Emotional support animals cause controversy

There is controversy over the topic of emotional support animals. Many believe people are claiming to need one of these comfort animals just so landlords have to accept a pet. There’s definitely a need for these comfort animals, but there isn’t enough legal documentation to weed out those who abuse the system. It puts landlords in a very tight spot to keep their tenants happy.

589, that’s the number of pets taken in by the Rexburg Animal Shelter in 2015. Many of them brought in by their owners.
When asked why…
“We see is a lot of animals coming into due to landlord issues or moving, different reasons like that,” said Rexburg Police Officer Stephen Buzzel.

Due to the Fair Housing Act, it only takes a mental health prescription to prevent apartment complexes from turning away your pet.

“If you’re in a car accident you see a broken leg, you see someone in the wheelchair and you go ‘oh they need that animal for help’,” said Deidre Mason, property manager for The Village Apartments in Rexburg.

The problem is, it’s hard to regulate between real service animals and fake ones.

“That’s not necessarily fair to the animal, it’s not fair for them,” said Officer Buzzel. “It’s a situation caused by a momentary desire.”

Petful.com calls it “service dog fraud”. All you have to do is jump online and print off an ADA certificate. Even Amazon provides vests and IDs so your pet can be at your side at all times, even on flights without the extra charge.

“Emotional support animals are just one of those things that I think we are just going to have to deal with,” said Mason. “It’s out there and it’s going to be out there for a while. What would be nice would be if we had education on the part of medical professionals. So that they knew you can’t just check a box and say ok you can have an animal. They realize the repercussions from having that animal.”

A search and rescue dog trainer said some emotional support animals aren’t well trained. She said unfortunately it’s creating a stigma against real service dogs and the intense training they require. The service dog vest is losing respect.

There are plenty to get animal therapy. Going to the Rexburg Animal Shelter is one of them.
If you would like to volunteer, click here.