Pony at the Palais de Justice raises questions
A pony (probably more likely a miniature horse) has been stationed outside the Palais de Justice this summer because it’s a defendant’s emotional support animal. The case has been postponed because the judge won’t allow it into the courtroom. This has raised questions about the policy the law should have about such animals (and, if the courthouse, an attitude likely to extend to other official entities).
Ephraim 14:43 on 2026-08-04 Permalink
Oddly enough, both dogs and horses are recognized as service animals in the US, but we don’t have a single standard law in Canada. In Quebec, miniature horse are not recognized. And Quebec doesn’t automatically give emotional support animals recognition. ESAs do not have a guaranteed right of entry, as far as I know. It’s a case-by-case thing and it’s based on a good faith evaluation… which means that you will need to show medical documents (and give away personal information) to why the animal is needed, and what the animal provides. But can be denied entry if the accommodation would cause undue hardship.
Basically, if you want to bring an ESA, you have to prove that you need it, it’s won’t cause a problem and if the answer is no, you can’t really appeal unless you can prove that they didn’t make a good faith effort to evaluate it to the best of their ability. And refusing to provide the medical documents allows them to simply refuse.
Service animals (dogs), you can’t deny access, they are counted as a medical apparatus/assistive device. But the fines for faking it run from $250 to $750 and if I remember, you can ask to see the animal’s training documents (which don’t violate your privacy as the animal doesn’t have a right to privacy.) You may not ask for the human’s medical documents, though.
steph 15:06 on 2026-08-04 Permalink
If he (Asif Ali Choudhry, a 43-year-old man who was scheduled to plead guilty to charges of break and enter) gets a prison sentence for the crime, will he be able to take his ESP with him? /s
dwgs 15:52 on 2026-08-04 Permalink
Disappointed that the defendant’s name isn’t Lyle Lovett.
Nicholas 16:45 on 2026-08-04 Permalink
Guide horses are a thing, but they are specifically trained similar to guide dogs as service animals, and in many ways are better than dogs. The photo from the La Presse story shows the horse with a vest like service dogs wear and it says service animal, though it’s described in the story as emotional support.
If this is a properly trained animal then it seems it should be allowed in (it’s possible he does not “need” one, but if as Ephraim says you can’t ask for medical proof of the human, then it shouldn’t matter what anyone else thinks…plus these animals are not easy to get, so probably not easy to get if not medically necessary). If it’s not a properly trained animal and it is just “emotional support”, then, well, sorry, you won’t be getting that in jail either, and if you can’t handle a few minutes standing in front of a judge without one maybe you need to go to Pinel until that is resolved.
Kate 18:38 on 2026-08-04 Permalink
Can you really stop horses from taking a leak or a dump when nature calls? They haven’t the inbuilt caution about these things that carnivores do.
MarcG 19:43 on 2026-08-04 Permalink
TIL vegans poop their pants
CE 20:44 on 2026-08-04 Permalink
Did he take his horse with him when he committed the break and enter?
Kate 21:05 on 2026-08-04 Permalink
steph, one of the points made in the article was that, if people bring support animals to court but are then taken into custody, the courthouse will then have to figure out what to do with the animals.
MarcG: OK, I should have written “predators” although some of the vegans I’ve known…
But seriously, horses and cows just go. Dogs you can train to be more disciplined about it, while cats naturally want to be tidy, so you just have to show them a litterbox. But animals that just hang around in a field, they don’t have the same instincts. That’s why, when we had calèches, there was always a bucket hanging off behind, so the driver could scoop up whatever the horse deposited on the road.
You can’t have a manure bucket in a courtroom.
MarcG 06:32 on 2026-08-05 Permalink
If any comedy sketch writers find this thread it’s full of absolute gold
Ephraim 10:15 on 2026-08-05 Permalink
What’s the old joke… how do you know if someone is a vegan?