Owning a pet has many health benefits. They can increase opportunities to exercise, go out and socialize. Regular walking or playing with pets can lower blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and triglyceride levels. Pets can help control loneliness and depression by providing us with company.
Most homes in the United States have at least one pet. The proper housing and management of animal facilities are essential for animal welfare, the quality of research data and teaching or testing programs in which animals are used, and for the health and safety of staff. A good management program provides the environment, housing and care that allows animals to grow, mature, reproduce and maintain good health; ensures their well-being and minimizes variations that may affect research results. Specific operating practices depend on many factors that are specific to individual institutions and situations.
Well-trained and motivated staff can often ensure high-quality animal care, even in institutions with less than optimal physical facilities or equipment. The federal Fair Housing Act (FHA) makes it illegal to discriminate in housing on the basis of disability. A person with a disability can request a “reasonable accommodation” from a housing provider so that they can have the same opportunities as a healthy person to use and enjoy housing. For decades, courts have recognized the possibility of keeping an animal in an accommodation that would not otherwise allow animals as reasonable accommodation.
The accommodation in question is a modification of the rule that prohibits the entry of animals. The revised guide published by HUD now has a two-tier process for evaluating requests from a service or assistance animal. The first considers requests for service animals as defined in the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The second part of the guide considers other animals that are not service animals (this includes animals commonly known as “emotional support animals”).
As a result, the following FAQs are divided into part 1 for service animals and part 2 for service animals. For this question, the HUD distinguishes between “observable” and “unobservable” disabilities. Observable disabilities are those that “generally tend to be obvious and would not be reasonably attributable to non-medical causes by a lay person.”. This would include things such as neurological disorders (that is,.
Deafness, blindness, intellectual disabilities, total or partial loss of limbs or mobility problems that require the use of a wheelchair, autism, cancer, cerebral palsy, diabetes, epilepsy, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, obsessive-compulsive disorder and schizophrenia. For unobservable disabilities and animals that provide emotional and therapeutic support, the accommodation provider may request information that is consistent with that identified in the Guide to document a person's need for assistance for animals in the shelter (see pages 16 to 18 of the Guide). In essence, this is reliable proof or documentation of the existence of disability and the need related to the disability of an animal as housing. The HUD gives medical and mental health professionals an idea of what to include in a document when a patient requests information about the use of a service animal.
This documentation submitted by the applicant's medical or mental health professional allows the housing provider to make an individualized evaluation of whether they should provide accommodation under the Fair Housing Act. The lack of such documentation in many cases can be a reasonable reason to deny the requested accommodation. A common pet is a dog, cat, small bird, rabbit, hamster, gerbil or other rodent, fish, turtle, or other small domestic animal that is traditionally kept in the home for pleasure and not for commercial purposes. This excludes reptiles (except turtles), farmyard animals, monkeys, kangaroos, and other non-domesticated animals that are not considered common domestic animals.
If the person has established the disability and the disability-related need to have a common household pet using reliable information (or an observable disability need), the lodging provider must grant the request. Any single circumstance that justifies the patient needing a particular animal (if the person already owns or has identified it) or a particular type of animal (s) and, in addition, a person with an allergy to a dog can seek a unique animal as a reasonable adaptation to a land use and zoning law, an HOA rule, or a condominium or cooperative rule. You can charge the tenant for damage caused by an assistance animal if it is your usual practice to charge for damage caused by tenants (or deduct it from the standard security deposits that are imposed on all tenants). Basically, you can charge for the damage caused IF you also charge non-disabled tenants.
Housing providers cannot require a health professional to use a specific form (including this document), to file statements with a notary, to make statements under penalty of perjury, or to provide a person's diagnosis or other detailed information about a person's physical or mental disabilities. For species not mentioned, space and height allocations for an animal of equivalent size and with a similar activity and behavior profile can be used as a starting point for making adjustments that take into account the individual and specific needs of the species. Any unique circumstance that justifies the patient needing a particular animal (if the individual already owns it or has identified it) or a particular type of animal (s), and. Sanitation methods and frequencies will vary depending on many factors, such as the type, physical properties, and size of the enclosure; the type, number, size, age, and reproductive status of the animals; the use and type of bedding materials; the temperature and relative humidity; the nature of the materials that create the need for sanitation; the normal physiological and behavioral characteristics of the animals; and the rate of soiling of the surfaces of the enclosure; the normal physiological and behavioral characteristics of the animals; and the rate of soiling of the surfaces of the enclosure.
However, children under 5 years old should be supervised when interacting with animals to ensure the safety of the child and pet. Major life activities include things such as seeing, hearing, walking, breathing, doing manual tasks, taking care of yourself, learning, speaking and working. Contact your vet if you have any questions about your pet's health or if you think your pet may be sick. Areas such as pastures and islands offer opportunities to provide an environment suitable for the maintenance or production of animals and for some types of research.
Forced activity should be avoided for reasons other than attempts to meet the therapeutic objectives or the approved protocol. Objects that increase the opportunities for expression of typical positions and activities of the species and improve animal welfare. In addition to washing your hands, practicing good pet hygiene can help prevent the spread of germs between pets and people. If the health professional has reliable information about this specific animal or if they specifically recommended this type of animal.
Don't allow children to kiss pets or put their hands or other objects to their mouths after touching animals. Don't encourage wild animals, such as raccoons, prairie dogs, or wild rodents, to enter your home and feed them. Since pet regulations don't apply to service animals, neither would breed restrictions for people with pets. It is important to note that service animals are not considered pets and accommodation providers cannot impose the fees or deposits that are required on pets.
.
