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Dept. of Transportation: Emotional support animals are not service animals

By Natalie Dreier, Cox Media Group National Content Desk

Service animals FILE - In this April 1, 2017, file photo, a service dog named Orlando rests on the foot of its trainer, John Reddan, while sitting inside a United Airlines plane at Newark Liberty International Airport during a training exercise in Newark, N.J. The Transportation Department issued a final rule Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2020, covering service animals. The rule says only dogs can qualify, and they have to be specially trained to help a person with disabilities. For years, some travelers have been bringing untrained dogs and all kinds of other animals on board by claiming they need the animal for emotional support.(AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File) (Julio Cortez/AP)

By Natalie Dreier, Cox Media Group National Content Desk

The Department of Transportation has issued a new rule when it comes to whether emotional support animals can be considered service animals when it comes to flying.

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The government now says that emotional support animals are not service animals and can be treated as pets, CNN reported.

Service animals can also be limited to only dogs.

The rule states that a service animal is “a dog, regardless of breed or type, that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of a qualified individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability.”

You can read the final rule here.

There were more than 15,000 comments on the rule changes since it was introduced in January, Fox News reported.

The DOT is allowing airlines to require forms to confirm that the animal in question is healthy and has been trained before travel. Airlines can also limit the number of animals on a flight to two, Fox News reported.

Airlines can set their own policies as long as they abide by the DOT regulations, USA Today reported.

The rules go into effect 30 days after they’re published in the Federal Register.

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