Emotional support dogs accept get a pop option for people coping with mental and emotional health issues. Many dog owners are enlightened of the therapeutic benefits and support their canine friends provide. An emotional support canis familiaris is a legally recognized assist creature that is allowed to accompany its owner in residences gratis of charge (even in buildings that ban pets).

That means a housing provider tin can never charge a pet fee or deposit for a tenant's emotional support dog. Emotional support dogs are also exempt from policies that restrict the size, weight, and breed of a tenant's dog. Emotional support dogs are protected past federal and land laws, as long as y'all have a valid ESA letter of the alphabet.

In this post, we volition discuss how you can qualify your current or hereafter dog every bit an emotional support animal (ESA).

Qualifying a dog to become an emotional support fauna involves the following steps:

  1. Empathise what an emotional support dog is
  2. Connect with a licensed professional person to assess whether an ESA is right for you lot
  3. Asking an ESA letter of the alphabet
  4. Adopt an emotional back up domestic dog if yous practise not already have one
  5. Submit your ESA letter to your landlord

1. Understand what an Emotional Support Dog is

An emotional support animal is typically a dog, cat, or another pocket-size domesticated animal that provides its owner with mental and emotional health benefits. An emotional support animal does not need any specialized training. ESAs provide support through their companionship and presence. A wide variety of animals serve as ESAs, just dogs are the almost popular due to their affection, loyalty, and emotional intelligence.

Nether federal and state laws, owners of emotional back up dogs take certain legal rights for housing. Under Federal Fair Housing rules, landlords must allow for emotional back up dogs as a reasonable accommodation for a tenant's disability.

A disability is defined for this purpose as a physical or mental impairment that essentially limits 1 or more major life activities. Common disabilities that people who own emotional support dogs have are depression, astringent feet, and phobias. A licensed health care professional must appraise whether y'all take a disability and whether an emotional support dog tin can assist you.

2. Connect with a licensed professional person to appraise whether an ESA is right for you

To qualify your dog every bit an emotional support animal, you will need an ESA alphabetic character from a licensed professional. A wide range of licensed professionals can assist evaluate whether an ESA is right for you lot. These practitioners include people such as counselors, social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists, registered nurses, family unit and spousal relationship therapists, and other licensed professionals.

The best place to beginning is with a licensed provider you already have a human relationship with. It is helpful to seek assistance from someone that knows your mental wellness history. While a doc is technically able to write an ESA letter, it may be more appropriate for your advisor or therapist to appraise your need for an ESA. The licensed professional will do ii things: evaluate whether you take a inability that meets the relevant criteria for purposes of federal housing rules and, if appropriate, make a recommendation for an ESA to assistance with symptoms of that disability.

Sometimes therapists can evaluate a client'southward mental health only are unwilling to write an ESA letter of the alphabet because they are unfamiliar with ESAs and ESA rules. If you do non currently have a therapist familiar with ESAs or are having difficulty locating one, online therapists that provide ESA services remotely may be a keen pick for yous. This is a user-friendly choice for people who face challenges finding help and people who cannot hands exit their homes or schedule in-person visitations.

Regardless of where y'all turn to for help, it is important to discuss your mental health issues with a licensed professional as openly as possible. Yous tin can exist candid about what options you retrieve may be helpful to accost your issues, including the aid of an emotional support dog. If you're searching for assistance, ESA Doctors can help connect you to a practitioner familiar with ESAs that is licensed for your land.

Three easy steps to get an ESA Letter with ESA Doctors

Click here to become started on qualifying for your ESA letter

ESA dog trainer
To brand your dog authorize as ESA involves a few simple steps.

3. If yous authorize, request an ESA Letter

If your licensed practitioner determines that you qualify for an emotional back up dog, they can write an ESA letter for you. You volition submit this ESA letter to your landlord in society to obtain reasonable accommodation for your emotional support canis familiaris.

A typical ESA letter will be on the professional person's letterhead and contain the following information:

  1. Contact data of the provider.
  2. The date the ESA letter was issued.
  3. The provider'due south license data
  4. A argument establishing y'all have a disability for purposes of the Fair Housing Deed.
  5. A recommendation for you to have an emotional support animal to help address symptoms of your disability.
  6. The provider'south signature.

