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How to Register Your Dog as a Therapy Dog?

therapy dog registration

Humans are lucky to have dogs as our companions. Dogs used to help us watch livestock or help us hunt. Now, they are here to provide us with much-needed support. Unfortunately, people often get assistance animal regulations wrong. We are here to help clear things up. The first step is to understand the rules and regulations around assistance animals.

Can I Register my Dog as a Therapy Dog?

There are three types of assistance animals. Each performs a specific function and has special access rights.

  • Service Animal – trained to perform a specific task for their handler’s disability. Service Dogs have full access to all public places including restaurants, hotels, and no-pet housing. A fee cannot be a charge for granting access to Service Dogs. A service dog is considered a medical device and not a pet.
  • Emotional Support Animal – does not require special training and provides comfort to their handler. Emotional Support Dogs have access to no-pet housing and can fly with you inside the airplane cabin. A landlord and airline cannot charge a fee for an ESA as well.
  • Therapy Animal – does not require special training and provides comfort to others. Therapy Dogs do not have special access and must be invited in. A fee can be charged for granting access to a therapy dog.

Service dog or ESA or therapy dog?

You can register your dog as a therapy dog by following the links below!

Therapy Animals are often confused with Emotional Support Animals. A quick way to discover which assistance animal you need is to ask yourself a simple question.

Is my dog here to support my emotional needs or is my dog her to support other’s emotional needs?

  • If the answer is yourself, you require an ESA Letter from a therapist.
  • If your answer is others, your require a Therapy Dog Certification.

Train and register your dog as a Therapy Dog in 3 Easy Steps –

  • First – Adopt and train a dog with a calm and kind temperament and can pass a Canine Good Citizen Test.
  • Second – Train your dog to be well behaved in public places such as a hospital or school. When they go to a hospital or school, they need to be well behaved as to not hurt others or themselves.
  • Third – Certify your Therapy Dog by registering them with Service Dog Certifications 
Therapy dog registration

Register your dog here

Your Therapy Dog can also act as your Emotional Support Dog. To qualify your Therapy Dog as your ESA, you will need an ESA letter from a therapist. If your current therapist understands ESA laws and can help you write an ESA letter, this is your best route. If you do not have access to an ESA Doctor or ESA therapist, we recommend seeking support for a legitimate ESA resource.

Certified Service Dog Registration

10 comments

  1. barbara says: March 10, 2019

    I need to Register, my beautiful malteeze shitzu dog. who is7 yrs old now, I have in writting from my DR, that I have been with many years , who knows my health, very well. I am a Seniour lady. and through looking after my sick Husband, and other traumers, which my DR is aware of I developed high blood preasure, followed by Depression, and then Anxiety. I lost my Husband, nearly 2 yrs ago, since then on my own to deal with everything, has been very difficult. my dog is my only true friend, and spends 24/7 with me. I love this dog with all my heart, and due to my anxiety having gotten worse I take this dog with me every where I find if she is not with me my anxiety starts to take over. I have to rush to get back to her. I am a very honest person, old school. and I give my unconditional love ,to my dog which she gives back to me and then some. I also bought a speciel dog pusher, to take her with me. This is not some story but the truth. please let me know, I am very Gratefull. Barbara.

    Reply
    • Jesse says: April 26, 2019

      I am a transexual man. I am begging my transition. I came out to my manager last week. I work in a small department in a small office shared by four or five of us at a time. I have lived as a lesbian all my life. I have been at my job for five years. I try to keep to myself but then Im precieved as antisocial. They told me I was rude. So, I started talking about me and my wife. General conversation. Topics like food restaurants family pets movies. Then they are rude and ignore me or talk over me or interupt me. They make rude comments where I cant help but hear them because the office is so small. I have reported to my manager and HR. They say discrimination is hard to prove. I bet if I was a young feminin Caucasian christian female being harrassed by a lesbian or a man they would find all the proof they need. I work in misery every shift. Why not change jobs. I refuse to keep running from ignorance. It is useless. Its everywhere. We have not yet evolved to outrun hate. My dog loves me unconditionally. She brings me peace and joy. She is my home my sanctuary. I need her now more then ever. I wish she could be by my side all the time. She gives me courage.

      Reply
  2. Lee Mellor says: March 21, 2019

    I ahve suffered for many years with depression and anxiety (i am currently on a vulnerable persons list) which leads me to spend a lot of time home alone which tends to make things worse, and so i have purchased a small dog to accompany me going to places which has been a great comfort to me, is it possible to register as a support dog as sometimes i may take my children ( who do not live with me) to certain places which feel daunting regardless of their presence but my dog has brougjt me a closer comfort.

    Reply
  3. Sharon L Mahaffey says: March 27, 2019

    I suffer with depression for many years now and since adopting my little Maltese x shitzu x Poodle. I feel alot calmer when she’s with me and less anxious I see a therapist but with my illness Fybromyalgia I find it hard to always cop a even with making an appointment. I really would like to register my dog asap thanks Sharon L Mahaffey

    Reply
  4. Sharon knicely says: April 14, 2019

    I have PTSD and my dog gets me through flashbacks during the night and during the day when needed how do I get help to register thank you

    Reply
  5. Tina panos says: April 16, 2019

    And I really really need to register my puppy to be my therapy puppy now and I got asthma really bad short out of breath can’t breathe right I don’t need her to be my therapy dog and then I pass out

    Reply
    • Shuran says: January 23, 2020

      I am an obese single person with a chronic illness I have severe depression and ptsd. My dog helps me stay active and cops with society. Please help me

      Reply
  6. Sally Wagner says: October 3, 2019

    Im interested in learning what I need to do to get a license for my dog to be a therapy dog. I am willing to take her to classes and I desire to take her to convalescent homes. What are the necessary steps to begin with? How long does the process take and where do I get the certification that it’s a therapy dog?

    Reply
    • Carrie Neltner says: January 2, 2020

      My dog rescued me, I am a cancer survivor and looked everyday in the shelter for a year for her. As soon as our eyes met, we both knew, we rescued each other.

      Reply

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