In the ward I grew up in, there was a wonderful blind couple. Brother and Sister Keiser were people full of faith and never let their physical limitation hold them back from service. Since they were blind they both brought their seeing eye dog with them to church each week. As a young deacon, I approached them one Sunday with the sacrament. As I tapped Brother Keiser on the shoulder to let him know the sacrament was available for him to take, I heard his dog yelp. I soon realized I had accidentally stepped on his dog’s tail. As a young man, I thought it was remarkable that our ward was lucky enough to have dogs attend with us.
I later realized many wards were able to have service animals and as a leader, I quickly realized not all animals that show up at church are there to serve. Serving in the stake presidency, one week I entered a chapel and immediately a member of a bishopric called me over and asked me for some guidance. There was a new sister in their ward and she brought her dog. The dog had been barking and growling at children during the church meetings. It was causing a distraction, and this bishopric member asked if I would talk to her.
As I talked with her she claimed that the dog was a service animal. The more I talked to her the more I realized I had no clue what classified as a service animal and what did not. Were there papers I could ask for? Did it have to wear a vest? The sister finally admitted that she was more concerned about leaving the dog and that it didn’t provide any specific service. After the interaction, I came home and did a little research on what lay leaders need to know about service animals and whether they should be allowed to attend your meetings.
1. A service animal is a specifically trained animal
According to the United States’ Americans with Disabilities Act: “A service animal is any dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability. Other species of animals, whether wild or domestic, trained or untrained, are not considered service animals.”
2. You can ask 2 questions
Under ADA regulations in the United States, to determine if the animal is a certified service animal, you can ask two questions:
- Is this animal required because of a disability?
- What work or task has this animal been trained to perform?
You cannot ask if the animal has documentation proving it is a service animal, nor is it required that the animal wears any type of vest showing it is a service animal.
3. Emotional support animals are not service animals
During my time as bishop, the most common “service animal” that attended our church meetings were emotional support animals. These are animals that provide a therapeutic benefit to their owner through companionship. They are not service animals because they are not trained to perform a specific task for a specific disability. ADA regulations do not require emotional support animals have access to businesses or public locations.
4. Churches are not required to comply with ADA regulations
Churches or religious entities in the United States are exempt from ADA regulations. You can read more information about disabilities related to Church service at disability.churchofjesuschrist.org. The General Handbook (38.8.27.8) currently reads:
Bishops and stake presidents may determine whether to allow persons with disabilities to use trained service dogs in meetinghouses. Other types of animals, including emotional support animals (comfort pets), are generally not permitted in meetinghouses or at Church-sponsored events, except as specifically required by law. (In general in the United States, the Church is under no legal obligation to admit service dogs or emotional support animals to houses of worship.) Bishops and stake presidents make local decisions. They take into account the needs of persons with disabilities and the needs of others in the congregation.
For additional guidelines on the use of service animals in Church facilities, see 27.1.3 and disability.ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
How has your ward handled service animals? Any unique situations that leaders should be ready for? Comment below and share your experience.
[Updated November 2022]
I was in a branch with a service dog, used for alerting a diabetic. He was well behaved and not a problem, except for the snoring! The only other thing I noticed was when cleaning the building, dog hair was EVERYWHERE! Especially in the kitchen, which caused me to not want to eat anything at activities. Thanks for the clarifications.
This was so timely as I ran into this question this week just a couple of weeks after it appears you posted this. It would seem that even though emotional support animals don’t technical count as service animals that you allowed them at meetings?
HIGHLY DISTRACTING ’emotional support dog’ belonging to one of the adults in our Primary is really becoming an issue. This is a mini teacup sized chihuahua and the children are convinced its a ‘puppy’. While the dog is mostly quiet, its constant display up around her neck by its owner, holding so as to be especially directed at getting the children’s attention–followed by the inevitable million requests to hold it and the million times they are told No by this person has made it a total distraction nightmare for our Primary. Yet no one dares tell this person enough is enough and to please leave the dog at home. It is clearly being used by this person as an attention-hijacking tool, who relishes telling everyone that by law everyone has to allow her to have it with her however she wants at Church.
So thanks for the distinction in this article that “Emotional Support animals are not service animals” . This will come in handy when the inevitable showdown about this nonsense happens.
