Jennifer M. Brown (Regent Law J.D. Candidate
2014)
researched the issue of senior housing prohibitions on pets to
determine what fosters the best interests of the elderly. Seniors without
family members
may benefit from amended laws on pets.
The
correlation between companion animals and the elderly and their quality
of life has been recognized by numerous scientific reports. Brown asks
whether changing an animal's status from pet to
companion animal and expanding the definition of
emotional support and service animal to include companion animals would
help to alleviate discrimination against the elderly when they are
denied suitable, affordable housing because of their companion animals
that provide psychological and emotional support
not related to a disability. Her research discusses housing laws and
trends for seniors, pet policies of assisted housing, and the
connection between pets and elderly well-being.
She writes,
"The use of animals to help rehabilitate those with
disabilities or illnesses dates back to ancient Greece, when horseback
riding was used to raise the spirits of the ailing.
Use of companion animals to increase mobility and emotional
dependence contributed to heightened public attention and support for
organizations to train more animals and implement more programs for the
disabled.
The increased visibility also caused a strong push for lawmakers
to recognize the benefits of these programs and to provide support and
protection for the disabled and their service pets. While all States and
the District of Columbia have implemented
policies to protect disabled individuals with service animals against
discrimination to access public facilities and housing, those policies
were limited to only cover guide and hearing dogs.
It was not until 1973 when Federal Legislation created Section
504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and again in 1988 when it created the
Fair Housing Amendments Act (FHAA), that anti-discrimination protection
extended to the disabled and their use of service
animals was clarified. " Brown considers relevant statutory code to
unpack the concerns for elderly surrounding this issue.
Today, the emotional bond between human and
pet has intensified to where owners now prefer the term “animal
guardian,” and refer to their “companion animal” or “family member”
instead of “pet.”
According to the American Pet Products Association’s National Pet
Owner Survey taken between 2011 and 2012, with the total number of U.S.
households estimated at 117.5 million;
around 38.9 million households have cats and around 46.3 million have dogs.
Companion animals, though not human or legal family, have always been recognized as beneficial to their human owners.
Brown argues that pets bring
joy, entertainment, and love, and studies have shown that pets also
contribute significantly to the physical and emotional well-being of
humans by creating a positive
effect on the owner’s health, both directly and indirectly, and that
recognition of the correlation between animals and their therapeutic
effect on humans have been and should be widely recognized. You can
read the introduction to her article here and view her presentation based on the article here.
A pet as part of a senior's family could make a difference.
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