How to Get a Service Dog in California

Millions of Californians live with physical and mental health disorders that make their lives a daily struggle. For many, a service dog brings assistance and support that make it easier to get around, stay motivated, and improve their overall standard of living. When properly trained, a service dog can perform tasks and provide assistance directly related to their owner’s condition, making them a great addition to many people’s treatments. So, if you’re a resident of the Golden State, here’s a comprehensive look at how to get a service dog in California.

Options for Getting a Service Dog in California

In California, you have two options for bringing a service dog into your life: you can either adopt or purchase a pre-trained dog or train your own canine companion. Each option offers its advantages depending on your specific condition, needs, and resources.

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How to Get a Psychiatric Service Dog (PSD)

To get a psychiatric service dog you must meet certain criteria. Start by consulting with a licensed mental health professional (LMHP) to assess your eligibility and determine if a psychiatric service dog is appropriate.

Training a Service Dog in California

If you already have a beloved dog in your life, you can train it to be your physical or psychiatric service dog with the help of professionals. One great option is to enroll in an online service dog training program that guides you as you teach your canine companion how to assist you with your disability-related needs. Some top online programs include:

• Pettable Online Psychiatric Service Dog Training — Led by certified dog trainer Lisa Gallegos CPDT-KA, Pettable’s online courses are easy to follow and work at whatever pace fits you and your canine companion.
• Service Dog Training Institute — This organization offers training specialized for physical disabilities, and its courses are highly rated by authentic previous clients.

For anyone who needs hands-on help, you can enroll your sidekick in in-person training classes, where professionals will take the lead. Great candidates for more involved training include:

• California Service Dog Academy (Visalia, CA)
• Gold Country K9 Services (Ione, CA)
• Fun Paw Care (Los Angeles, CA)

Adopting a Service Dog in California

If training a service dog doesn’t fit into your life, you can choose to adopt or purchase a pre-trained service dog specializing in your disorder and daily needs. While this may seem like an easy way to go, it can also be expensive — sometimes, prohibitively so. If you have the resources, it’s still a fine option, but not necessarily as bond-building.

Here are a couple of options if you are looking to adopt a trained service dog in California:

• Mobility Service Dogs (Pasadena, CA) — MSD is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based out of California that can match you with a trained service dog for mobility assistance if you have a physical disability that could benefit from a mobility dog.
• Canine Companions (National Org.) — Canine Companions is a national non-profit organization that trains and provides service dogs for those who need them.

Do You Need to Register Your Service Animal in California?

While some companies try to convince you otherwise, you do not need to register your service dog in California, or any other state for that matter. Currently, there are no federal laws requiring assistance animals to be tracked in any way. Unless you live in one of a few localities across the country that has its own rules, you never need to add your service animal to any sort of registry or database. 

What Documentation Does My Service Dog Need?

Whether you live in California or any other state, there is only one thing you need to make your assistance animal bona fide — an ESA letter. With this document, officially issued and signed by a licensed mental health professional, your housing rights under the Fair Housing Act (FHA) are guaranteed wherever you rent or purchase a home. This is the only document that must be accepted by landlords and other housing providers, so it’s essential for anyone who wants an ESA in their life.

Service Dog Laws in California

In the Golden State, service dogs are protected by federal regulations that prohibit discrimination against disabled individuals, but California also has state-specific laws that provide varying protections regarding these working animals. First, there is the Unruh Civil Rights Act (California Civil Code Section 51), which bolsters the FHA’s protections for service dogs and their owners in public accommodations and spaces. Also, the California Disabled Persons Act (CDPA) confirms the rights of disabled people to access all streets, highways, sidewalks, walkways, public buildings, medical facilities, and more.

Finally, California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) reinforces many rules covered in the federal FHA, while also clarifying what makes a service dog official. It points out that service dogs don’t need to wear special vests, or carry ID cards or other tags identifying them as working animals. In general, all three California-specific laws fortify the disability rights also protected in federal laws. 

Federal Protection for Service Dogs

When it comes to service dogs and their owners, the FHA is not the only federal law protecting their rights. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits discrimination against disabled people in every aspect of public life. It enables disabled individuals to bring their service dogs along with them in most public spaces and accommodations, including restaurants, shopping centers, government buildings, medical facilities and more. As long as the service dog is trained to perform essential assistance tasks for their owner, they are allowed to accompany them wherever life takes them.

Another federal law that enhances life for individuals and their service dogs is the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA), which prohibits airlines from discriminating against anyone with a physical or mental health disability. Air carriers are required to recognize service dogs as essential working animals and allow them to travel in-cabin with their owners, as long as they fit safely and do not pose a threat to flight crew or passengers.

What is a Service Dog?

The ADA defines a service dog as a canine of any breed that has been trained to perform specific tasks that aid an individual living with a physical or psychiatric disability. As a “working animal,” a service dog is protected in ways not afforded to standard pets, allowing it to accompany its owner in nearly every public space. In some instances, a miniature horse may be accepted as a service animal, but service dogs are much more common.

Types of Service Dogs

Just as different disabilities require unique types of assistance, there are numerous different types of service dogs, such as:

• Psychiatric service dogs
• Mobility assistance dogs
• Seizure alert dogs
• Medical alert dogs
• Visual and hearing guide dogs
• Allergy detection dogs

Service Dogs vs. Emotional Support Animals

While both provide essential assistance to their owners, service dogs and emotional support animals (ESAs) are not the same, so they are granted different rights. Unlike service dogs, ESAs are not considered working dogs, so they are not protected by the ADA and can’t accompany their owners in public accommodations. Similarly, the ACAA doesn’t automatically permit ESAs to ride in airplane cabins. However, both types of assistance animals are granted housing rights by the FHA, so emotional support animals are allowed to live with their owners in rental housing — as long as they have an ESA letter.