I have a service dog, but so far I have not asked to bring it to church because I’m afraid to hear “no”. Our Ward meets at 9am and due to pain have not been able to make it this year except a couple times. I know I could do better with my Service dog so I have FINALLY messaged my bishop and included your link here so maybe it will help him decide. Thank you!
I was called into a meeting by the Stake President, which I attended , thinking he may have a calling for me. Instead, after a lecture on his accomplishments, I was told not to bring my service dog to church anymore. He admitted she was the best behaved dog he’d ever seen. She’s a hi bred Gsd and well trained, and always groomed. He said I could get along without her for an hour and a half and that he’d send someone to help me in and out of my truck. I was appalled. We d been coming quietly trying to find out of the way places to sit for 4 years. Id gotten several Bishops permission but no one made any exceptions for us. The first Bishop made an announcement at my request to not pet the dog. I’m 79, have had 2 strokes and multiple broken bones. My dogs help me everywhere. This was a relativly new Stake President. I wrote the church leadership and copied my ward leaders. I told them of my experiences. I noticed the new online information seemed to come directly from my well thought out, prayerful letter. Ive never heard from anyone inviting me back or appologizing for my expulsion. I started attending a wonderful little Presbyterian church who welcomed me and my service dog. My home teacher chastised me for attending another church but no effort was made to allow us back. At that point I lost my temper and told him how I felt about his behavior and other leadership’s behavior. Its so sad. Im a convert and have tried to be a faithful member for over 40 years, including struggling to attend the Temple regularly. Ive seen none of the compassion Christ expounded in the Stake Presidency or current Bishopric. Im currently attending the Presbyterian church who has made us feel welcome and awesome when we can go.
Did you ever receive a reply about your dog? My husband has PTSD and was told he couldn’t have the dog in the chapel.
To Barbara V: I’m SO sorry to hear that you weren’t allowed to keep your dog at meetings. IMHO, those men who told you to keep him/her at home were behaving very poorly! BAD! BAD MEN! No treats for a week, gentlemen! ?
It’s “paws-sible” that there’s a reason you and I don’t know about for their behavior. Who knows? Although from what you describe, your behavior seems excellent, maybe there’s something going on that would explain it all. If you feel the desire, you might take a brave step, call one of them, and tell them how hurt you are. Reaching out can clear the air a lot of times, if courage and heart are strong. Good luck, wherever you attend services!
Thanks for your kind response. I have done as you suggest with letters, articles and even sent a book on leadership by Pres.. Monson, to the appropriate leaders local, and central. I can and will do no more as my self esteem is important. At 79, a single working mom who raised 4 children solo, went to school, earned 2 degrees while working, and am still working in a professional capacitiy,held many church positions, and provided leadership in my community, I am in no mind set to be abused by anyone, especially after I’ve made effort to communicate. It’s no longer my problem. I’m fine, and at peace. And, I may have been used as a strong woman to take a stand. I find too few these days doing that. My children are all awesome young women and men and leaders in their work, and community and love and serve the Lord in different capacities. I have no compunction to grovel when I’ve done nothing wrong.
I wrote this on impulse hoping it could make a difference when I happened on the website,but had forgotten it until I saw your email. Thanks again for your response. I’ve loved the Lord as long as I can remember, and scripture, prayers, and sharing are a regular part of my daily life. I prayed much about my response and feel no further activity is needed except forgiving, forgetting, being happy and helpful, and waiting on the Lord. Have a great day!
You’re amazing, Barbara! I love strong women like you, and I’ve tried to be one most of my life. We could all learn a lesson from brave ones who bring their full force of will and personality to the table. If we’re rejected, then it’s *their* loss, right? Cheers to you!
I have been having a rough year because no one wants me to bring in my service dog and I am homeless so I don’t have access to just leave my dog at home. My dog alerts people to my seizures and I was told no because some people have allergies
Most of the members have either a cat or a dog, which means every member of their family has enough dog hair/dander on them to set off a truly allergic person. So a dog being there, isn’t going to be any more of an allergy trigger than many families with dog/cat hair and dander on them. Seriously, the over load of perfumes are more annoying than any dog ‘allergy’ would be. Most of the members are either sleeping, on their phones, or talking, so you’d think a dog wouldn’t be a distraction from anything else going on.
