Petitions/Legally recognise and treat therapy dogs in the same way as assistance dogs
StatusOngoing
Opened10 Apr 2026
Closes
Government response
Parliamentary debateNot eligible
Milestones

I would like the government to amend the Equality Act to recognise certified therapy dogs who’ve been highly trained to provide therapeutic intervention. They should to be treated in the same way as an assistance dog to enable disabled people to have public access comfortably.

I believe that a certified therapy dog provides similar services and benefits to people with a disability as an assistance dog. A disabled person would be far more likely to have access to a therapy dog compared to an assistance dog. An assistance dog is able to provide therapeutic intervention in specific moments in places where therapy dogs are not allowed, due to the law being different between assistance and therapy dogs. I would argue that therapy is a type of assistance.

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Constituency engagement ranking

Darren Paffey
1Darren Paffey MP
Southampton Itchen
4
Sir Desmond Swayne
2Sir Desmond Swayne MP
New Forest West
2
Anna Turley
3Anna Turley MP
Redcar
2
Derek Twigg
4Derek Twigg MP
Widnes and Halewood
2
Barry Gardiner
5Barry Gardiner MP
Brent West
1
Sarah Jones
6Sarah Jones MP
Croydon West
1
Danny Kruger
7Danny Kruger MP
East Wiltshire
1
Jack Abbott
8Jack Abbott MP
Ipswich
1
Brian Mathew
9Brian Mathew MP
Melksham and Devizes
1
Greg Smith
10Greg Smith MP
Mid Buckinghamshire
1