Therapy Animals, Emotional Support Animals, and Service Animals: What’s the Difference?
06/30/2025
Have you ever seen a dog in a vest and wondered, “Can I pet them? Are they allowed to be here? What are they trained for?” You’re not alone! The different roles that animals can have often get mixed up, but each role is very different. At Pet Partners, we want to help you understand the differences in how therapy animals, emotional support animals, and service animals help people—and why it matters. Whether you’re thinking about volunteering with your pet or just curious, this guide will clear things up for you.
Let’s break it down.
What Is a Therapy Animal?
Therapy animals are friendly pets that visit people, sometimes many people, to brighten their day. They visit hospitals, nursing homes, schools, libraries, workplaces, and other community spaces. The goal is simple: to bring comfort, joy, and support.
Therapy animals:
- Visit many different people.
- Work with their human handler as a volunteer team.
- Have no special public access rights. They can only go where they are invited.
- Must be healthy, well-behaved, and enjoy being around people.
- Are registered through programs like the Pet Partners Therapy Animal Program, which offers training, support, and insurance for handlers.
When you visit with your therapy animal, you’re making a difference in your community. The best part? Both you and your pet enjoy it together!
What Is a Service Animal?
A service animal—sometimes called an assistance animal—is trained to help one person with a disability. Most service animals are dogs, but miniature horses can also make great service animals.
Service animals:
- Are working animals, not pets.
- Are trained to do specific tasks, like guiding someone who is blind or alerting a person to a medical emergency.
- Have full access to public places under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). They can go into restaurants, stores, airplanes, and more.
- Should not be distracted or petted while working, because they are focused on their person’s needs.
In short, a service animal is always “on the job.”
What Is an Emotional Support Animal?
An emotional support animal (ESA) is a pet that helps one person feel better emotionally. They offer comfort and companionship to people with mental health needs.
Emotional support animals:
- Are prescribed by a licensed mental health professional.
- Help with one person’s emotional well-being.
- Do not need special training, but must be well-behaved.
- Do not have public access rights like service animals, and generally shouldn’t join their owners in public places that don’t welcome pets.
- Meant to provide the benefits of having a pet in housing that normally doesn’t allow pets.
- Are most often dogs or cats, but can be other species.
Unlike therapy animals, ESAs don’t visit others. They stay with their owner to provide support at home or in approved settings.
Quick Comparison
Therapy Animal
- Helps many people
- Works with a volunteer handler
- No public access rights
- Visits community spaces
- Registered through a program like Pet Partners
Service Animal
- Helps one person
- Works with a person with a disability
- Public access rights under ADA
- Goes wherever their person goes
- Must be specially trained
Emotional Support Animal (ESA)
- Helps one person
- Supports a person with mental health needs
- Limited housing and travel rights
- Supports their owner at home
- Requires a prescription from a professional
Why the Differences Matter
It’s important to understand these differences so we can respect the important work of all support animals, follow the rules about where they are allowed, and ensure safety when we interact with them.
This understanding also helps avoid confusion about what different types of animals can and cannot do. For example, it would be incorrect to bring an emotional support animal into a hospital and call it a therapy animal. It would also be unfair—and unsafe—to expect a therapy animal to perform the duties of a trained service dog.
At Pet Partners, we take these distinctions seriously. That’s why we prepare our therapy animal teams through comprehensive education, thorough evaluation, and ongoing support.
Thinking About Volunteering with Your Pet?
If you’re reading this and thinking, “My pet could do that!”. . . great! Many friendly, well-mannered animals enjoy therapy work. And Pet Partners can help you every step of the way.
Here’s what makes us different:
- Highest standards: Every team completes education and passes a rigorous evaluation.
- Support for volunteers: You’ll have access to training, insurance, and a nationwide community of therapy animal teams.
- Species variety: We welcome dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, horses, birds, and more.
- Opportunities: You can choose where to visit: schools, hospitals, libraries, and more.
- Additional programs: From helping kids learn to read to responding to crises, we offer special ways to share your pet’s love with others.
Our mission is simple: to improve human health and well-being through the human-animal bond. If you and your pet are ready to make a difference, Pet Partners is the best place to start.
Ready to get started?
Learn how you and your pet can become a registered therapy animal team today.
Together, we can help more people experience the joy and healing power of therapy animals.
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