Emotional Support Dogs – Everything You Need To Know About Certification And How To Get An ESA

In a world full of stress, everyone craves a companion to help them deal with their anxiety. The pet owners understand the unconditional love and affection they enjoy with their furry friends.

Your emotional support dog is so much more than merely a pet. The individuals who suffer from any mental illness have experienced that their four-legged friend and they love it provides can really help them deal with the struggles in their life.

How To Get Your Dog Certified As An Emotional Support Dog?

Do you already have a dog as a pet you want to certify it as your emotional support dog?

The only way to certify your dog as an emotional dog is through an ESA letter provided by a licensed mental health professional. You can also get dog certifications online by contacting a health professional online through a website.

To have a legitimate emotional support dog, you must have an ESA letter from our licensed mental health professional. There is no registration required by the law for the ESA dogs.

Steps To Certify Your Dog As An ESA:

Follow these steps to live a happy and stress-free life with your dog.

Recognize your disease and the need to get an emotional support dog.

Contact a mental health professional.

Demonstrate your need and how an emotional support dog will help you.

Get your ESA letter from your therapist.

That’s all! You don’t require any registration to live with your companion animal.

Emotional Support Animals

The best thing about having an ESA dog is your canine partner will help you reduce your emotional or mental symptoms. This is the reason that an emotional support dog can really help and improve your life by keeping you happy and active.

You will know you are coming home to your companion. Playing with your dog and petting him will relieve your mental stress by giving you the confidence to live a productive life.

What is an emotional support animal letter?

How to qualify for an emotional support animal (ESA)?

What are the laws for your emotional support dog?

Is your emotional support dog different from a therapy dog?

Let’s address these questions related to your emotional support dog in this article.

What Is An ESA letter?

An ESA letter is a prescription that makes you eligible to get an ESA for yourself. Just like not everyone can have an ESA dog, similarly, not every medical doctor can provide you with an ESA letter.

Only mental health professionals are qualified to provide a legitimate ESA letter and qualify you for an emotional support dog.

How To Get An ESA Letter?

To get a valid ESA letter, you need to arrange an appointment with a mental health professional. There are thousands of mental health professionals in the United States. Any one of them can provide you with a legitimate ESA letter.

Arrange an appointment with your therapist. He will then access your condition if you suffer from the mental diseases mentioned above. If you do, he will write an ESA letter for you so that you can get your animal.

If you feel that you don’t want to talk to a doctor, there is a better alternative for that. There are several online websites that can provide you with an ESA letter in just a day or two.

Find a legitimate website, fill out the application. A mental therapist will review your application and check if you qualify for an ESA. If you do, you will get your letter in no time.

You will find a lot of websites that claim to provide an ESA letter. Not all of them will provide you with an authentic ESA letter. If you get caught with a fake letter, it will be considered a federal offense. Look out for the websites that might be a scam.

Components Of An ESA Letter

A legitimate ESA letter should have the following components.

Name of the patient

Confirmation that the person suffers from a mental disease

How is it affecting the daily tasks?

It should be written on the professional letterhead of the doctor

Name of the doctor

His license number

His signature on the letter

Date of issuance of the letter

Don’t fall for the fake websites. Ending up with a fake ESA letter is the last thing you want!

Who Qualifies For An Emotional Support Animal?

Nearly every 1 in 5 people suffer from an emotional disability in the United States.

Are you one of those? If that is the case, you can get an emotional support animal for yourself.

Every person can keep a pet, but not everyone can have an emotional support animal. Only a person with a mental disability is eligible to keep an emotional support animal. To qualify for an emotional support animal (ESA), you need to prove that you suffer from a mental illness. Only a licensed therapist can provide you with a prescription letter to get an emotional support dog.

The main purpose of emotional support animals is to provide comfort and mental relief to the people who are depressed or going through stress. The federal laws are also made for those people so that their furry friends can boost their energy and lift their spirits.

If you suffer from anxiety or depression, you can qualify for an emotional support animal. Here is a list of mental diseases; a person suffering from any of them can have an ESA.

Depression

Anxiety

Stress

Bipolar Disorder

Panic Attacks

Fear and Phobias

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Attention Deficit Disorder

Separation anxiety

Attention Deficit Disorder

Postpartum Depression

Social Anxiety Disorder

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Any other Psychiatric condition

Only a person suffering from any of the above conditions can qualify for an ESA letter.

Laws For The ESA Owners

The sole purpose of an emotional support dog is to provide companionship to their owners. This is where you can see the difference between a pet and an emotional support animal.

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) protects the ESA owner from any discrimination in getting accommodation or in traveling. The laws are made for the ESA owners so that they can enjoy the companionship of their fuzzy friends.

Accommodation

According to the Fair Housing Act, no landlord can discriminate against a person with an emotional support animal. A landlord is supposed to provide accommodation to a person with an ESA even if there is a no pet policy.

A no pet policy does not apply to emotional support animals since they are not considered pets. Similarly, a landlord cannot ask for any additional fees for the ESA.

It is difficult to find a pet housing facility, but the Americans with Disabilities Act allows the ESA owners to live with their ESA dogs in their apartments. Providing mental relief is the sole purpose of keeping an ESA.

Traveling

When it comes to traveling in a plane, no airline can deny ESA owner access to travel. According to the Air Carrier Access Act that was passed in 1986, ESA owners have the right to travel in the plane with their ESA. According to the act, your ESA can join you in the cabin.

ESA owners can also travel in public transport along with their dog. They cannot be denied access to travel with their dog even if there is a no pet policy. Also, you cannot make an ESA owner sit in a specific spot because of his emotional support dog.

You will not have to worry about leaving them behind when you go on a vacation. The purpose of keeping an ESA is that they can provide you mental comfort and relief. What’s the use if you cannot bring them along?

However, there are a few weird animals that are not allowed on the plane. Imagine taking your snake on your vacation?

Education And Employment

The federal laws allow persons with a disability to keep their emotional support animals along with them in the office. Any employer cannot discriminate against a person with a disability. If he does so, that will be considered a federal offense.

In the same way, emotional support animals are also allowed access to the schools and public places. If a student needs an ESA, his educational institute has to allow him to keep his ESA.

The places that are open to the general public are also accessible by the ESA owners, along with their companions.

Is Emotional Support Animal Different From Service Animal?

Don’t confuse an ESA dog with a service dog. Assistance animals are given special training according to the disabilities of the person.

A person who is visually impaired or blind can use a service dog to guide him while walking. Similarly, a person who is deaf or his hearing is impaired, he can use a signal dog for his help.

Just like an ESA, you don’t need a service dog registration. All the assistance dogs with service dog certifications are registered in the animal registry. Keep your dog certification along when you are traveling with your service animal.

The purpose of keeping an emotional support dog is to relieve stress. They don’t have to be individually trained for this. Their presence is what matters. That is the reason why there are laws made so that an ESA can accompany his owner everywhere he goes.

Your ESA Dog Is Your Responsibility

Your ESA is there to support you at every step of the way. It is your responsibility to take care of them. What can make your furry friend happy? Some treats, pet food, some toys and most of all, your affection and attention. After everything they do for you, they deserve some love and special treatment. Spend time with your companion animal. It is a win-win situation.

You can also get a free emotional support animal letter sample from RealEsaLetter.com

Do you want to certify your dog as an ESA? Get your ESA letter and enjoy the perks it offers.