If someone needs a dog in their life, just turn your pet into a service dog. Seriously, a comfort dog qualifies as a service dog.
https://usserviceanimals.org/certification
Most dog trainers can assist you in getting your dog "educated", at a cost of $60/hr. Your reason for needing a service dog can be as simple as anxiety disorder.
Not exactly.
The rules for service animals have been updated.
Service animals are defined as dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks
for people with disabilities. Examples of such work or tasks include guiding people who are
blind, alerting people who are deaf, pulling a wheelchair, alerting and protecting a person who
is having a seizure, reminding a person with mental illness to take prescribed medications,
calming a person with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) during an anxiety attack, or
performing other duties. Service animals are working animals, not pets. The work or task a
dog has been trained to provide must be directly related to the person’s disability.
Dogs whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support
do not qualify as service animals under the ADA.
So, you have to have a formal diagnosis from a doctor identifying your disability, and the dog must be trained to perform duties directly related to that disability. "Comfort" and/or "Emotional Support" alone doesn't qualify Fido as a service dog.
The rules also changed to only allow service dogs. No other species can be designated as service animals.
Most of the ADA rules address where and when your service animal is allowed to visit with you. When it comes to housing, the Fair Housing Act incorporates the ADA parts that govern the what and how of service dogs.
The Fair Housing Act requires owners of housing facilities to make reasonable exceptions
in their policies and operations to afford people with disabilities equal housing opportunities.
For example, a landlord with a “no pets” policy may be required to grant an exception to this
rule and allow an individual who is blind to keep a guide dog in the residence.
https://www.ada.gov/resources/service-animals-2010-requirements/https://www.ada.gov/resources/disability-rights-guide/Most of the ADA Service Animal guidelines were in response to the vast number of people abusing the exception just so they can carry their pets wherever they want, including on airlines and public transportation.
i'm sure there are people still ordering official-looking ID cards and dog vests to try and pass them off as trained service dogs, but it's getting harder to get away with it as companies change their policies.
The link you posted says this in multiple places/ways:
"The great thing about ESAs is that they do not need to be a specific breed or species of animals to provide support. "
As I posted, that is not the way the law reads now. That's just one example of why you need to be careful about who you trust to take your money.