Wyoming Laws on Service Dogs and Emotional Support Animals

Under Wyoming's disability rights law and the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), people with disabilities can bring their service animals to all public accommodations, including grocery stores, restaurants, theaters, schools, and more. This article will discuss:

• which animals qualify as service animals
• which public accommodations must allow them, and
• whether emotional support animals are allowed in rental housing in Wyoming.

Which Animals Are Covered in Wyoming by Disability Rights Laws?

Under the ADA, a service animal is a dog that's individually trained to perform disability-related tasks or work for the benefit of a person with a disability. (28 C.F.R. § 36.104.) Examples of service animals that must be allowed into public accommodations under the ADA include the following.

Under the ADA, a miniature horse can also sometimes qualify as a service animal. (28 C.F.R. § 36.302(c).)

Wyoming's disability rights law uses the same definition as the ADA, including the inclusion of service miniature horses. (Wyo. Stat § 35-13-205(viii).) And like the ADA, the state law doesn't cover service animals in training.

Does Wyoming Treat Emotional Support Animals as Service Animals?

Emotional support animals (ESAs) are animals that provide a sense of safety, companionship, and comfort to those with psychiatric or emotional disabilities or conditions. Although ESAs often have therapeutic benefits, they're not individually trained to perform specific tasks for their handlers and so don't qualify as service animals under Wyoming law or the ADA.

Because they're not considered service animals, neither the ADA nor Wyoming law requires public accommodations to admit emotional support animals—only service animals. These laws treat ESAs the same as pets. And neither the ADA nor the state service animal law applies to pets.

However, Wyoming law does treat emotional support animals as assistance animals that may need to be accommodated in rental housing (more on this below).

Which Public Accommodations Are Covered in Wyoming?

Under the ADA, the definition of public accommodations is very broad, including most public places and facilities. It includes:

• motels and other lodging establishments
• public transportation and terminals, depots, and stations
• restaurants and other service establishments
• any place of public gathering, such as a museum or theater
• libraries and educational institutions, and
• social service centers. (28 C.F.R. § 36.104.)

Wyoming uses the same definition of public accommodation as the ADA. In Wyoming, you can bring your service animal into any place of public accommodation and any place to which the public is invited. (Wyo. Stat. § 35-13-201(b).)

Rules for Your Service Animal

Under the ADA, a public accommodation can't question you about your disability or demand to see identification or other proof of your animal's training or status. (28 C.F.R. 36.302(c)(6).) If it isn't apparent what your service animal does, the establishment can ask only two things:

• whether the animal is a service animal, and
• what tasks it performs for you.

Neither the ADA nor Wyoming law requires a service animal to be identified with a special tag, vest, collar, or leash. But service dogs in Wyoming must comply with county licensing and tag rules and pay licensing fees like other dogs.

Both the ADA and Wyoming 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 you might have to pay for any damage your animal causes.

Under the ADA, a public accommodation can exclude your service animal if the animal:

• poses a direct threat to health and safety
• isn't housebroken, or
• is out of control (and you can't or won't take action to control it).

If your service animal is excluded for any of these reasons, you still have the right to enter the facility, buy goods, or make use of the services or accommodations without your animal. (28 C.F.R. § 36.302(c)(3)).

Service Dogs and Emotional Support Animals in Wyoming Housing

Wyoming law bars landlords from discriminating against you in rental housing because you use an assistance animal. Under the law, an assistance animal can be any species of animal that:

• performs tasks or provides assistance to a person with a disability, or
• provides emotional support that alleviates one or more identified effects or symptoms of a person's disability.

Wyoming law requires landlords and property managers to permit people with disabilities to have assistance animals in leased or rented residential property. (Wyo. Stat. § 35-13-201(c).) The state law also requires landlords to comply with the federal Fair Housing Act (FHA).

Fair Housing Act Rules on ESAs

The FHA prohibits discrimination in rental housing against people with disabilities who use service dogs and emotional support animals. That means you must be allowed full and equal access to all housing facilities.

If you need a service dog or emotional support animal to have an equal opportunity to use and enjoy the home, the FHA requires housing facilities to allow you to have a service dog or emotional support animal. To fall under this provision, you must have:

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

To qualify, your animal must work, perform tasks or services, or alleviate the emotional effects of your disability. If your need for the animal isn't apparent, a landlord can require a doctor's letter verifying your need for an emotional support animal or service dog.

Can the Landlord Charge More for an ESA?

Wyoming law doesn't specifically bar your landlord from charging an extra security or pet deposit or higher rent because of your assistance animal. And under state law, you're financially responsible for any damage your animal does to the premises or facilities.

But your landlord can't charge extra for your assistance animal because the Fair Housing Act doesn't allow it, and housing providers in Wyoming must comply with the FHA (although you still might have to pay for damage your animal causes). Under the Fair Housing Act, if your lease or rental agreement includes a "no pets" provision or requires pet owners to pay higher fees, these provisions don't apply to your service dog or ESA.

(Learn more about renting with a service dog on the Department of Housing and Urban Development's assistance animals page at HUD.gov.)