The ESA letter must comprise the provider's contact and license information. Landlords are not allowed to request detailed information regarding your condition, only they tin verify that the letter was written by an actively licensed professional. It is important to note that things like registrations, certifications, and IDs are not sufficient to plant your need for an emotional support animal. Landlords will insist on seeing an ESA letter for your emotional support dog from a licensed professional.

If y'all believe you may qualify for an ESA letter but do not have access to a licensed healthcare professional at this time, we would be happy to help you.

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4. Adopt an emotional support canis familiaris if you do not already accept one

As previously mentioned, an emotional support domestic dog does not need whatever specialized training. Whatsoever domestic dog breed can potentially be an constructive ESA. If you currently take a dog, it may already exist providing yous with therapeutic benefits. A valid ESA alphabetic character will transform your dog from a pet into a recognized emotional support animal.

If yous do not already have a dog, there are diverse factors to consider when selecting a dog. The temperament of the canis familiaris is one crucial gene. An ESA should have a personality and demeanor that complements your ain personality and ideally helps assist with the mental health problems you are dealing with. For case, if you suffer from severe anxiety, it may assistance to have an emotional back up dog with a calming presence. Or individuals suffering from social phobia or depression may adopt an active emotional back up canis familiaris that helps them get upwardly in the morning and venture out of the house.

You should consider the dog'southward size and whether you tin can provide the dog with a comfortable and safe environment within the confines of your domicile or apartment. The amount of grooming required is as well a consideration. A dog that continuously sheds may not exist ideal for someone who doesn't want to constantly vacuum their home. If you live in a small flat with neighbors within close proximity, a large vocal dog may not be the best choice. Like all pet owners, emotional support dog owners should be realistic about whether they can live with the particular canis familiaris'due south traits and carefully consider the delivery it will take to properly care for and maintain the dog.

Even though emotional support dogs do not crave specialized training to address the owner's disability, they should still undergo basic grooming. An ESA possessor is e'er responsible for their canis familiaris'due south deportment, and then if yous accept an emotional support beast that damages property or attacks another tenant, you could be on the hook for damages. In addition, an emotional support domestic dog that poses a directly threat to the health and safety of others tin give a landlord justification for evicting the domestic dog.

Like whatever other dog kept as a companion, it is of import to ensure your emotional support dog is well-behaved and obedient in all settings. Group training sessions with other dog owners tin be a dandy style to train your dog and improve its ability to socialize with other dogs and humans.

5. Submit your ESA letter to your landlord

Housing providers are allowed to request proof that a dog is really an emotional support fauna. That proof comes in the form of the ESA alphabetic character obtained for your licensed healthcare professional.

Once you take your ESA letter, you tin can submit it to your landlord. A landlord can only turn down an ESA request in a few circumstances. For example, if the landlord has determined your emotional support dog poses a safety and health adventure to others, they may be able to properly deny your request. A landlord has to consider an ESA request whenever the tenant submits information technology. Notwithstanding, to stay in the landlord'due south good graces, tenants should ideally submit their request earlier moving the dog in, peculiarly if the tenant lives in a building that prohibits dogs.

Emotional support dog owners are immune to bring their dog home even if they live in a building that explicitly prohibits pets. Many dogs tin make for excellent emotional back up animals, and landlords are non permitted to deny an ESA solely because information technology is a sure breed or weight. Landlords also cannot charge fees or deposits for an emotional support dog, even though other residents that own pets are required to pay such fees and deposits.

Can Emotional Support Dogs Board Flights?

You lot may have heard that emotional support dogs can lath the cabin of flights free of accuse. Unfortunately, due to regulatory changes that is no longer the instance. Psychiatric service dogs (PSDs) are still allowed to travel in the cabin of planes gratuitous of charge. Psychiatric service dogs are not the aforementioned as emotional support dogs. They must be trained to perform tasks relating to a inability and have different qualification standards. If you believe you demand a psychiatric service domestic dog, a PSD letter of the alphabet might be right for you.

Emotional Support Dogs to the Rescue

If you believe an emotional back up dog may help with your mental or emotional health, be certain to ask your health professional about whether having one may exist right for you. Whether yous are using a electric current canine companion or are searching for one to adopt, having the perfect furry back up may be one of the all-time things you can do for your mental and emotional wellbeing.

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