How to Register Your Dog as a Therapy Dog?

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 the landlord 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.

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 

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.