They both bring comfort—but in very different ways.
It’s easy to mix up emotional support animals (ESAs) with therapy animals who visit hospitals, schools, or nursing homes. Both provide comfort, but the roles—and the laws—are different.
ESAs are prescribed to one individual by a licensed professional to help with mental health needs. Their main job is to live with their owner and provide daily, ongoing support. Because of this, ESAs are protected under the Fair Housing Act—landlords (and sometimes staff housing providers) must accommodate them without charging pet rent or enforcing breed restrictions.
Therapy animals, on the other hand, are trained and registered to visit groups of people in settings like hospitals or disaster areas. They’re not tied to one person’s housing rights, and they don’t have legal protections for living arrangements. Think of them like volunteer comfort workers: wonderful, but very different.
So, if you see a dog making hospital rounds, that’s therapy work. If your cat curls up with you every night in your apartment because your therapist recommended an ESA letter—that’s personal support protected by housing law.