What’s an Emotional Support Animal?
An Emotional Support Animal (ESA) is one that provides a therapeutic benefit to a person with a mental health or psychiatric disability. This means, that in order for a person to legally have an Emotional Support Animal, they must first have a documented mental health or psychiatric disability by a licensed health care professional. Further, they will need signed paperwork from the health care provider stating that they have a disability-related need for an animal, and that the presence of the animal is, in fact, part of the patient’s treatment plan.
Emotional Support Animals are not the same thing as Service Dogs. According to the Americans With Disabilities Act , service animals are “dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities.” Due to the high degree of training that these dog’s receive they are permitted to accompany their owner anywhere in public. Emotional Support Animals are only allowed in public spaces that permit pets, as they are not required to have any formal training.
Emotional Support Animals are granted certain permissions under federal law with regards to housing. The Fair Housing Act protects Emotional Support Animals from discrimination and can provide for tenants to house the ESA in places with “no pets” policies. The landlord may request a copy of the ESA letter from the health care provider.
In December 2020, the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) revised the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) ruling that airlines may recognize and accommodate emotional support animals as pets. This means that Emotional Support Animals may no longer be afforded any special considerations when traveling.
Finally, not all dogs are cut out to be Emotional Support Animals. If your dog is dealing with their own fears or anxieties they are not likely to be a good candidate for the job. If you plan to have the dog accompany you to public places (that permit pets) then you want to be sure that your dog is actually comfortable being in public around strangers and other dogs. Further, we strongly recommend that they undergo basic training so that they are able to be polite and comfortably under your control when out and about. Having to deal with an untrained and unruly dog in public is a big stresser in and of itself, and it stands to reason that this would defeat the purpose of having an Emotional Support Animal. As such, we highly recommend that you get your dog trained and certified as an AKC Canine Good Citizen. This is a service that we offer and can be self scheduled on our website.
