Kentucky Laws on Assistance Dogs and Emotional Support Animals

Under Kentucky's public accommodation law and the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), people with disabilities can bring their service animals to any public place, including stores, businesses, motels, restaurants, schools, and other places open to the public.

Read on to learn which animals qualify as service animals in Kentucky and which public accommodations must allow them. We'll also discuss how federal and state housing laws treat service dogs and emotional support animals.

Bringing Service Animals to Public Places

Public accommodations in Kentucky must comply with both state and federal law.

How Service Animals Are Defined in Kentucky

Kentucky law requires all public accommodations (places) to allow people with disabilities to be accompanied by "assistance dogs." Kentucky's equal accommodation law defines "assistance dog" as a dog that:

• has been individually trained to do work or perform tasks for a person with disabilities, and
• is considered a service animal under the ADA. (Ky. Rev. Stat. § 258.500(1)(a).)

Kentucky law defines disability to include physical impairments and mental impairments such as intellectual disabilities and psychiatric illnesses. So, Kentucky's public accommodations law applies to dogs that assist handlers with physical tasks (like pulling a wheelchair or alerting to particular sounds) and to psychiatric service dogs.

Under the ADA, a service animal is a dog (or sometimes a miniature horse) trained to perform tasks for a person with a mental or physical disability. (28 C.F.R. § 36.104.) Examples of service animals that must be allowed into public accommodations under the ADA include:

• hearing dogs, which alert their handlers to important sounds, such as alarms, doorbells, and other signals
• guide dogs, which help those who are blind or visually impaired navigate safely
• psychiatric service animals, which help their handlers manage mental and emotional disabilities by, for example, interrupting self-harming behaviors, reminding handlers to take medication, checking spaces for intruders, or providing calming pressure during anxiety or panic attacks
• seizure alert animals, which let their handlers know of impending seizures and might also guard their handlers during seizure activity, and
• allergen alert animals, which let their handlers know of foods or other substances that could be dangerous (such as peanuts).

Neither the ADA nor Kentucky's service animal law covers pets or emotional support animals.

Which Public Accommodations Must Allow Service Animals in Kentucky

Kentucky's equal accommodation law protects your right to have your assistance dog in all the following public accommodations:

• public buildings
• elevators
• hotels and motels
• restaurants or other eating establishments, and
• all public places of amusement, recreation, or resort.

It also provides for equal accommodation on all forms of public transportation, as long as the dog doesn't take up a seat or endanger public safety.

Under the ADA, the definition of public accommodations is also very broad. (42 U.S.C § 12181(7).) It includes places such as:

• hotels and inns
• bus stations
• restaurants and bars
• grocery stores and shopping centers
• movie theaters and concert halls
• gyms and golf courses
• zoos and amusement parks
• libraries and museums
• schools and daycares
• homeless shelters, and
• other places of public gathering.

Rules for Your Service Dog in Public Places in Kentucky

Under the ADA, staff at a public accommodation can't ask you questions about your disability or demand to see certification or other proof of your animal's training or status. If it isn't apparent what your service animal does, the establishment can ask you only whether your dog is a service animal and what tasks it performs for you. (28 CFR § 35.136(f).) Kentucky law has this same restriction. (Ky. Rev. Stat. § 258.500(13)(a).)

The ADA and Kentucky law prohibit public accommodations from charging a special admission fee or requiring you to pay any other extra cost to have your service animal with you. But the ADA allows an establishment to charge you for damage your animal causes—only if it routinely charges other individuals for the damage they cause. (28 C.F.R. § 35.136(h).) Kentucky law says you're liable for any damage caused by your assistance dog. (Ky. Rev. Stat. § 258.500(15).)

Although state law exempts assistance dogs from all state and local licensing fees, Kentucky allows public accommodations to exclude your service animal if it:

• doesn't have a current rabies vaccine tag, or
• isn't licensed in compliance with your city or county rules. (Ky. Rev. Stat. § 258.500(8).)

Under the ADA, your service animal can be excluded from a public accommodation if it poses a direct threat to health and safety. For example, if your dog is aggressively barking and snapping at other customers, the facility can kick the dog out.

Both state law and the ADA allow an accommodation to exclude your animal if it's not housebroken or it's out of control (and you can't or won't take steps to control it).

Service Dogs and Emotional Support Animals in Kentucky Housing

The federal Fair Housing Act (FHA) and Kentucky law prohibit discrimination in rental and public housing accommodations against tenants who use assistance animals and service dogs. People with disabilities must be allowed full and equal access to all housing facilities. So if your lease or rental agreement includes a "no pets" provision, it may not apply to your service dog or assistance animal.

If you have a disability, Kentucky law allows you to request a reasonable accommodation from a landlord or housing provider to have an assistance animal in your home. When it comes to housing, state law includes service dogs and emotional support animals in its definition of assistance animal. (Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.085.)

The Fair Housing Act also requires housing providers to allow service dogs and emotional support animals as reasonable accommodations if someone with a disability needs the animal to have an equal chance to use and enjoy the home. For your service dog or ESA to qualify under the FHA, both of the following must be true:

• you have a disability, and
• you have a disability-related need for the animal.

In other words, the animal must perform tasks or services or alleviate the emotional effects of your disability to qualify.

A landlord can reject a request for an emotional support animal if it poses a threat to others, but only if the denial is based on actual issues with its conduct. A landlord can't reject a request solely based on fear of a dog or the size or breed of dog.

Both state law and the FHA allow your landlord to ask for documentation of your need for a service dog or ESA, but only if it isn't apparent. For example, a landlord can ask for a letter from your health care provider verifying your need for an emotional support dog, but can't ask a blind tenant to document the need for a guide dog.

Under the FHA and state housing laws, you can't be charged extra for having an assistance animal (but you might have to pay for damage your animal causes).

(Learn more about assistance animals under federal housing law from the Department of Housing and Urban Development at hud.gov.)