# Service Dog or ESA?



## AbbyK9 (Oct 11, 2005)

Service dog leads former Plainfield woman to be animal rights activist - Joliet Herald News



> Raley-Labrador’s exciting, but high-stress jobs, first as a talent and fashion agent and now as script writer and producer for films with a message — Raley-Labrador co-owns Digital Breathing production studio with her husband Luis Labrador — has unwanted side effects: crippling anxiety and debilitating migraine headaches.
> 
> In the past, Raley-Labrador sought out acupuncture several times a week for relief. Today, she turns to London, a service dog *specially trained to be emotionally soothing*.
> 
> Because of her relationship to London, Raley-Labrador has since become sensitive to animal rights.


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## Chicagocanine (Aug 7, 2008)

I don't think the article gives enough information to decide.

OT but I found this sentence to be quite weird:


> While such a deep love for pets might seem strange to some Midwesterners, Raley-Labrador said it’s common in California, where celebrities are often seen interacting with pets as if the animals were human.


Seriously?


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## ILGHAUS (Nov 25, 2002)

> In the past, Raley-Labrador sought out acupuncture several times a week for relief. Today, she turns to London, a service dog *specially trained to be emotionally soothing*.


Based on the info from the article, in my opinion --

Pet / companion -- Possible ESA if she is being treated for a disabling mental illness and her health care professional prescribes (with mention in her files) that they believe such an animal would be of great help in her treatment.


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## Chicagocanine (Aug 7, 2008)

How do we know that the article is accurate though? Or that the dog is not trained to do more than the article mentions? Reporters often get things wrong or don't tell the whole story, and a lot of times they don't really know much about service dogs or understand how that works (I've seen people on other forums complain about how inaccurate other articles or news stories about service dogs are) so they could easily get things wrong or not give enough information.


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