Understanding the emotional support animal laws in South Dakota will help you learn about your rights and responsibilities as an ESA owner. Most people who have ESAs can’t bear to be without them. These animals are meant to help people improve their mental well-being, so it makes sense that they should always be together.
Luckily, there is one federal law in place that gives ESAs the right to live with their owners, even in places that have a no-pet policy. There are two other laws that talk about people with mental and physical disabilities, but they don’t include ESAs.
In this article, you’ll learn about the emotional support animal laws in South Dakota, along with some other useful information about ESAs, such as their benefits, your responsibilities, and how you can get an ESA letter.
What Sort of Pets Can Be an ESA?
First, let’s understand what an ESA is. An emotional support animal can be any species as long as you feel better in their presence and you are legally allowed to have them. The only person who is eligible to determine if a pet can be an ESA is a licensed mental health professional (LMHP) in South Dakota. Generally speaking, though, some of the most common choices for an ESA include dogs, cats, rabbits, birds, mice, ferrets, hamsters, and snakes.
In order to find out if your pet can become an ESA legally, you have to speak to a mental health professional. All emotional support animals require an “ESA letter,” which is a legal document issued by a licensed mental health professional in South Dakota. It includes details about the mental health worker, your mental health, and how your pet helps you with it.
To get an ESA letter, book an appointment with your doctor and tell them about your mental condition. Remember to be open and honest with your doctor so they can accurately assess your need for an emotional support animal. Once they have diagnosed you, they will give you the letter in a couple of days.
The price of the letter depends on the LMHP you’re seeing. Some may give it to you for free, but it can cost anywhere between $100 and $500. If the price is too low or high, then it very likely could be a scam.
If your ESA letter is invalid, then your pet isn’t legally considered an ESA, and they won’t be able to live with you in places with no-pet policies. You could also get into legal trouble for misrepresenting your pet as an ESA.
What’s the Difference Between ESAs and Service Animals?
ESAs and service animals help people with mental and physical disabilities, but they are not classified as the same type of animals in South Dakota. This means they have different rights and privileges.
Service animals must be dogs (or miniature horses in some cases) that have trained to perform specific tasks for people with disabilities, whereas an ESA can be any animal that the owner can legally keep in South Dakota. Whether you train a service animal yourself or hire a professional trainer to do it for you doesn’t matter. All that matters is that they have finished their training and are capable of performing the task they have been trained for.
An animal that is still under training is not a service animal as they do not yet meet the legal requirement of being able to perform a task for a person with a disability.
ESAs, on the other hand, do not require any training to provide emotional support to people who suffer from mental health issues. Your pet is an ESA because of its innate ability to make you feel better. The only legal requirement for an animal to become an ESA is to get an ESA letter from a licensed healthcare professional in South Dakota.
Note, however, that just because an ESA doesn’t require training doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t train them at all. You still have to teach them some basic obedience skills so you can easily control them around other animals and people.
Examples of service animals include:
- Guide dogs – These service animals help visually impaired people.
- Hearing dogs – These animals alert people with hearing impairments to sounds in their environment.
- Psychiatric dogs – These dogs help people who suffer from mental issues. They are trained to perform various tasks, including reminding people to take their medications and providing deep pressure therapy during a panic attack.
- Allergen detection dogs – These dogs are trained to detect the presence of allergens such as peanuts and gluten.
Caring for Your Emotional Support Animal
You have to provide proper care and attention to your emotional support animal. This will strengthen the bond between you two, which will help your pet understand your emotional state better and provide more effective support.
Make sure that you feed your emotional support animal a high-quality diet and meet their exercise needs if they require any. Also, take your emotional support animal to regular vet checkups to ensure their well-being.
Caring for your ESA is a great way for you to develop healthy habits, which can also greatly improve your mental well-being. By helping your pet stay healthy and fit, you are also contributing to your own mental well-being.
ESA Laws in South Dakota
Now that you know everything there is to know about ESAs, let’s take a look at the laws that address the rights of these assistance animals. In South Dakota, there are no state-level requirements, so you only have to follow federal laws.
