Service Animals and Emotional Support Animals Are Welcome: Ensuring a Quiet and Safe Environment for Everyone

A warm welcome as a woman enters with her service dog, greeted by a friendly staff member in a cozy, inviting setting.

From time to time, clients ask me whether they may bring their service dog with them to their appointment. The answer is yes. I would love for you to bring your furry companion to your session.

Here's a bit of information about service animals if you didn't know. It's always great to have on hand when you are patronizing a hotel, restaurant or any other business. Know your rights!

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a service dog is a dog that has been individually trained to perform a specific task or work for a person with a disability. There is no federal requirement for a service dog to have a certificate, registration, identification card, special vest, or professional training certificate. A person may train their own service dog.

When it is not obvious that a dog is a service animal, the ADA generally permits a business to ask only two questions:

1. Is the dog a service animal required because of a disability?

2. What work or task has the dog been trained to perform?

A business may not require documentation or ask someone to disclose the details of their disability.

Service and emotional support animals are warmly welcomed in, with clear guidelines ensuring a respectful and calm environment for all.

What About Emotional Support Animals?

Emotional support animals are different from service animals under the ADA. An animal whose sole purpose is providing comfort, companionship, or emotional support is not considered a service animal under the ADA because it has not been trained to perform a disability-related task.

However, emotional support animals are welcome in my office as a courtesy when they are appropriately behaved and can safely remain in the treatment environment.

I understand that having a familiar animal nearby can help some clients feel safer, calmer, and more comfortable during their appointment.

A Quiet and Safe Environment Still Matters

Whether your companion is a service animal or an emotional support animal, the animal needs to remain under control.

Service animals can be removed under the ADA if they are not housebroken or if they are out of control and the handler does not take effective action to regain control.

An occasional sound or alert from a service dog does not automatically make that dog disruptive. Some barking or other behavior may actually be part of the task the dog has been trained to perform. The important consideration is whether the animal remains under the handler's control.

For the comfort and safety of everyone in the office, animals should not:

• Repeatedly bark or create unnecessary disruption

• Show aggressive behavior or attempt to bite

• Wander freely around the office without the handler's control

• Urinate or defecate inside the office

• Damage furnishings, linens, or equipment

My massage office is intentionally kept quiet and peaceful, particularly because I work with clients who may have trauma histories, chronic pain, neurological sensitivities, or other conditions where excessive noise can be difficult.

Animals are welcome here. I simply ask that they behave appropriately just as I expect the humans in my office to behave appropriately too.

If you will be bringing an animal with you to your appointment, you are welcome to let me know ahead of time so I can make the treatment room as comfortable as possible for both of you.

Looking forward with working with you and your furry companion.

With care and support,

Suzan Walker LMT

Guide to ADA Service Animal Rights: Understanding where service animals can go, what qualifies as a service animal, permissible business inquiries, key protections, and conditions for exclusion, ensuring accessibility and fairness for handlers and their service animals.

Schedule your session with Suzan Walker LMT today!

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