You might have heard of the phrase “emotional support animal,” but did you know that they are a real thing and can be very beneficial for their owners? I know this because I am the proud owner of my emotional support animal (ESA), a cat named Bleu. He is the most adorable kitty in the whole world, and I was lucky enough to be able to have him live in my on-campus residence with me last year.
(Note: This is not Bleu).
When I was going through the process of getting an emotional support animal, I ironically found a lack of support and a severe lack of credible information out there about the process. I also found that a lot of people around me didn’t understand the point of an ESA—a lot of which was tied to mental health stigma. How could anxiety be so bad as to need something so drastic? We all use our pets as emotional support, why do you need a specially designated one? And, most often: do you actually need an ESA or do you just want to live with your cat on campus?
Needless to say, as someone with anxiety this just gave me even more anxiety about the way I was trying to cope with it. But I was lucky enough to know people who had gone through the process of getting an ESA and registering it with the college, and I was able to get it done. But I wanted to share with those who might not know or understand exactly what an ESA is, what they do and why they are important for folks like me who own them.
So, what is an emotional support animal?
An emotional support animal, or an ESA, is an animal that is used as part of a medical treatment plan for emotional needs or mental illnesses. ESAs are NOT service dogs and don’t have the same rights as service dogs. Some states have regulations around emotional support animals, but generally ESAs can be any type of animal and aren’t required to have any special training to be an ESA. An ESA is essentially prescribed to an individual by their doctor and/or therapist.
What do emotional support animals do? Where can they go?
Essentially, the name says it all—ESAs emotionally support their owners, typically in ways that are unique to each individual. Every owner is in a different situation, and they find that their ESA will help them with their symptoms in unique ways.
ESAs, unlike service dogs, aren’t allowed in every public space. They can, however, be considered a reasonable accommodation for your health in housing, as per the Fair Housing Act (Department of Housing and Urban Development. In these situations, you may require documentation from your therapist or doctor describing the need for your ESA in order to qualify for these accommodations.
The same goes for air travel—according to the Air Carriers Access Act (ACAA), airlines are required to allow both service dogs and emotional support animals into the cabin of the plane with their owners. ESA owners may need to provide similar documentation to airlines as they do for accommodations in housing and employment (Department of Transportation).
Do emotional service animals need to be trained or registered?
The short answer: no.
The long answer: No, and there are many services and websites that prey on those who are looking into having an ESA and offer you services that aren’t necessary and often charge a hefty fee for it. Even searching “emotional support animals” comes up with pages of these websites and services claiming that they train, certify or register emotional support animals. The ADA does not require ESAs to be specially trained or registered, and presenting documents from these services to an employer, landlord or airline will do absolutely nothing.
The reason this scam is so successful is because there is very little information on the Internet about emotional support animals from legit, reliable sources. This page from the ADA National Network is the only reliable resource I’ve been able to find within the past year, and honestly that’s unacceptable.
Knowledge is power, and the lack of information around emotional support animals is astounding. Hopefully, this article can help shine some light and shed some misconceptions about emotional support animals and the good they can do.