2020 South Carolina Code of Laws
Title 47 - Animals, Livestock and Poultry
Chapter 3 - Dogs And Other Domestic Pets
Section 47-3-920. Definitions.

For purposes of this article:

(1) "Guide dog" means a dog that is trained for the purpose of guiding blind persons or a dog trained for the purpose of assisting hearing impaired persons.

(2) "Humane euthanasia" means the termination of a terminally ill or critically injured guide dog or service animal's life by a means that produces a rapid and minimally painful death as provided in Section 47-3-420.

(3) "Notice" means an actual verbal or written warning prescribing the behavior of another person and a request that the person stop the behavior.

(4)(a) "Service animal" or "service animal-in-training" means an animal that is trained or that is being trained to do work or perform tasks for an individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability. A service animal is not a pet and is limited to a dog or a miniature horse. The work done or tasks performed must be directly related to the individual's disability and may include, but are not limited to:

(i) guiding an individual who is visually impaired or blind;

(ii) alerting an individual who is deaf or hard of hearing;

(iii) pulling a wheelchair;

(iv) assisting with mobility or balance;

(v) alerting others and protecting an individual if the individual is having a seizure;

(vi) retrieving objects;

(vii) alerting an individual to the presence of allergens;

(viii) providing physical support and assistance with balance and stability to an individual with a mobility disability;

(ix) helping an individual with a psychiatric or neurological disability by preventing or interrupting impulsive or destructive behaviors;

(x) reminding an individual with a mental illness to take his prescribed medications;

(xi) calming an individual with post-traumatic stress disorder during an anxiety attack; or

(xii) doing other specific work or performing other special tasks.

(b) The crime-deterrent effect of an animal's presence and the provision of emotional support, well-being, comfort, or companionship do not constitute work or tasks for the purposes of this definition.

(5) "Value" means the value to the guide dog or service animal user and does not refer to the cost or fair market value.

(6) "Emotional support animal" means an animal intended to provide companionship and reassurance.

(7) "Places of public accommodation" means airports, train stations, bus stations, and establishments defined in Section 45-9-10.

HISTORY: 2003 Act No. 37, Section 1, eff June 2, 2003; 2019 Act No. 44 (S.281), Sections 3, 4, eff May 16, 2019.

Editor's Note

2019 Act No. 44, preamble, provides as follows:

"Whereas, service animals that are properly trained to assist persons with disabilities play a vital role in establishing independence for such persons; and

"Whereas, the term "service animal" has a distinct meaning in the law. A service animal means an animal that is trained for the purposes of assisting or accommodating the sensory, mental, or physical disability of a disabled person. Under the law, the provision of emotional support, well-being, comfort, or companionship does not constitute the work or tasks of a service animal; and

"Whereas, no vest, other marking, or documentation is required for an animal to qualify as a service animal, nor are such vests, markings, or documentation a reliable indication of whether an animal is, by law, a service animal. People sometimes erroneously think that a therapy animal, an emotional support animal, or any animal wearing a vest or having any other type of marking is a service animal as defined by law; and

"Whereas, there is an increasing number of occurrences in which people exploit the confusion related to service animals and attempt to bring an animal into a place that it would otherwise not be allowed to enter by passing off the pet, therapy animal, or emotional support animal as a service animal, either by oral misrepresentation, placement of a vest or other marking on the animal, or presentation of a "certificate", despite knowing that it is not a service animal; and

"Whereas, some companies mislead individuals into believing that they will be entitled to the rights or privileges for individuals with disabilities with service animals if they buy the company's vests or obtain some type of certificate. These misrepresentations, in some cases, are unlawful deceptive trade practices and compound the confusion around service animals; and

"Whereas, commendably, federal and state laws require places of public accommodation, including airports, restaurants, theaters, stores, hospitals, and more, to allow any animal that is presented as a service animal into the place of public accommodation. These same places of public accommodation face a dilemma if someone enters the premises and intentionally misrepresents his animal as a service animal; and

"Whereas, when people try to falsely represent a nonservice animal as a service animal, business owners and other places of public accommodation become increasingly distrustful that the animals being represented to them as service animals are, in fact, service animals. Misrepresentation of service animals delegitimizes the program and makes it harder for persons with disabilities to gain unquestioned acceptance of their legitimate, properly trained, and essential service animals. Now, therefore, [Text of Act]."

Effect of Amendment

2019 Act No. 44, Section 3, rewrote (4).

2019 Act No. 44, Section 4, added (6) and (7), relating to the definitions of "Emotional support animal" and "Places of public accommodation".