If you have been diagnosed with an emotional disorder or mental health condition such as PTSD, anxiety or depression you may benefit from having an emotional support animal to improve your quality of life. Before you move forward, though, you need to understand your legal rights and responsibilities around owning an ESA under Wyoming state law.
Are Emotional Support Animals Recognized as Service Animals in Wyoming?
For some time now, service animals have enjoyed a number of legal protections in Wyoming. However, emotional support animals are not covered by the same protections under the law. Although there is a growing wealth of evidence to demonstrate that animals are able to help people who suffer from emotional and mental health disorders, they have yet to be recognized under the law as service animals, although they are covered by other laws.
Service animals have a legal definition of animals that have been specially trained so that they perform certain tasks for their disabled owner. ESAs receive no training of this time and, therefore, they cannot be recognized as service animals.
As a result, emotional support animals do not enjoy the same level of access to public spaces as service animals do. While theaters, stores, cinemas and other public areas cannot refuse entry to a service animal, they are allowed to refuse entry to an ESA.
Psychiatric Service Dog in Wyoming
Service dogs can help people physically or mentally, and for psychiatric service dogs, it’s all about keeping their owner’s calm. A psychiatric service dog is similar to any other type of service dog with the key difference being their training. These service dogs are trained to recognize someone’s emotions, panic attacks, and medication needs. In fact, some psychiatric service dogs can find someone’s medication for them.
To get a psychiatric service dog in Wyoming you need to have a diagnosis from a licensed mental health professional. What’s more, you need to have a service dog that’s properly trained to complete a specific task.
Psychiatric service dogs in Wyoming are an effective way to help with mental health conditions. However, it’s important to follow the proper laws and guidelines. There are protections outlined by federal laws like the Fair Housing Act (FHA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA). According to these acts, psychiatric service dogs are allowed in housing (even rentals that aren’t pet-friendly), in public spaces, and on public transportation. As long as your dog is registered you’ll have no issues going anywhere in Wyoming.
Keep in mind that misrepresenting service dogs is a crime. In Wyoming, it’s a misdemeanor crime that can cost you up to $750. Furthermore, service dogs that are hostile to others can lose their privileges.
PTSD Service Dog in Wyoming
A post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) service dog in Wyoming helps people who struggle with PTSD. Symptoms that a service dog can help with include stress, anxiety, social anxiety, panic attacks, and even fainting. A PTSD service dog can help someone experiencing these conditions in a few ways.
We list some of the most common types of training for a PTSD service dog below.
- Removing someone from a social setting
- Getting between their owner and another person
- Escorting someone to the authorities for help
- Reminding someone that’s it’s time to take medication
- Retrieving medications
- Easing someone’s mind during a panic attack
While medications can help people manage these symptoms, having a companion that you trust is hard to beat.
Do Wyoming Emotional Support Animals Have Any Legal Rights?
Although there have been enormous strides forward over the last few years to reduce the stigma surrounding physical disabilities, mental health disabilities have not yet benefited in this way. Therefore, in law, emotional support animals still have less legal protection than service animals. Even though public places are still permitted to deny entry to ESAs though, there are some legal protections in Wyoming that are afforded to emotional support animals and their owners.
Wyoming ESA Flight Laws
Many airlines refuse to carry pets alongside their owners in the cabin of the aircraft under normal circumstances. Unfortunately, there is no law to protect ESAs and their owners from such refusal – only trained service animals.
It’s still worthwhile to ask an airline if you can bring an ESA with you. If they don’t allow it in to be out of their carrier in the cabin with you for free, they may at least allow you to fly with your ESA in a carrier for a fee.
If you’d like to train your emotional support dog to be a service dog, we can help you find out if this would be a good option for you. Simply reach out to us for a simple and helpful risk-free assessment.
Is My ESA Allowed to Accompany Me to Work In Wyoming?
