There’s a new “breed” of dog unleashing plenty of debate and controversy. Identified as “emotional support animals” or ESA, these dogs are making their way into housing developments in South Florida, even those with no-pets-allowed policies.
Depending on whom you ask, these ESA dogs are regarded as healthy godsends or reviled as unruly rule breakers. But they have the law on their side. And that is making some property managers and condo association board members bark in protest.
Despite spending $800 on professional dog training, Valente says she went through a “living hell” from some neighbors and board members, who yelled and even cursed at her. She says she twice found dead rats left on her driveway. She and her husband, John, who requires kidney dialysis, no longer use the community’s clubhouse, pool or other amenities because of backlash by some, but she feels grateful to have Boots.
“Boots is so sweet. When I walk into the house, she greets me, runs to her basket to bring me a stuffed toy and sits beside me,” says Valente. “I could be having the worst day and Boots will come over, lean into me and I become relaxed.”
Advocates sue condos
In 2010, Valente won a lawsuit filed against her by the condo association, which was ordered to pay court costs, according to her attorney, Marcy LaHart of Gainesville, who operates a website called www.floridaanimallawyer.com.
When The Coastal Star phoned West Lakes’ property management for comment, an office employee said, “Because of the legal ramifications, I’m not allowed to respond. I have no comment.” She then hung up the phone.
“In South Florida in particular, it seems that some condo boards have nothing better to worry about than determining if someone is faking an emotional or mental disability,” says LaHart. “So far, I’ve won every case and my clients have been able to keep their animals in their homes. As lawyers like me are winning cases all over the country, homeowner associations are realizing that they need to be more understanding and accepting of people who have disabilities.”
Attorney Cara Thomas represents condo associations in legal disputes with residents. Under the Florida and federal fair housing acts, Thomas says a person is entitled to an ESA dog to “ameliorate a physical or mental impairment,” provided the need is stated in writing by the individual’s physician.
“The difficulty we have is that we are not physicians and thus, cannot diagnose any owner,” says Thomas. “If they can provide evidence to support that they do suffer from a disability and need that dog, we will work with the owner and the board. But a board will file a lawsuit if it feels it is not a legitimate claim and that the resident is abusing the situation.”
Training not required
Confusion about a dog’s designation is on the rise. And misidentifying ESA dogs as service dogs angers Carol Roquemore, founder of Canine Support Teams, a nonprofit group based in Menifee, Calif., that trains and provides service dogs to people will all kinds of disabilities except blindness.
Roquemore, who was diagnosed with polio as a child, works to match service dogs with people with physical and emotional disabilities. She estimates that it takes about $20,000 and 18 months of intensive training to prepare each service dog.
“These ESA dogs are untrained and some haven’t even had basic obedience training,” says Roquemore. “They are hurting those of us who provide genuine service dogs who perform remarkable things for individuals and help them have a quality of life. Unfortunately, people get confused and think these ESA dogs are service dogs, but there is no policing of these ESA dogs and the law is very loosely written. All someone needs is a prescription from their doctor. Yes, that does upset me very much. Physicians need to be educated and ESA dogs need to be properly trained.”
Under the law, an emotional support animal does not require any training, but also under the law, is not allowed in supermarkets, restaurants, other places of businesses that do not permit pets. Only service dogs are able to accompany owners to businesses and on buses, trains and planes.
Shay Maimoni, a professional dog trainer and owner of Woof Dogs (www.woofdogs.com), who lives in Boca Raton, is happy that people with ESA-designated dogs are enrolling them in his training classes.
“I would like to see a standardized form of training for these types of dogs to make sure these dogs are trained at the highest level,” says Maimoni. “To me, an ESA dog, temperament-wise, must be confident and calm, good with all kinds of people, all kinds of dogs and able to adapt to different environments. I can tell you that some of these ESA pets are regarded as real treasures by their owners who are coping with some form of emotional disability.”
When it comes to being able to live with a beloved pet, money isn’t an obstacle for people like David Shapiro, who lives in the Palmsea condominium in South Palm Beach. Shapiro initially purchased a condo in 1992, when he was a full-time teacher in New York City. When he retired in 2005, he headed to Palmsea to live permanently — with his dog, Lexi. At that time, the HOA rules enforced the no-pet policy and Shapiro said he spent $20,000 in boarding and legal fees to keep his dog.
When Lexi passed away, the loss took an emotional toll on Shapiro. Someone informed him about the fair housing law and he obtained a pet prescription from his physician to adopt Lexi II, a Labrador retriever mix, as an ESA dog who now lives with him.
“I invested about $3,000 in her for training and she has definitely helped me deal with loneliness, sleeplessness and anxiety,” says Shapiro.
Palmsea board member Harvey Brown said his condo still enforces the no-dog policy at the 121-unit property, but recognizes the exceptions in ESA dogs like Lexi II.
“What can we do? We don’t have a choice but to allow these dogs — the law requires us,” says Brown. “I will say that David’s dog is very well-behaved and we don’t have any problems with him or his dog.”
Shapiro was so inspired by the benefits of ESA dogs that he became an activist.
“I am not an activist or an advocate by nature, but this so took hold of me that I was willing to do anything and go anywhere to talk about the benefits of these emotional support animals,” says Shapiro. “At one time, I even became vice president of a group called Citizens for Pets in Condos.
“With Lexi here, I feel much more relaxed and I don’t have those periods of anxiety or depression as I used to have. She really has brought out the best in me.”
Comments
ESAs, according to fair housing regulations, do NOT need to be trained to do specific tasks to help alleviate symptoms for their owners/guardians. The official position of Citizens for Pets in Condos (http://www.petsincnondos.org) is that dogs should be able to pass the AKC Canine Good Citizen test. I am totally against specialized training for ESA dogs. Emotional support animals assist by doing what they do naturally. There is no need for obedience training for cats, rabbits, hamsters, gerbils, fish, birds, etc. which can also be emotional support animals for in the home.) Only dogs can be service animals because of recent changes to disability law.)
Read defintiions of types of assistive animals at http://petsincondos.org/ESA.htm.