Look around next time you are there. Notice how many are not even paying attention at all to those who are giving a talk. Look closely at the dark clothing, it makes it easier to spot it, but there will be animal hair on several.Look at the messes left behind by kids who are not taught to sit still and pay attention, and to the food that the toddlers leave behind. A well behaved, clean and legitimate SERVICE DOG is NOT going to be any kind of disturbance, bother or distraction. But, there’s always one busy body nitty who has to insist the dog allergy is life threatening, so point out the dog owner statistics and watch them worm out of that one.
Any one with dog allergies, is not going to react to one dog in a facility, when dozens of people all around that one person with dog allergies, has dog hair and dander on them. So most of them who have dog allergies, aren’t as severe as they might say. They probably just don’t like dogs, or just like to control the situation. If you sat right next to that person with the dog allergy, without the dog, chances are, they wouldn’t even develop a runny nose. But even IF they have an allergy, they can sit at the opposite side/end. Your need for a SD is no less valid then their need to be away from a dog.
Here is the problem with service dogs … so many people lie and say their dog is a service dog when it isn’t … People then see these badly behaved fake service dogs acting out, and figure that all service dogs act that way. So those people that need service dogs, are treated badly because of people that lie and claim their dog is a service dog.
I work with someone that’s daughter is going through the process of certifying her dog as a service dog (Note: the person with the service dog must be trained with the dog)… I was stunned to see how much work and training goes into a dog becoming a service dog. My mother had nationally ranked show dogs, I can say this for a certainty — a service dog receives more training than a national champion show dog.
Finally, a service dog is not just a dog, it is it is a professional. and an expensive one. at that. Just out of curiosity, I looked up what the cost of buying a service dog $17,000-$25,000 — if a person needs the service dog so much they pay $17,000 for it … then you know they need it. You don’t have to wonder.
In the U.S., there is no legitimate registration or certification for Service Dogs. All the online registries are scams. But, a professional training facility or program can ‘certify’ their own dogs, as having passed their program and their requirements. Yes, hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars go into training legitimate service dogs. Not all legitimate service dogs are program trained, as they can be owner trained, usually with the assistance of a training facility. Even that is a huge expense and hundreds of hours still go into training. Any real service dog is going to be well behaved and specific task trained for real disabilities. It is a shame that so many think they can get away with faking the need for a service dog and worse for lying that their dog is a real service dog. Emotional Support animals are not allowed, nor should they be, in any public place. As they are not task trained to mitigate a legitimate disability.
So I have a Service dog in training that I have been training and I have approval from my therapist and doctor that it should be part of my care plan. I haven’t been able to attend church sometimes and only able to attend part before I start to have a panic attack. My SDiT is the reason my panic attacks stop about 60 percent of the time. He’s in training to be a psychiatric service dog and even though he isn’t fully trained he’s already a big help to me and will be more-so in the future. I went through the proper steps and asked my bishop about it and he talked to the stake and they decided it would simply be too big of a distraction (especially to the children) if he was there even behaving perfectly. I wanted to bring him once he is well enough trained, but I was denied that. I have been trying several medications and i’m on the verge of needing in patient hospitalization. Psychiatric service dogs and mental health in general still has a lot of stigma and I don’t understand how “distraction” outweighs me being able to attend church with the peace of mind that my dog can task to help prevent panic attacks. I’m not blaming my church leaders. They have been so supportive towards me, but I am hurt by this outcome.
I’m so sorry to hear this. Dogs are amazing at what they do for people. Wish more people would learn about how they help in so many ways. It upsets me when others pretend their dogs are service animals. It really ruins it for those that need it.
It’s a shame that your health needs can’t be put above misbehaved children or bad parenting. If your dog is well behaved and quite, there is no distraction. I can understand that for a very young toddler, the interest in wanting to see or pet the dog. But any child over 2 should be able to understand ‘no’ that’s that. There is more playing, eating, talking, electronic device use by children that is more distracting, not to mention all the nail polish odors from ‘touch ups’, and over load of perfumes, and snoring, and constant conversations instead of sitting still, being kind and listening and paying attention to anyone speaking at the front. Watch, start paying attention to how many are NOT paying attention to the person standing up front speaking.
Alex do you mind if I ask where you are located? Where I live service dogs in training are allowed everywhere just like a trained dog is.
Perhaps something else to keep in mind is the allergies of other ward members. I have one family member who would be unable to attend a meeting with a dog in the room. I believe that with great communication and compassion, solutions can be reached that help all members know that they, with their unique needs, are valued and included.
