Information About Service Animal Registration

REGISTER MY SERVICE ANIMAL - SERVICE ANIMAL REGISTRATION

VETERANS:

Veterans with PTSD can register their dogs as service animals. Other animals can be registered as Emotional Support Animals.  We are sensitive to the specific needs of veterans.   We provide service animal registration but we do not offer service dog training or therapy dog training.  Register My Service Animal service animal registration is valid in all states.

WHAT IS THE FEDERAL LAW?

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) allows for individuals with medical disabilities, psychiatric disorders, or PTSD to register their dogs as service animals.  Individuals with depression or anxiety can register their animals as Emotional Support Animals.  This allows you to keep your animal if you live in no pet housing and to keep the animal with you for support.    

AVOID PET RELATED TRAVEL FEES AND QUALIFY FOR NO PET HOUSING!
Many people register their dogs as Service Animals so they can accompany them into stores, restaurants, motels, or on airline flights (for no extra cost).  The Service Animal must provide a service to the individual with a disability.   
 
Emotional Support Animals have a right to housing with a note from a doctor or licensed therapist.   Emotional Support Animals are allowed into stores by courtesy and not by law.  Emotional Support Animals are not allowed inside restaurants or grocery stores. 
 
Property managers are required to make reasonable accommodations to permit a disabled handler to keep a Service Dog or Emotional Support Animal (ESA), even when a landlord's policy explicitly prohibits pets, as set forth in the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
DOES MY SERVICE DOG HAVE TO BE PROFESSIONALLY TRAINED?

No, you can train your own dog to be a service dog. Most people train their own service animal.  We recommend that all dogs start with the basic good citizenship training and then proceed with more advanced service animal training.

WHAT IS INCLUDED IN THE $79.95 REGISTRATION FEE?
  • Registration is valid for 5 years
  • 2 Service Animal Photo ID Cards
  • Service Animal Certificate of Registration
  • Inclusion in the RMSA database
NOT ALL DISABILITIES ARE VISIBLE

Most people think of a service dog as a large breed dog for the blind or for working with a person confined to a wheelchair. The reality is that the majority of service dogs are small dogs that perform tasks for otherwise normal people with disorders related to emotional, psychological, hearing, seizure, diabetic, or for other medical issues - disabilities that are completely invisible.

WHAT ARE MY RIGHTS?

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) defines "disability” very broadly and does not limit the type of disability for which a service animal can be used. In addition, there is great flexibility with respect to the nature and severity of a person’s physical, mental, or emotional issue (disability).

The ADA protects people with all kinds of disabilities (obvious disabilities, as well as the invisible kind) by requiring all businesses that serve the public to allow people with disabilities to bring their service animals with them. That means restaurants, hotels, retail stores, taxicabs, theaters, concert halls, sports facilities, and airlines - just about any place you can imagine. If the public has access to it, then so do you and your service dog. By law, these businesses can't charge you extra or separate you from other customers because of your certified service dog. And by law, businesses aren't allowed to ask you to prove your dog is a service animal, although that doesn't guarantee they won't ask.

An Emotional Support Animal (ESA) is not considered a working service dog under the ADA and is not granted unlimited public access. It is up to the establishment if their policy allows Emotional Support Animals. However, individuals with ESAs have the ability to live in otherwise non-pet-friendly housing under the Fair Housing Act. The Fair Housing Act requires Landlords to modify policies, procedures, or practices to permit an individual with a disability to use, own, and live with a service and/or emotional support animal when doing so is necessary to provide a tenant with an equal opportunity to use and enjoy the dwelling.  Landlords must make reasonable accommodations for your pet.