Are Psychiatric Service Dogs Allowed at Sports Events

As the world finishes watching the Olympics in Paris, you may be inspired to attend more sporting events in the future. If you have an emotional support animal, service animal, or psychiatric service animal, you may be wondering if you can attend these events with them or not. Here is our guide for attending sporting events with a service animal.

Psychiatric Service Animal vs. Emotional Support Animal

A psychiatric service animal is typically a dog trained to perform a specific task or tasks in relation to their owners mental illness or disability. They are protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), meaning they are considered necessary medical equipment. Emotional support animals on the other hand provide comfort and support through their presence alone for their owners. They are protected by the Fair Housing Act, meaning you are allowed to live with them despite pet policy or pet fees. Psychiatric service animals can go anywhere you go, including into public spaces, stores, and on flights. Emotional support animals however cannot. Therefore, psychiatric service dogs can attend sporting events with you, but emotional support animals can’t.

Service Animals at Sports Events

Before attending a sports event with your psychiatric service animal, it is best to contact the venue ahead of time. They may have a special section or seating area reserved for those with service animals or other restrictions you may need to follow. Let them know you have a psychiatric service animal, so that they can prepare and provide you with a quality experience.

Psychiatric Service Animal Training

Before attending the event, make sure your psychiatric service animal is adequately trained to handle loud chaotic environments, such as crowded, loud stadiums. If your animal is not behaving well, being destructive, or aggressive, the stadium has the right to remove you and your animal from the premises. You can do the research to train the dog yourself or hire a professional trainer. Depending on where you get your psychiatric service dog, it may already be trained.

In conclusion, you can take psychiatric service animals to sports events and sports stadiums, but not emotional support animals. It is a good idea to call the sports event or stadium in advance to ask them what their procedure is for service animals. Additionally, it is important to make sure your dog is correctly trained before taking them to an event like this. The stadium may also ask for a letter of certification for your psychiatric service dog.  You can get one by talking to our experts at United Support Animal today at 800-918-3151 or by taking our pre-screening test.