Brown.

Richard Gere

Service animals and emotional support animals are different. Service animals are strongly supported by law, emotional support animals are bunk. If someone has an animal and you are a business operator or employee, you are only allowed two questions: 1. Is that a service animals? 2. What is it trained to do?

You are not allowed to ask for papers or proof, and you must admit the animal unless it is unduly disruptive or it goes to the bathroom. Also, anyone can train a service animal, there is no real regulation.

Saw a headline news story the other day about how one of the big airlines is clamping down on them in 2019.
They'll be required to be in the hold, or only small ones with a doctor's letter allowed in the cabin, etc.

I have wondered how the airlines dealt with animals, and other passengers who are allergic to them in such a confined space.

Wait since when do you allow strange ladies with giant dogs on your Leer jet?

Its our every 3 month service dog talk.

How convenient. I think there is a joke about brown pants that applies here.

The gov officially recognizes service equines. That would be fun on a southwest flight.

It�s hard to tell what is and what is not a true service animal. But there is some guidance provided by the ADA.

Service animals are dogs, the only exception is a miniature horse which can also be trained to guide people with blindness. Those are the only two species that can be true service animals, period. If it�s not one of those two critters it�s not a service animal and does not need to be allowed entry anywhere as a service animal.

BUT other laws allow other species to be considered emotional support (ESA), comfort, or therapy animals. Those laws apply to public housing and airlines, so emotional support animals are not required by law to have access to restaurants, bars, stores etc. in Texas. (Laws in other states will differ.)

To determine if a dog is a service animal, a person may be asked two questions:

Do you have the animal because of a disability?
What is the animal trained to do?

If the person is able to answer those two questions about their dog they must be allowed entry. You cannot require them to demonstrate the training, produce any proof of certification or documentation, wear a vest, or be separated from their dog. There is no required fee or national registry for service animals. You cannot restrict the breed.

You can require the dog to be under control of the owner at all times, not show signs of aggression e.g. excessive barking, lunging, biting, observe local animal health codes, not [censored] everywhere. You should probably give the owner a chance to correct such problems before removing the dog.

Emotional support animals CAN be asked for documentation. A doctor or mental health professional note stating there is a need for the animal should be enough. Again, these comfort animals must only be allowed consideration for entry into public housing (apartments, dorms, maybe hotels) or planes.

Many businesses have given up on trying to tell the difference on what is not a service animal, so they are allowing almost all pets. Crooked businesses have popped up selling fake ESA or even service animal certificates online. All this is making it harder for the people who need true service animals. Eventually, someone big will be sued and it might make it to the supremes where hopefully we can get some clarification. I deal with this question almost daily, I�ve even been bit by a service dog so hopefully at some point we will get some clarity.

https://www.ada.gov/regs2010/service_animal_qa.html

One other important note, service animals can also detect when a person is about to have a seizure, when blood sugar is at a dangerously high or low level, when a person needs to take medication, and other essential functions that cannot be delayed even for a few minutes. So it�s not optional for such folks to leave their dogs at home ever.

Would you sell a gun to someone who needs an emotional support dog? Just asking for a friend.

Why not?

Good question. I kept a Firearms dealers license for 21 years, but did it more as a convenience for my hobby at the time.
I wasn't selling guns to make a living, with that in mind, I'd say no. And the stocking dealers I've known probably wouldn't either.
They could probably find a place to buy one, it just wouldn't have been me.

However; if Chuck Norris came in with his 20 foot long emotional support crocodile----- no problem.

Some prefer the miniature equines to canines as gudie dogs, they live longer, can be housebroken too, don�t bark and tend not to chase squirrels. I don�t know if this is 100% accurate but I heard the main reason the feds included equines was that some cultures consider canines unclean for religious reasons and will only use the horses. Interesting, but service horses are still extremely rare.