Emotional Support Dog Virginia Laws

By lisa guerin j d.

Emotional support dog virginia laws.

Under west virginia s white cane law and the federal americans with disabilities act ada people with disabilities may bring service animals to all public accommodations including restaurants theaters schools stores businesses motels and more. West virginia laws on service dogs and emotional support animals by lisa guerin j d. While this may seem counter intuitive there s very little point in thinking of any type of support animal as an animal when it comes to housing laws. West virginia enforces the laws established in the federal fair housing act that protect those in need of an emotional support animal from discrimination from landlords.

In this article we ll cover all you need to know about getting an esa in virginia. Generally speaking the two main differences between service dogs and emotional support animals center on 1 the animal s level of training and 2 the severity of the owner s needs. For example the virginia code defines a service dog as a dog that was specifically trained to perform tasks that benefit a person with a disability. This is because under both virginia and federal law there s little to no difference between an emotional support animal and a wheelchair ramp that helps you enter your building.

Under virginia s disability rights law and the federal americans with disabilities act ada people with disabilities may bring their service animals to all public accommodations including stores businesses. The law states that landlords cannot deny a prospective tenant the right to housing due to their emotional support animal and that the emotional support animal is allowed to.