Disability and Animals

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Titlesort descending Summary
Hollendale Apartments & Health Club, LLC v. Bonesteel The Plaintiff owns and operates an apartment complex with a policy that prohibits defendants from keeping a dog on the premises. The Defendant, Bonesteel, began renting an apartment at Plaintiff's complex in 2011 under a one-year lease. Defendant continued to renew his one-year lease for additional one-year terms until 2014. Defendant's therapist sent a letter to the Plaintiff requesting an exception to the no dog policy so that the Defendant could have an emotional support animal. The Plaintiff denied the request but stated that it would allow a bird or cat or an early termination of Defendant's lease. The Plaintiff filed an action seeking a judgment declaring that the Plaintiff's refusal to permit the Defendant to have an emotional support dog was not in violation of the Fair Housing Act (FHA) and the Human Rights Law (HRL). The Plaintiff subsequently reduced the Defendant's lease renewal term to three months. The Defendant filed counterclaims on grounds of discrimination. The Supreme Court of New York also granted a motion allowing the Attorney General to intervene. The Attorney General asserted counterclaims on similar grounds to those raised by the Defendant. After a nonjury trial, the trial court issued a judgment that the Plaintiff's actions did not violate the FHA and the HRL. The Defendant then appealed. On appeal, the Supreme Court addressed the question of whether the Plaintiff's claims were justiciable even though the matter was not raised by the parties. Since the Plaintiff had already denied the Defendant's request for an exception to the policy when it filed the action and no harm to the Plaintiff occurred or was impending, it was essentially asking the Court to issue an advisory opinion which is not an exercise of judicial function. Therefore, the Court dismissed the Plaintiff's declaratory judgment. The Court then considered the Defendant's counterclaims since concrete injuries were alleged. The only two arguments addressed were whether the Defendant actually had a qualifying disability within the meaning of the FHA and the HRL and whether the accommodation requested was necessary to afford the Defendant an equal opportunity to use and enjoy his dwelling. The Court concluded that the Defendant met his burden to establish that he is disabled within the meaning of the FHA and HRL. The Court also found that the Defendant "offered sufficient evidence that having an emotional support dog would affirmatively enhance his quality of life by ameliorating the effects of his disability, and thus demonstrated necessity within the meaning of the FHA and the HRL." Lastly, the Court found that the Plaintiff retaliated against the Defendant by reducing his lease renewal terms to three months. Accordingly, Defendant was entitled to judgment in his favor on the retaliation counterclaims.
Housing Authority of the City of New London v. Tarrant


A mother renting housing alleged that her son was "mentally challenged" and required the companionship of a dog pursuant to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. The court rejected the tenant's allegations that her son had a qualifying mental disability, reasoning that the son received high marks in school prior to the commencing of the eviction proceedings. The court held that without evidence of a mental or physical disability, no reasonable accommodation is required.
IA - Assistance Animals - Assistance Animal/Guide Dog Laws The following statutes comprise the state's relevant service and assistance animal laws.
ID - Assistance Animal - Assistance Animal/Guide Dog Laws The following statutes comprise the state's relevant assistance animal and guide dog laws.
ID - Facility Dog - § 19-3023 Child summoned as witness This statutes provides that when a child is summoned in a criminal matter, a parent, counselor, friend, or a facility dog may stay in the courtroom during the child's testimony, unless the court finds that the defendant will be unduly prejudiced. When a child is summoned to witness in any non-criminal matter, a facility dog will be allowed to remain in courtroom during the child's testimony.
IL - Assistance Animals - Assistance Animal/Guide Dog Laws The following statutes comprise the state's relevant assistance animal and guide dog laws.
IL - Dogs - Consolidated Dog Laws These statutes comprise Illinois' dog laws. Among the provisions include the Animal Control Act, which regulates the licensing and control of dogs, the Diseased Animal Act, and the Humane Euthanasia in Animal Shelters Act.
IL - Facility dog - 5/106B-10. Conditions for testimony by a victim who is a child or a moderately, This Illinois law allows a "facility dog" - a dog that is a graduate of an assistance dog organization that is a member of Assistance Dogs International - to be present during the testimony of a victim who is a child or a moderately, severely, or profoundly intellectually disabled person or a person affected by a developmental disability. This occurs in the prosecution of criminal sexual assault, predatory criminal sexual assault of a child, aggravated criminal sexual assault, criminal sexual abuse, or aggravated criminal sexual abuse. When deciding whether to permit the child or person to testify with the assistance of a facility dog, the court shall take into consideration the age of the child or person, the rights of the parties to the litigation, and any other relevant factor that would facilitate the testimony by the child or the person.
IL - Police dog - Act 82. Police Dog Retirement Act The Police Dog Retirement Act, effective on January 1, 2017, states that a public service dog that is no longer fit for service shall be offered by the law enforcement agency to the officer or employee who had custody and control of the animal during its service. This includes a search and rescue dog, service dog, accelerant detection canine, or other dog that is in use by a county, municipal, or State law enforcement agency. If the officer or employee does not wish to keep the dog, the dog may be offered to another officer or employee in the agency, or to a non-profit organization or a no-kill animal shelter.
IL - Police dog - Act 83. Police Service Dog Protection Act This 2019 set of laws is known as the Police Service Dog Protection Act. It requires that the law enforcement agency or handler of the police dog shall be required to have every police dog receive, at minimum, an annual medical examination by a licensed veterinarian. Further, a vehicle transporting a police dog must be equipped with a heat sensor monitoring device that provides a visual and audible notification if the interior temperature reaches 85 degrees F as well as a safety mechanism to reduce the interior temperature.

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