How do you bring a pet or service animal to a travel therapy contract?

Ask about the animal before you book, and get the answer in writing, because a pet policy is the host's to set and it can rule out a listing. A trained service dog is a different matter from a pet or an emotional support animal, and the rules differ again between housing and air travel.

By ProTherapy Staffing, published November 4, 2026.

What should you ask a host before you book with a pet?

Whether the animal is allowed at all, and on what terms: the kind and size of animal, any deposit or fee, whether it is refundable, and any rules about leaving the animal alone while you work.

Ask in writing and keep the reply. A host who says yes on the phone and no on the day you arrive leaves you without housing, so the answer belongs in the booking or the lease. If you search by a pet filter, check the listing itself too: filters are only as current as the host keeps them, and a listing can allow cats but not dogs.

What counts as a service animal?

A dog trained for a specific job. The Justice Department’s ADA guidance says: “Service animals are defined as dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities.”

It adds: “Dogs whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support do not qualify as service animals under the ADA.” A pet, however much it means to you, is a pet under that rule.

Is housing different from the ADA?

Yes. The same ADA guidance says its definition “does not affect or limit the broader definition of ‘assistance animal’ under the Fair Housing Act,” and that some state and local laws define service animal more broadly.

Whether a particular rental has to accept an animal that is not a pet depends on the rental and the law that applies to it. Ask the host in writing before you book, and if you need an accommodation, raise it at the start rather than on arrival.

If you want a contract where the housing works for you and your animal, tell a ProTherapy recruiter what you are bringing: Find my next contract.

Can you fly to a contract with your animal?

Only a trained service dog travels as a service animal. The federal air-travel rule defines a service animal as “a dog, regardless of breed or type, that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of a qualified individual with a disability,” and says “emotional support animals, comfort animals, companionship animals, and service animals in training are not service animals.”

Any other animal flies under the airline’s own pet rules. Read them before you book the flight, because they decide whether the animal flies with you at all.

What if the agency arranges your housing?

Ask whether the arranged housing allows animals before you accept it. Agency-arranged housing is often chosen for you and may be shared, so an animal can rule it out where a place you find yourself would not.

If it does not allow the animal, ask whether you can take the housing stipend instead and find your own place. A furnished rental or the stipend compares the two.

Who looks after the animal while you work?

Plan it before you sign. Clinical shifts can be long, and a new city means no friend down the road to let the dog out. Price daycare or a walker into your housing budget, and ask the host whether a sitter may come in. Find a vet near the housing before you need one, and keep the animal’s records on your phone.

The jobs site’s guide to traveling with pets covers vets, records and the drive between contracts.

What should go in the lease or booking?

The animal, by kind, with any deposit or fee and what you have to do to get a deposit back. Note the condition of the place on move-in, with photographs, so wear you did not cause is not charged to the animal. Do the same on the day you leave, after a clean, and keep both sets of photographs until the deposit is back.

The lease and move-in checklist and getting your deposit back cover the rest.

Frequently asked questions

Is an emotional support animal a service animal?

Not under the ADA, which says dogs whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support do not qualify as service animals. For air travel, the federal rule says emotional support animals are not service animals. Housing can differ: the ADA guidance says its definition does not limit the broader definition of assistance animal under the Fair Housing Act.

Can a host charge a pet deposit?

A host sets its own pet policy, which can include a deposit or fee. Ask before you book, get the terms in writing, and ask whether the deposit is refundable.

Can I fly to my contract with my dog?

A trained service dog travels as a service animal under the federal air-travel rule. Any other animal flies under the airline's own pet rules, so read them before you book.

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