The benefits animals add to our lives are astounding. Research shows they are good for us both emotionally and physically.
There are a lot of labels put on dogs that are sometimes misunderstood, so we asked Heather Gibson with Big Hearted Breeders to explain the differences.
Emotional Support Animals are amazing, but as far as legal benefits go, they really only apply to the housing department. Heather says, "They used to be able to fly for free, but that has ended due to abuse. People were bringing peacocks, squirrels, roosters, kangaroos and more on flights."
She says the problem wasn't so much the species of animal, but more about the way they behaved on the planes.
Service Dogs provide a specific medical task for their owners that relates to an ADA-diagnosed disability. It can be anything from providing pressure support for anxiety to getting medicine to alerting if a seizure is coming or blood sugar levels that are out of range.
Therapy Dogs usually serve many people in different environments ranging from a school classroom to the hospital and nursing homes to onsite crisis situations. These dogs are owned by a volunteer who loves to serve the community.
Most therapy dogs go through a formal program to get certified like Pet Partners and Intermountain Therapy Animals of Utah.
Heather says, "In my opinion, therapy dogs are the hardest temperament to find because they need to be ready to help with a variety of people which usually leads to a more unpredictable working environment. If they don't have the right temperament to be an emotional support, therapy or service dog they will burn out."
You can learn more atBigHeartedBreeders.com.
