be provided to the landlord. Emotional support animals help reduce feelings of loneliness, depression, and anxiety.

Service animals have specific training to complete tasks for those with physical or mental disabilities. However, they are not required to have or wear any certification or identification. Service animals can only be dogs or miniature horses. Service animals may be accommodated in workplace settings.

Therapy animals can be a variety of animals and can visit a variety of settings. These settings include counseling offices, retirement homes, nursing homes, hospice centers, schools, or hospitals. Most commonly, therapy animals are dogs. They must be assessed and receive a certification. Research has shown that therapy animals reduce feelings of anxiety and depression, improve mood, and increase ability to experience pleasure in activities.

Emotional Support Animal Resources

• Compass Counseling and Associates, Inc. provides ESA letters as appropriate.

• Therapy Dogs - For a list of trainers and evaluators by state, visit https://golden-dogs.org/find-an-evaluator/ or https://www.therapydogs.com/join-therapy-dogs/

• For Therapy Dog Training, Canine Good Citizen Training, and more, visit https://www.doggonegooddogtraining.com/therapy-dog--canine-good-citizen-class.html or https://www.titank9dogtraining.com/

References

Alliance of Therapy Dogs. (2017). Certified Therapy Dog – Get Your Therapy Dog Certificationhttps://www.therapydogs.com/therapy-dog-certification/

Bergsten & Dexter. (n.d.) What Needs to Be Included in an Emotional Support Animal Letter?https://esadoctors.com/what-needs-to-be-included-in-an-emotional-support-animal-letter/

Brennan, J. & Nguyen, V. (n.d.). Service Animals and Emotional Support Animals: Where are they allowed and under what conditions?https://adata.org/guide/service-animals-and-emotional-support-animals/

Curl, A. L., Brottman, B., & Kunkel, M. C. (2023). Emotional Support Animals in College and University Housing. Journal of College & University Student Housing, 49(2), 86–105.

Fair Housing Institute. (n.d.). What Does The Fair Housing Act Say About Emotional Support Animals?https://fairhousinginstitute.com/fair-housing-act-emotional-support-animals/

Feinberg Consulting's Multidisciplinary Staff. (2025). Therapy Animals - The Different Types and Their Benefits.https://www.feinbergcare.com/blog/therapy-dogs-types-and-benefits

Koukourikos, K., Georgopoulou, A., Kourkouta, L., & Tsaloglidou, A. (2019). Benefits of animal assisted therapy in mental health. International journal of caring sciences, 12(3), 1898-1905.

Tahan, M., Saleem, T., Sadeghifar, A, & Ahangri, E. (2022). Assessing the effectiveness of animal-assisted therapy on alleviation of anxiety in pre-school children: A randomized controlled trial. Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications, 28(100947).https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conctc.2022.100947

U.S. Department of Justice. (2020). ADA requirements: Service animals. ADA.gov.https://www.ada.gov/resources/service-animals-2010-requirements/

U.S. Department of Justice. (n.d.) Service Animals.https://www.ada.gov/topics/service-animals/

USAR Editorial Team. (2026). The 2021 DOT Rule: Why ESAs Lost Cabin Access (and What Changed for PSDs).

Weir, M., Llera, R., & Buzhardt, L. (2025). Therapy Pets.https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/therapy-pets