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Comment by stolio | Hacker News Reader

For reference it costs about $25,000 over a period of 6 to 9 months to train a service dog. If you see somebody with a service dog it's because they absolutely need it.

There are waiting lists, background checks, interviews, even the owners themselves are trained. There is nothing in the process of getting a service dog that is taken lightly.

EDIT: 6-9 months may be on the low side for training a service dog. This place does 9-12 months not including the initial physical/behavioral testing: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_Service_Dogs#Training

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The article specifically made the distinction between service dogs - which are well-trained and, as a result, well-behaved and very seldomly a bother to anyone - and untrained animals that are held only for reasons of mental comfort.

The idea of the article is that, although some people with disabilities benefit from an untrained animal to the point that one wants to prevent others (e.g. landlords) from doing undue harm by not being accommodating at all, uncertainty about these provisions (not the provisions themselves!) are being abused by some egocentric pet owners.

Are you referring to service dogs that help the blind? Or those that offer emotional support? Clearly there is a difference in training.

I'm referring to service dogs for severe disabilities: multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, traumatic injuries from war, things like that.

The "Emotional Support Animals" referenced in the article certainly are not receiving the training of a full-blown service dog.

An emotional support animal is NOT a service animal. There's a huge difference. There are not any legal requirements for emotional support animals. A parrot can be considered an emotional support animal. A service animal is a highly trained animal, while an emotional support animal is anything you say it is.

As others have said, ESAs can be any animal type, but business are not legally obligated to accommodate ESAs. Only dogs (and in some limited cases miniature horses) can be service animals in the US.

A service animal may be an ESA, but not all ESAs are service animals. Also, the ADA specifically states that "Dogs whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support do not qualify as service animals under the ADA.".

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