The only federal law that affects ESAs is the Fair Housing Act (FHA). There are two other laws, namely, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA), that talk about people with disabilities, but they only cover service animals.
Let’s take a look at all three of these laws in detail:
1. Fair Housing Act (FHA)
The Fair Housing Act pertains to ensuring equal housing opportunities for people with disabilities. It also prohibits discrimination against individuals based on things like race, color, sex, religion, and nationality.
The FHA gives people with ESAs the right to request reasonable accommodation from housing providers so their ESAs can live with them. The law is applicable even in accommodations that have a no-pet policy.
Landlords have the right to ask people to show an ESA letter when requesting reasonable accommodation. If the letter is legit, then it’s very unlikely for the landlord to deny the request.
They only have the right to deny your request for reasonable accommodation in the following situations:
- Landlords can deny reasonable accommodation if they feel the ESA poses a threat to other animals and tenants. They may also refuse if the animal has a history of displaying aggressive behavior towards other animals and people.
- They can say no if providing reasonable accommodation requires them to significantly change the nature of their business or it causes undue financial or administrative hardship for them.
You can have more than one ESA live with you in your apartment, but you need a separate ESA letter for each of them if your ESA letter doesn’t mention all of your emotional support animals. Your landlord can’t charge you any extra fee for accommodating your ESA.
However, you will be responsible for paying for any damages caused to the property by your ESA. That’s why you have to train them so they always behave appropriately.
The FHA also applies to university housing, so if you’re moving to college soon, you can take your ESA with you. All you have to do is send your ESA letter to your university. Every university has different guidelines for ESAs, so you should check their official site or give them a call. Some may not allow large dogs.
2. Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
The Americans with Disabilities Act was created to make sure that equal rights are given to people with disabilities. Thanks to this law, you can take your service animal wherever you want with you. Restaurants, cafes, schools, hotels, and trains are all legally required to make reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities and their service animals.
People can’t ask service animal owners for proof that their service animal is capable of performing the task they have been trained to do. However, you can be asked what task the service animal performs and how it’s related to your disability.
Since service animal handlers don’t have to get any letter from a doctor, there’s no documentation required to prove their status. They’re also not required to wear a service animal vest.
The ADA also gives people with disabilities the right to take their service animals to their workplaces. To take an ESA to a workplace, you should first talk to your employer and see if they’re okay with it. You’ll have to be mindful of your ESA’s behavior towards other employees and also make sure that no one is allergic to your pet.
3. Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA)
The Air Carrier Access Act is another law made to ensure that there is no discrimination against people with disabilities. It specifically covers the rights granted to service animal owners when they are traveling by air. The law originally included ESAs, but they were excluded in 2020.
Service animals are allowed to fly with their owners in the cabin of a plane, and airlines can’t charge them any additional fee for it. Airlines have to provide reasonable accommodation to people with disabilities and their service animals. However, it is the responsibility of service animal owners that their pets don’t misbehave towards other passengers.
While ESAs are no longer included in the ACAA, there are still some airlines that allow them in the cabin, though they may charge a fee. To find out if the airline you want to fly with allows ESA, we recommend contacting them before you head to the airport.
Live With Your ESA in South Dakota
ESAs may not have as many rights as service animals in South Dakota, but they’re still allowed to live with you in your home, even if your lease or rental agreement has a no-pet policy. The only thing you need to do is talk to a licensed mental health professional in the state.
They’ll give you an ESA letter, and you can provide it to landlords or any housing provider to request reasonable accommodation for your emotional support animal, such as waiving the no-pet policy.
Unfortunately, you can’t take your ESA with you to restaurants, schools, and other public spaces (unless they allow it). Under the ADA, only service animals are allowed in public accommodations such as restaurants and hotels. They are specially trained animals who help people with physical disabilities. ESAs don’t need any training because as long as the owner finds comfort in their presence, that’s all they need to do.