My niece was born with a missing chromosome which has led to a lot of different physical problems. Sh has a kitty that has helped her with her development including speech and motor skills. My sister has spoken with her doctor but he said that the cat doesn’t qualify as a therapy animal. We know how much this cat has done to help my niece develop and we would really like to get her registered as a therapy animal so that she can stay with my niece regardless of the situation.
How can my sister get her cat registered as a therapy animal?
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Law L
June 1, 2010 at 7:13 am
You’ll need a doctor of some kind to make the animal a therapy animal- it’s not as simple as just registering it. So find another doctor who will be willing to recogonize the good this animal has done.
However, there’s no reason the cat can’t stay with your niece- she just needs to ensure she always gets the right accomediation, pet-allowing places. Although this sounds like a good case, and I’m glad for you, registering the animal as a therapy animal is going to do little.
Allison
June 1, 2010 at 7:35 am
you can go to the human Society near by and take the classes and tests. that’s what im going with my dag. also if the cat is helping you with her development and you dr doesn’t see that you might want to find another dr. i have depression and my dr has it so that i can ALWAYS have my dog with me where ever i move even if dogs are not allowed. as far as going into public places im not sure.
fancypantsy
June 1, 2010 at 7:50 am
we had barney boa constrictor registered. He now is a therapuatic snake for disturbed convicts.
Kirsten R
June 1, 2010 at 8:35 am
A therapy animal is one that is tested, certified and insured to visit facilities like hospitals and nursing homes to cheer up their patients. Visits are only at the request of, or with the permission of, the facility being visited.
I think you mean either a service animal or an emotional support animal. To qualify for either, your grandnephew would have to qualify as disabled under the Fair Housing Amendments Act, and you’d have to have a doctor prescribe the presence of the cat as necessary for the health of the child because of that disability.
Service animals are highly trained to perform specific tasks that mitigate the disability of their human partner. It typically takes 18-24 years of training for them to reach this level and be acceptable for public access (going out into the world with their disabled partner). But emotional support animals require no special training beyond that needed by any well-behaved pet.
A person living in rental property that has a “no pets” policy can request a reasonable accommodation in the modification of that policy to permit the emotional support animal.
Here’s some information on getting together the paperwork and letters to get an accommodation for an emotional support animal in “no pets” housing:
http://servicedogcentral.org/content/node/257
Note: for those interested in service cats, it looks like they (and all non-dog species) will be excluded from coverage as service animals sometime this month:
http://servicedogcentral.org/content/node/297
If your nephew does not qualify as a person with a disability, there’s still hope for keeping his important helper even in “no pets” housing. Consider collecting a pet resume for the kitty: http://www.ddal.org/pdf/samples/petresume.pdf
Many landlords are willing to modify their “no pets” policies to permit pets with documented good behavior. Since some of the pet’s resume will include letters of recommendation from former landlords, it’s important to start collecting now, before memory fades.