The law in Wyoming states that no employer can refuse to allow a service animal to accompany their owner into their workplace. However, ESAs aren’t recognized as service animals under the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act). This means that your employer may choose to prevent you from bringing your ESA to work with you.
Nevertheless, there are many employers who will be sympathetic towards workers who have a mental or emotional health problem and who need an ESA. If you have a valid ESA letter, this may help to persuade your employer to allow you to bring your emotional support animal into your workplace.
Wyoming ESA Housing Laws
A lot of landlords will not rent properties to prospective tenants who have pets. But, if you have a mental or emotional health disability and need an emotional support animal, landlords in Wyoming are not permitted to refuse to rent you a property solely on the grounds of having an animal.
ESAs are covered by the Fair Housing Act, so if you have a valid ESA letter that states you need an emotional support animal your landlord cannot deny you your legal right to have your animal living with you in your accommodation, even when pets are not normally allowed. Wyoming students living on campus also have protection under this law so long as they have a valid ESA letter.
It’s important to be aware, though, that while ESAs and their owners have legal protection in Wyoming under the FHA, some circumstances exist where those rights can be waived. For example, if you have an aggressive, loud or disruptive animal, your landlord will be legally entitled to the option to refuse to accommodate your ESA.
Can My ESA Come With Me to Public Places in Wyoming?
Currently, although the law permits automatic access to service animals to all public spaces in Wyoming, emotional support animals don’t yet enjoy equal rights in the state. Despite this, though, there are a number of places where your ESA will be welcomed with open arms on the premises.
Some destinations in Wyoming that welcome animals include:
- O-SO Fun Dog Park – Gillette
- Bitter Creek Bark Park – Rock Springs
- Café Genevieve – Jackson
- Accomplice Beer Company – Cheyenne
- Pat O’Hara Brewing Company – Cody
- Snow King Resort Hotel – Jackson Hole
- The Cody – Cody
- Elk Country Inn – Jackson
What Is A Valid ESA Letter in Wyoming?
If you have been diagnosed with a mental health disorder or emotional health condition in Wyoming and could benefit from having an emotional support animal to help improve your quality of life you need to know how you can exercise your rights under the law when you want to rent a property.
There is only one requirement that you must fulfill to ensure you and your animal are afforded full legal protection, and that is to have a valid ESA letter in your possession ready to show an airline or a landlord when requested.
Although some people believe that you need to certify or register an animal as an emotional support animal to benefit from the protection of the law this isn’t the case. In fact, there is no such thing as certification or registration for an ESA.
Instead, only a valid ESA letter is necessary. An ESA letter is considered to be valid only if it has been issued by a qualified LMHP or licensed mental health professional. It must also be in date, since they need to be renewed each year to stay valid.
How Do I Obtain A Valid ESA Letter in Wyoming?
If you have an ESA in Wyoming or if you are considering getting one to help you manage an emotional or mental health disorder, you need to know how you can obtain a valid ESA letter that will ensure you can assert your legal rights when obtaining housing.
In order to legitimize an ESA and to ensure that they are recognized under the law, you need to ensure your ESA letter is issued by an LMHP. Although you can visit a licensed mental health professional in person to obtain one, it is often easier to obtain one online—but be careful to choose a reputable provider, as some websites will provide ESA letters that won’t hold up to the law.
A valid ESA letter will meet all of the following criteria:
- It will contain the full name, license number and the state which issued the license of the LMHP
- It will be on the LMHP’s own letterhead
- It will show the date on which the letter was issued
- It will have been signed by the LMHP
You must also be aware that an ESA letter will only be valid for 12 months. After that time, it must be renewed. If you fail to renew it, you won’t be able to exercise your legal rights to have your ESA with you when you rent a property.
Should you require a valid ESA letter in Wyoming, we’re here to help. We are able to help you connect with a local LMHP who can assess your eligibility and then supply you with a valid ESA letter. This allows you to fully exercise all of your rights under the law whenever you are renting a property and need your ESA to be with you.