Tail Talk Grooming Chronicles with Hound Therapy

Service Dogs vs. ESAs: What Pet Parents Need to Know

• Shannon & Tanya • Episode 20

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What's The Difference Between an ESA and Service Dog?

Confused about the difference between service dogs and emotional support animals? You're not alone. This eye-opening discussion with professional groomers Shannon and Tanya from Hound Therapy cuts through the misconceptions surrounding these important animal roles.

The conversation dives deep into why these distinctions matter legally and ethically. Service dogs protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act undergo years of specialized training, costing thousands of dollars, to perform specific tasks for individuals with disabilities. They're carefully matched by height and weight to their handlers and trained to navigate complex environments without disruption. By contrast, emotional support animals provide valuable companionship but don't require specialized training and aren't granted the same public access rights.

Shannon and Tanya tackle the uncomfortable truth about misrepresentation—how some pet owners falsely claim service animal status to avoid housing restrictions or gain access privileges. This behavior ultimately harms those with legitimate disabilities who depend on their service animals. "The more we abuse something," they explain, "the less that everybody else is able to use it that do need it."

The hosts also share insights about military working dogs, explaining their specialized training and the challenges they face after service. Their compassionate yet straightforward approach helps listeners understand not just the legal differences between animal classifications, but why respecting these distinctions matters for our communities.

Whether you're a pet owner, business operator, or just curious about working animals, this episode provides essential clarity about the roles our animal companions play in supporting human wellbeing. Call 469-367-0009 to schedule your pet's next appointment with Hound Therapy or visit Houndtherapy.com to learn more about their services across North Texas.

To learn more about Hound Therapy visit:
https://www.HoundTherapy.com
Hound Therapy
3509 E Park Blvd.
Plano, TX
469-367-0009

Speaker 1:

Welcome to Tail Talk Grooming Chronicles with Hound Therapy, the podcast where we talk all things pet grooming, daycare academy and more. Hosted by Shannon and Tanya of Hound Therapy serving pet owners across North Texas, we're here to share expert tips, hilarious pet stories and the inside scoop on keeping your furry friends happy and healthy. Our motto humanity over vanity. And don't worry, we don't bite. Let's get started. Who let the dogs out? Who?

Speaker 2:

let the dogs out. Emotional support animals and service dogs both play vital roles, but they are not the same. In this episode, shannon and Tanya break down the legal, behavioral and training differences so pet parents and professionals alike can better understand their unique purposes. Welcome back everyone. I'm Sofia Ayiveth, co-host and producer, back in the studio with Shannon and Tanya, professional groomers at Hound Therapy. Hi ladies, how's it going today?

Speaker 4:

We're good. We're getting ready to hopefully step out of summer, get into fall.

Speaker 2:

Yes, fall is a fun time, yes, yes. So today I know we're clearing up one of the most common misconceptions in the pet world ESA versus service dogs, and why that distinction really matters. So, ladies, can you tell us what is the biggest difference between an ESA versus a service dog?

Speaker 4:

I'm going to let Tanya break down just the ADA and what they mean.

Speaker 3:

So an ESA for long version is emotional support animal. So that emotional support animal really doesn't need any specific training to do their job. Their job is to provide companionship, which most dogs should already be doing for you, but some people need that with you know anxiety issues, things like that. They needed just a little bit more PTSD. Yeah, They'll all have those ESA dogs. And ESA dogs are not protected through the ADA, which is Americans with Disabilities Act. So for your ESA dogs, they're not protected to go into stores or restaurants, discount for apartments or anything like that. You can and will be told no.

Speaker 4:

And not always. A lot of restaurants are animal friendly. So if you're in a place where animals are allowed and your dog is well behaved, the key things to mention is emotional support and American Disabilities Act. So a disability somebody who has a dog that is there to help a disability. That dog has gone through breeding. It has gone through training, usually two to four years depending on the dog. It is height and weight matched for the person that's using that dog. It's specifically trained to either open and close doors. It's trained to walk by wheelchairs and around wheelchairs. It's trained to urinate and defecate outside of a building.

Speaker 4:

It is a dog that is used for service and for somebody who is needing a service Not to say that an emotional support is not a service that needs to be there, but that does not make your dog a service dog. That a Yorkie cannot weigh enough pounds in any version of a Yorkie to pull somebody up off the couch. It's just not going to happen and there is nobody that is so little and short that Yorkie is going to be able to auto-correct them when to step up over a curb or not. So, that said, those are the things that we are looking for. Esa, now almost any store. It's illegal for a store to ask you it's a federal offense to say, excuse me, what's your disability or what is your dog here for. So a lot of people are using these two ESA dogs because they want cheaper pet deposits for their rentals, or they want to be told they can move in and as much as I can appreciate, that's great.

Speaker 4:

But for the people who do have PTSD, who do need that support, who do need a dog, the more we abuse something, the less that everybody else is able to use it that do need it and the more rules that come with it Correct. So, that said, it's not those animals aren't there. All animals should support you. They should. That doesn't provide a service. They are there to give you that love and emotion. They give you just as much as you can get. When you take and you abuse those two or you recreate, say, I have a service dog, we're able to do this and you walk in with a yorkie or a dog that poops on aisle 10 and is sniffing the child's butt next door and they're grabbing dog treats off the aisle as we're walking. The store owner whether I don't care what kind of certifications you've got, if your dog is disrupting their business, they're going to ask you to leave and they have the right to do so. You're going to end up with a bigger problem or a conflict and you can still end up in the same debate of well, my dog's an ESA, my dog's a service animal, that's great. He just took a massive dump on aisle 10, so you can't stay here. It's common sense.

