An Emotional Support Animal, or ESA, is an important part of many people’s emotional treatment and health. This support could involve providing comfort to someone with an emotional or psychological disability, or it could involve minimizing that person’s symptoms. The ESA often starts as a personal pet but gets certified to serve in this capacity after undergoing a thorough examination. People aren’t legally allowed to claim that any pet is a support animal, which is why it’s important to register an ESA dog if you get one.
Handler Qualification
If you want to have a pet declared an emotional support animal, you need to work with a mental health professional like a therapist or psychologist. If you’re living with an emotional disability, he can write you a prescription letter to prove that you need an ESA. He can write letters for you to bring to airlines, businesses, and other places where you might need to bring your dog to prove that you need him, but it makes the process go more smoothly if you officially register your dog. Landlords and other laypeople don’t get to decide whether your needs are legitimate or not as long as your mental healthcare professional decides that you do, in fact, need this animal with you.
Animal Qualification
Any type of domesticated animal can get a service animal certification, though dogs are the most common. They do have certain behavioral standards that they have to live up to, since they’ll be going into a lot of public places. They can’t be a nuisance to the other people in that venue, and they can’t harm or threaten anyone. Otherwise, the field is very open. The animal can be any age and have any type of training as long as it’s well-behaved. Many emotional service animals are simply trained to comfort their handlers with their presence; they don’t need to be able to do any specific tasks.
Registering an ESA
If you have an emotional support animal, you have the right to travel with it, to bring it into pet-free housing, and more. You can show relevant parties a note from your doctor, but it can save you a lot of hassle if you register an ESA dog and get a certificate. Various companies can provide this service so that you can get where you need to go faster with fewer people questioning you and your dog’s legitimacy. If you want to take this path, contact a registry today to get started.