Can a homeless person with a service animal be denied entrance to a homeless shelter?
The answer is no. If the animal is a service animal then they must be allowed access to public buildings and public-access areas per the Americans With Disabilities Act. To read more… http://www.ada.gov/qasrvc.htm
This link was added 5/19/2020 https://injury.findlaw.com/accident-injury-law/service-animal-laws—resource-guide.html
These are the requirements that a service dog must meet (and only dogs and some horses can be service animals, no other pets):
- Service dog must be harnessed, leashed or tethered, or be under voice, signal or other control.
- These are working animals, not pets.
- A service animal is a dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for a person with a disability (such as Blind, deaf, wheelchair bound, seizures, medications, PTSD calming).
- Must be trained for the specific disability.
- Must behave proper.
- The owner can only be asked two questions:
(1) is the dog a service animal required because of a disability, and
(2) what work or task has the dog been trained to perform
- The owner cannot be asked to provide any documentation regarding the service dog.
So if someone has a legitimate service dog, a homeless shelter cannot deny them entrance.
Please note: People with emotional-support animals don’t have the same public-access rights as those with service dogs.
