Legal and policy issues for animal assisted interventions with special populations

ABSTRACT

In order to protect themselves and their animals, persons involved in animal-assisted interventions, as well as those providing therapeutic interventions involving animals and those seeking to study such situations should understand when a law provides a right to be accompanied by an assistance or service animal. Using applicable federal laws in the United States, this article defines service, assistance, and therapy animals and analyzes the circumstances under which persons utilizing these animals have the legal right of access to public places and housing. The article also discusses the intersection of federal, state, and local law in the United States and provides ways state and local laws may provide for greater access for persons accompanied by service, assistance, and therapy animals.

Notes

¹The information in this article is current as of June 1, 2016. Readers are cautioned that they should always confirm the status of a law prior to relying upon it. The websites of the federal agencies referenced herein provide access to relevant material written for use by the general public. Additional context, including more comprehensive descriptions of the laws and policy issues are covered in the author’s other writings which can be accessed through the author’s SSRN Author page at http://ssrn.com/author=330506.

References are provided in APA format whenever possible. Pursuant to those rules the most current version of the official United States Code is dated 2012 and the relevant Code of Federal Regulations provisions are dated, based on the timing that the official version of those provisions were available, either 2015 or 2016. The state law materials are also referenced utilizing the statutory materials available on June 1, 2016.