Recently, while scrolling through Facebook, I stumbled upon an article talking about how many people are registering pets as therapy pets so they don’t get turned away from a lease.
While normally that wouldn’t bother me, as I continued to read it did. The policy in place that says an apartment owner cannot turn away a potential renter due to a therapy pet is now becoming an issue for those landlords.
Many of you may be thinking, “How can a few people registering their pets as therapy pets be such a problem?” The problem is, that it’s not just a few people; it's a lot of people. Enough people that it has become an issue for these landlords. If a landlord needs to advertise his or her space as pet free, he or she can’t continue doing so if a pet has lived there, therapy or not. Just because a pet is a therapy pet does not mean that animal no longer has dander and the allergens that bother people with allergies.
Another issue is that therapy dogs have training they need to go through to make sure they have the proper temperament to be a therapy pet. Though the owner may not actually be using their pet as a therapy pet, if that animal were to cause problems and it was a known fact that that pet is a therapy animal, then it could put a bad reputation on other therapy animals.
Since it has become an issue for landlords, they are looking for ways to amend the policies so that they can turn away therapy pets. With so many people taking advantage of being able to register their pets as therapy pets, it is quite plausible that the landlords will succeed. My issue with the possible changes to the policy is that for those people with health issues who actually need a service pet may be refused housing because of their pet.
To solve this issue, I feel there should be more checks for the owners to see if they actually need a therapy pet, or for an owner who doesn’t personally need a therapy pet, to prove that they will use their pet as a therapy pet by volunteering it.
Typically, a counselor has to evaluate the owner to see if they could benefit from a therapy pet. I also think once the owner decides he or she wants a pet to be a therapy pet that pet needs to be thoroughly evaluated to make sure it can be a therapy pet and trained to be one. Once all of the criteria are met, a certificate should be given to the owner and the animal should be registered in a database. The main issue currently is the amount of websites issuing false certificates or making it excessively easy to get registered.
Therapy pets are an amazing option for those that need them. They are highly beneficial and have been proven to help people heal faster. They have also helped with mental and physical ailments like preventing depression and reducing stress. I would hate to see people who need them turned away because of people who take advantage of a policy.