There is more dog dander and dog hair, along with cat hair and dander, on the members in one room than there would be from one dog in the room. This is something that I don’t understand about the ‘dog allergy’ issue. If someone has a dog, or more than one dog, and several family members, who ALL have access to that/those dog/s, there will be dander and hair on their clothing. Yet, it’s rare to see someone with a ‘dog allergy’ react while they are sitting in very close proximity to that family. But the person with the disability has no less right to be in a room, with their service dog, which is their MEDICAL EQUIPMENT, then someone who thinks they have a dog allergy, or someone who honestly has one that severe. For those with a nickel allergy, should everyone then take off their cheap jewelry, or remove anything in the building with nickel like bathroom fixtures, door knobs, light fixtures? What about an allergy to perfumes? Someone with a LEGITIMATE service dog, should not be expected to do without just because someone else has any issue with it. What about people who have PTSD, be it to men, loud noises, kids, etc.. should they not be allowed to attend? Should the men, kids, loud noises be excluded? Most people sleep during sacrament anyway, or talk, eat, entertain themselves and kids with electronics instead of sitting up and listening to those who are up there speaking. A dog, a well behaved REAL service dog, isn’t going to be any sort of additional distraction.
Nancy is right. I have a friend who is severely allergic to dogs but she has come to my house several times and we go to indoor soccer games and she does just fine. With those that have allergies they can take medications for it. Not everyone that has a dog gets help with medication.
My dog is hypoallergenic so it shouldn’t be a huge issue especially if we sat away from any people with allergies. I could even sit out by the couches. I live in Utah so service dogs in training are recognized as service dogs here.
Melissa – unfortunately The ADA is a federal law – the government has decided that a person with a disability has precedence over a person with an allergy. Violating the ADA can result in a $55,000 to $75,000 fine on the first offence … and $150,000 fine for any other offences.
There is a religious exemption – but it must be in writing and a published policy that is universally followed. The Church does have a written policy that covers temples and places like the Conference Center, but I was told it doesn’t cover chaples.
I know the law has not changed, but if the Churches published policy has changed, I would love to see that.
As for questions regarding how follow laws and regulations, contact Delta airlines, Southwest Airlines. Both of them adhere very specifically to laws and regulations regarding what is a service animal, emotional support animal and what IS NOT.
I followed proper channels as well. I asked my bishop for permission to bring my service dog in training to church. He is almost thru with training and has been alerting to my medical condition for four months. He is quiet and well behaved.
I was told that three members are allergic. I was welcome but my SD wasn’t. We didn’t even get a trial run. I haven’t attended my new ward because I can’t be without my SD. I don’t see why we can’t just stay in the foyer to get the sacrament at least. Then I would leave directly after.
I understand leadership being cautious. But a trial run to prove we wouldn’t disrupt anyone would be nice.
First, this is not a legal question, it’s a question about what is right!
My 16 year old son has an emotional support lizard. Why a lizard? Serve alargies to fur baring animals.
He has Autism and really struggles in large groups. He has been taking his lizard to church for about 5 or 6 months. Right now it is the only thing that gets him to attend. We worked with the bishop and had rules set for him and the lizard. We knew of one person who was scared of lizards. We kept them apart, no problems. About 4 weeks ago we get a new Bishop. The wife of the new bishop is the person with a fear of lizards. I was told today by the new bishop, no more lizard. Everyone was very excepting of my son and his lizard except the one sister. My son has made huge improvements in the last few months at church. We even have an appointment to be sealed to him next month. I dont know if our son will let this happen now. I don’t think he will ever go back to church.
Is the bishop thinking correctly? His First priority is the youth, isn’t it? Who is running our ward, him or his wife? BTW his wife is also the seminary teacher who would not allow zoom meeting to be recorded for my same Autistic son (who happens to be a black boy in a nearly all white congregation). So it comes down to who stops going to church? The relatively wealth bishops family or the relatively poor family with a black child? I hate bringing race into this, but what are we to think? Did the bishop and stake president really think and pray about this? The hand book leaves it up the the local authorities. The older I get, the more (odd) converts I see come and go, the more I learn that the church is NOT excepting of all. God and Jesus are, but the church, not so much. The only question that needs to be asked is, “what would Jesus do”? If you feel a need to go beyond this, maybe you should look for a beam in your eye.
Of course I may be 100% wrong.
What should I do?
Suggestions? Help?