Speaker 4:

The dogs that have that kind of training are usually very well behaved. They at the very least have basic sit, stay down. They have their basic seven down and they're not going to disrupt, just as if you have an ADA dog. There are a lot of places that you cannot take. A dog that has gone through extenuous training amounts of this person is solely dependent. They can't go into a lab. If we're testing for something and a dog hair gets into it, that could be bad, problematic. So there are still places that dogs are not allowed and that's for a reason, the places where they are allowed. It's amazing that these restaurant owners and the patios and that we've kind of lowered down our guard as a community and said, hey look, these pets are part of our family. That's great, but we need to make sure that we just like our children, we send them to school, we make sure that they learn how to talk to other dogs and people, we make sure they're civilized humans.

Speaker 4:

Yeah, we don't counter surfing and taking somebody's burger off the plate as they're walking by or worse. Yet we got a hiker and she's like, oh yeah, he's just nobody wants that in a restaurant. Use those things with the common courtesy as much they are intended. Know the words, do not step up. I have an ESA dog, I mean A. You're already kind of telling on yourself. You're like I need emotional support, which is great if you don't care, if everybody knows. But it's not a service dog. If it's a Yorkie, it's an emotional support dog and it's not used for a discount. All dogs should be supporting you.

Speaker 4:

In order to get those, I think they're cracking down a whole lot more on the certifications that you've got to get. To get those, you need to go with some therapy. You need a therapist, needs to say, yes, this person is competent and capable to take care of a dog and it's competent and capable enough that you know it can live inside a facility and it's well-trained. And this person, without this dog, is not. His or her quality of life is going to be detrimental. Without said animal and without that third party interference, apartment complexes and rental owners are putting their foot down and saying, hey look, we can't, we can't all have an emotional support dog. There are dogs that are well-trained, that you can prove. They've got dogs that can step out diabetes. You've got heart issues and those are just those can be shelter dogs. I mean, sometimes they have the ability to do so.

Speaker 3:

There's also seizure dogs, for sure.

Speaker 4:

So those are. There's a lot of reasons that we need dogs. You can strap a vest If you have a dog. That's great.

Speaker 4:

With recall, autistic children, autistic adults there's a thousand dogs should and have almost always in time have been used as a partner. They've been used as partners and hunting. They're a team. We go together as a team. The dog can't live without me, and you know I can't live without it. That said, if you're hunting, you're a team. We go together as a team. The dog can't live without me and you know I can't live without it. That said, if you're hunting, you get more reward with your dog because your dog can travel further and farther.

Speaker 4:

If you are emotionally drained at the end of the day and you just need that extra love and you know unconditional love your dog can provide that. So those are things that is a need, but they can't feed themselves without you. Then they turn into a wild dog or you know we don't want that. So keep in mind that somebody that has a service dog that is an ADA dog, an ADA approved dog. They have waited years and they've paid thousands for the amount of training and breeding that they need for the correct dog to assist them in whatever capacity is needed. An emotional support dog is any dog that emotionally supports you.

Speaker 3:

So you can face penalties if you misrepresent your ADA dog or service dog or an ESA. So if you have an ESA and you're like it's a service dog and you get caught, you can face penalties for that.

Speaker 4:

Especially if you're in a federal building or on an air, on an airline. There's a lot of abuse between the two phrases, so we just wanted to break it down for you guys. And I'm just going to tag really quickly too on a military dog. Dogs that work for the military are trained by specialists. They also are trained by specialists. They also are trained by very specialized and localized training. They're used for a very certain purpose. Those dogs are usually not rehomed if they can't be rehomed with a vet that's used them. So if a veteran, somebody who served in the military, doesn't take that dog, that dog will typically have its own type of PTSD and is not going to be placed in a home due to triggers. It's unfortunate I don't know of another way to say it, but those dogs are usually euthanized by the time of their service is done, whether they're healthy or not, because they can't be rehomed safely for themselves or for the people that are adopting them.

Speaker 3:

Yeah.

Speaker 4:

It's unfortunate, but you it's the ugly truth.

Speaker 3:

We'll always tell you the ugly truth.

Speaker 4:

And it's sad. There's a. There's a story I can add a link later of a vet who actually went back, used a service dog. Once you're no longer in service, that dog goes to the next handler. It was a bomb dog and that's. You know. Bomb dogs have been since, you know, before Vietnam. They've been used and have saved hundreds and thousands of lives. They are detrimental to the people that they serve and she fought for hers. She was retired and was done. They were going to euthanize him and she got signatures. She said I will take him. You know it was a heartwarming story, but it's not the many. Unfortunately. It's not how it goes for most of those dogs. They were bred to serve our country and that's what they did, and they do it well and they're not usually placed in homes after. So let's not walk around with our dogs with the military vests, claiming that they're. To me it's disrespectful to say, hey, look, you know I have an American Disability Act dog that's wearing a service vest from the army, because that dog didn't earn those.

Speaker 3:

And it's the same way for people, for me.

Speaker 4:

Yeah, I'm not walking around wearing, you know, a Purple Heart. That wasn't earned for me. Those dogs work hard for us and they should be recognized and viewed so.

Speaker 2:

Yep, wow. Thank you so much, shannon and Tanya, for shedding light on this very, very important subject. It is so important for pet owners to know the facts, appreciate your insights, as always, and we will see you on your next episodes. Great Thank you on your next episodes.

Speaker 1:

Great, thank you. That's a wrap for this episode of tail talk with hound therapy. Ready to book your pet's next groom daycare stay or grooming Academy tour, call us at 4, 6, 9, 3, 6, 7 0 0 0 9. That's 4, 6, 9, 3, 6, 7 0 0 09 to schedule an appointment, or visit us online at wwwhoundtherapycom, serving north texas with expert pet care. Until next time, keep those tails wagging.