Which term describes the use of animals to provide assistance or therapy?

• A. Help
• B. Service
• C. Companionship
• D. Therapy

Answer: (B)

Understanding how terms for animals that assist people are used helps you pick the right description. A service animal is specifically trained to perform tasks that help a person with a disability, turning the animal’s presence into practical, functional support. That combination of training and task-based help is what the word “service” captures. Therapy animals, by contrast, provide comfort or therapeutic benefit in care or clinical settings but aren’t trained to perform disability-related tasks and don’t have the same access rights as service animals. Companionship describes animals kept primarily for emotional connection without task-specific training. So the term that best describes animals used to provide assistance or therapy in a functional sense is service, since it emphasizes trained support and practical aid.