15. I have always had a clearly posted "no pets" policy at my establishment. Do I still have to allow service animals?
Yes. A service animal is not a pet. The ADA requires you to modify your "no pets" policy to allow the use of a service animal by a person with a disability.
If you don’t believe that an animal is a service animal, you are permitted to ask two questions. The first question is "Is your animal a service animal?" The second question is "What kind of service does the animal provide." If you’re informed that the animal is a service animal and does in fact perform work for the person with a disability you are prohibited from asking additional questions. The person should be allowed into your place of public accommodation without any further inquiries.
Please note that you are not allowed to ask a person with a service animal any details about their disability or ask that the animal demonstrate a task that it can perform.
In many cases, it is obvious whether or not an animal is a service animal. A person coming into your establishment who uses a wheelchair and is accompanied by a dog, or a blind individual with a guide dog, is likely being accompanied by a service animal. However, you should know that certain people with "invisible disabilities" also rely on service animals. For instance, people with seizure disabilities often have a dog that can detect an oncoming seizure so that their human companion can administer medication in advance of the seizure or get to a safe place. Sometimes, people have what are known as "psychiatric service animals." For instance, many wounded warriors living with PTSD Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) use service dogs to cue them to whether a situation or area is safe.
Under the ADA only dogs (and sometimes miniature horses) are considered to be service animals. Under California law, any animal trained to perform a specific task can be a service animal.
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