Fair Housing Practice Exam

The classification of an animal specifically trained to perform tasks that assist an individual with a disability falls under the category of a service animal. Service animals are defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) as dogs that are individually trained to perform tasks for people with disabilities. These tasks can include guiding individuals with visual impairments, alerting those with hearing impairments, or performing specific actions for persons with mobility impairments or medical conditions.

Emotional support animals, while beneficial for providing comfort and companionship, are not recognized under the ADA for tasks and duties comparable to those of service animals. Similarly, therapy dogs are trained to provide comfort in settings such as hospitals or nursing homes and do not qualify as service animals since they do not assist a specific individual with a disability beyond providing emotional support. The term assistance animal is a broader category that can include both emotional support animals and service animals but does not have the same legal protections as a service animal under the ADA.

Hence, in the context of the question, where the focus is on an animal trained for specific tasks to assist with a disability, the correct classification is a service animal.