I know ive seen this discussed before, but I am not having any luck finding it in all of the hundreds of other esa posts...

Prospective tenant has an ESA (not a service dog). The dog is not for hos persoanl use, but rather he is a licensed therapist and uses it for his clients.

1) Am I right to treat this as a pet? Afterall, the animal is not what is protected but the person with the disability. In this case, the person with disability/need does not own the dog and does not live in house.

Sounds like a therapy animal which I believe falls under pet status and not protected such as ESA and SA are.

Therapy Animals.

Therapy animals are used by medical and counseling centers to treat patients with various emotional or social problems.

Therapy animals include cats, dogs, rabbits, horses, etc. they do not enjoy the same advantages as a service or ESA does.

They are not 'service’ if it is for someone else other than a tenant at the property.

Until their training is complete, and ARE for the tenant with a disability that will live here, not one you are training for someone. (servicedogcentral.com)

A therapy dog is legally a pet.

A therapy dog is a pet that has been trained, tested, registered, and insured to accompany his owner to visit patients and residents of facilities like hospitals and nursing homes to cheer up the people living there. IT IS NOT USED FOR THERAPY FOR THE OWNER.

It is not permitted to go anywhere that pets aren't permitted without permission.

Therapy Animals.

Therapy animals are used by medical and counseling centers to treat patients with various emotional or social problems.

Therapy animals include cats, dogs, rabbits, horses, etc. they do not enjoy the same advantages as a service or ESA does.

They are not 'service’ if it is for someone else other than a tenant at the property.

Until their training is complete, and ARE for the tenant with a disability that will live here, not one you are training for someone. (servicedogcentral.com)

A therapy dog is legally a pet.

A therapy dog is a pet that has been trained, tested, registered, and insured to accompany his owner to visit patients and residents of facilities like hospitals and nursing homes to cheer up the people living there. IT IS NOT USED FOR THERAPY FOR THE OWNER.

It is not permitted to go anywhere that pets aren't permitted without permission.

From a landlord's point of view, you only have to allow a service dog or ESA for a tenant with a disability that lives in your unit. You don't have to allow the dog to live there for the use of a person who lives elsewhere.

First of all, that dog is neither a service animal nor an ESA. Second, the owner does not have a disability himself that he needs the dog for.

However, if I could verify that the owner was a legitimate therapist and that the dog really was a licensed, registered, and insured therapy dog, I might allow the dog. The dog is going to be clean, well trained, and safe natured. Just not protected by federal law.

I agree - THERAPY animal, not service or emotional support.

I agree that therapy animals are generally well behaved and well cared for.

A true THERAPY animal will have paperwork backing this up. Just because someone has a friendly animal and takes it to nursing homes does not mean it's trained.

We CAN charge for therapy animals.

I DID meet a therapy Saint Bernard that was cuddly and got an "awwww" from everyone

BUT

he slobbered and drooled so much the handler had to carry a towel and continually wipe it's chin. The dog laid down for a few minutes while people petted him but left a giant puddle of drool. That drool and it's odor would be EVERYWHERE in the house. Better have moppable floors.

ANOTHER reason to do a 2 Minute In Home Visit.

It's a therapy animal when it's at his work. When it's not working, like when it's at home, it's just a plain old dog. If he wants to write his dog and ESA, he has to claim himself in need of an ESA.