Montana Service Animals

What's in a name?

In spring of 2019, the Montana legislature voted to revise state laws around service animals being misrepresented. Montana law already defined that a person with a disability has the right to be accompanied by a service animal, or service animal in training, in public places and to use all public accommodations, without being charged extra for the service animal.

Updates to the law define the type of animals allowed as service animals (a dog or miniature horse); spell out how to report a complaint against someone who misrepresents an animal; and makes misrepresentation punishable as a misdemeanor offense with escalating fines.

To access public places with a legitimate service animal, the revised law has language similar to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The animal must be under the handler’s control and the person may be asked by a representative of the place a) whether the animal is a service animal required to assist with a disability and b) to describe the work or task the animal is trained to perform. The representative cannot ask what the disability is.

If the animal is uncontrolled, the handler may be asked to remove the animal, but the place that asks for the animal to be removed shall offer services to the handler after the animal is removed. Identification is NOT required by service animals who have completed their training and are at work.

Part of the reason for clarification in the law is that emotional support animals and therapy animals are not the same as service animals, and misrepresentation has caused confusion. Definitions, which rely heavily on the task of each animal, follow:

• Service dogs are specially trained in tasks to mitigate one person's disability; they are allowed by the federal ADA law to accompany a handler in all public places (including businesses) and public  transportation; they are allowed to live with a disabled person in a housing unit that has ‘no pet’ policies (federal Fair Housing Act); and they are trained to assist just one person. Specific training includes hearing dogs (for alarms, doorbells, etc.), guide dogs for the visually impaired, psychiatric service animals trained to interrupt self-harming behavior or remind handlers to take medication, or animals that provide alerts for impending seizures or exposure to allergens (such as peanuts). While the ADA does not require identification because it requires a service animal to be trained before serving in public, Montana requires that service animals in training have identification, by wearing a leash, collar, cape, harness or backpack with writing that is visible and legible from a distance of 20 feet.
• An emotional support animal (ESA) alleviates symptoms or effects of one person’s disability through companionship. This animal, when prescribed by a licensed mental health professional, is recognized as a ‘reasonable accommodation’ for the federal Fair Housing Act to live with a person in a housing unit that has ‘no pet’ policies. ESAs have different rights than service dogs though, and are generally not allowed in all public places.
• Therapy dogs provide emotional comfort or support to many people. They often volunteer with owners in schools, hospitals or nursing homes, but like emotional support animals, do not have the same rights as service dogs for public places or accommodations. 

Finally, as a general rule, do not pet a service dog, as it is working. If a service dog approaches without a handler, it may be looking for assistance; follow the dog to its handler.

For details around the federal Fair Housing Act and assistance animals, visit:
https://archives.hud.gov/news/2013/servanimals_ntcfheo2013-01.pdf.

Resources:

https://leg.mt.gov/bills/mca/title_0490/chapter_0040/part_0020/section_0140/0490-0040-0020-0140.html
https://leg.mt.gov/bills/2019/billpdf/HB0446.pdf
https://archives.hud.gov/news/2013/servanimals_ntcfheo2013-01.pdf
https://www.ada.gov/regs2010/service_animal_qa.html