What are guide dogs, assistance animals and emotional support animals?

Introduction

Many disabled people rely on guide dogs, assistance animals and emotional support animals (ESAs). Businesses need to know when and how they should welcome these animals.

Except for in exceptional circumstances, businesses should welcome employees and customers with guide dogs and assistance dogs. The picture is less clear with ESAs, and this resource lays out key considerations.

While the most common animal disabled people rely on is the dog, our Advice Service has had enquiries about all sorts of animals, including a miniature horse and a pig.

What are guide dogs, assistance animals and emotional support animals?

Guide dogs and assistance animals are specially trained to support their disabled owners with specific tasks.

They are usually trained and registered with specialist organisations. However, some assistance animals may have been trained by their owner and not be registered.

ESAs are companion animals whose presence helps a disabled person. They don’t perform tasks and are not necessarily trained.

Guide dogs

Some people with sight loss rely on guide dogs to help them get around. Guide dogs are specifically trained to keep their owner safe by:

• Stopping walking at kerbs and steps
• Staying in the middle of pavements and walkways
• Avoiding obstacles and barriers
• Judging height and width to prevent their owner bumping into doorways
• Walking in a straight line when crossing the road.

This training is provided by specialist organisations such as Guide Dogs for the Blind (operating as Guide Dogs) and The Seeing Dogs Alliance.

Assistance animals

Some disabled people rely on animals to provide support beyond guiding. These animals are known as assistance animals. Assistance animals are usually dogs but can be any sort of animal.

Assistance animals may:

• Warn their owner when they are about to have a seizure
• Alert owners with hearing loss to important sounds they may miss, such as doorbells, ringing phones, and fire alarms
• Warn diabetic owners when their blood sugar gets too low
• Support people with diagnosed mental health conditions such as bipolar and PTSD
• Perform various functions to support autistic people such as notifying them of important sounds, and grounding them when they experience anxiety
• Help an owner who has limited mobility or dexterity by, for example, opening doors or fetching specific items.

There are many other functions that an assistance animal may provide. Assistance animals will usually have had extensive training, although this is not the case for all assistance animals.

Emotional support animals

Emotional support animals (ESAs) support the mental health and emotional stability of their owners by accompanying them. They do not receive specific training and do not necessarily perform tasks for their owners aside from accompaniment. They may do these things, but an animal does not have to in order to be an ESA.

For example, a person with anxiety may ask to take their ESA with them to job interviews or on public transport, if they find these experiences especially stressful.

ESAs are currently less common than assistance animals in many countries outside the United States. However, they are increasingly popular in the UK and other countries.

Further information

Assistance Dogs UK

See Assistance Dogs UK’s range of Quick Guides and Resources for more information.

Business Disability Forum

Contact our Advice Service for guidance about specific situations.

This is part of a series of resources on guide dogs, assistance animals and ESAs:

• Assistance animals – Deciding what’s reasonable
• Supporting employees with guide dogs, assistance animals and emotional support animals
• Welcoming customers with guide dogs, assistance animals and emotional support animals
• Welcoming guide dogs, assistance animals and emotional support animals to events and meetings.