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Emotional Support Animal Laws
We call them man’s best friend. Dogs, cats, and other animals are essential to many of our emotional and psychological needs. Why? These furry companions have been around for centuries as humankind’s most loyal and often closest companions.
So it’s not surprising that many of us now rely on emotional support animals (ESA) for our mental health needs. One of the challenges ESA owners face is misinformation about ESAs. Below is a summary of emotional support animal laws to better understand your rights.
Overview: Emotional Support Animal vs Service Dog
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Emotional Support Animal access to public places
Not quite service animals: Emotional support animals do not have the same legal rights as service dogs. As mentioned, service dogs are protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The broad public access rights for assistance animals under the ADA only extend to service dogs that are individually trained to perform tasks to benefit an individual with a disability.
Due to this distinction, your emotional support animal is not protected by the ADA. Service dogs are allowed access to all public places, such as stores, movie theaters, hospitals, and restaurants. On the other hand, emotional support animals are allowed access only to residences (including buildings with no-pet policies) and on select airlines.
Please keep in mind that although ESAs do not need any special training, they still need to be well-behaved and should have the ability to follow basic commands.
ServiceDogCertifications.org
What laws protect Emotional Support Animals?
For housing, the law is still on your side. Although emotional support animals do not have the same access rights as service dogs under ADA, they are protected under the Fair Housing Act (FHA).
If you meet the criteria for ESA qualification under the FHA, you are entitled to live with your emotional support animal free of charge and deposits, even if your building doesn’t allow pets. The FHA also prevents housing providers from imposing breed and weight restrictions on your ESA.
Many state laws mostly mirror the FHA, providing additional protection against discrimination for ESA owners. Housing providers are required to provide reasonable accommodations for ESA owners so they can have equal opportunities to use and enjoy their residence.
Air travel is a different story. Until recently, emotional support animals also enjoyed the right to fly with their ESA in the cabin under the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA). However, due to regulatory changes in January 2021, airlines are no longer required to accommodate emotional support animals (although a few airlines still have programs that allow them).
Meanwhile, psychiatric service dogs (PSDs) are still allowed to fly on planes free of charge. A PSD is a type of service dog that performs tasks relating to an owner’s psychological or intellectual disability. Under the ADA and ACAA, PSDs have the same rights as service dogs that perform tasks for the physically disabled. To learn more about how to fly with a psychiatric service dog, please click on this link for a complete guide.
How do I make my pet into a legitimate Emotional Support Animal?
To qualify for an emotional support animal, you need to obtain an ESA letter from a licensed healthcare professional, such as a therapist. The licensed healthcare professional will assess whether you have a qualifying condition and whether an ESA would help improve the symptoms of your condition. Any licensed healthcare professional can issue an ESA letter, but many are not aware of the benefits of ESAs or familiar with how to write an ESA letter.
If your current healthcare provider is unfamiliar with ESAs (or is unwilling to issue an ESA letter), or if you don’t have anyone you’re currently seeing, ESA Doctors can help. ESA Doctors is a caring and reputable service that has operated since 2015 and can connect you to a licensed ESA specialist. Just click on the link below to get started.
About the Author: The writing team at Service Dog Certifications is made up of folks who really know their stuff when it comes to disability laws and assistance animals. Many of our writers and editors have service dogs themselves and share insights from their own experiences. All of us have a passion for disability rights and animals.
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I am in the process of getting a lab puppy and interested in training for emotional support animal. I want to be able to bring to say, nursing homes, children hospitals etc. Where exactly do I start?
It seems what you are interested in is a therapy dog, not an emotional support animal. ESAs are used by their owners for a mental health disabilities whereas therapy dogs provide comfort to others, often in group settings. Unfortunately we do not provide referrals for therapy dog training.
Can you have more then one emotional support animal in the state of Wisconsin? For an example one dog and one cat. I ask because different animals can provide different types of support.
Yes, you are allowed to have more than one emotional support animal. Your ESA letter must cover each animal. Please see this post for more information on how to get an ESA letter: https://www.servicedogcertifications.org/how-to-get-an-emotional-support-dog-letter/
Emotional support animals do not have any public access rights under the ada law. You are giving false and illegal information out. Do better. Emotional support animals can only go in pet friendly places. Websites like this is the reason many service dogs get attacked by esa. Emotional support animals can not go into non pet friendly stores! Why is that so hard to understand?
We’d ask you to please read this article again – the entire point is to educate people regarding the point you are making, that emotional support animals do not have public access rights.
My apartment complex is telling me with a doctors letter about an emotional support dog because they are a no pet complex I can not have an emotional support dog. I am on disability and I have a letter from my Psychiatrist, and they are telling me no pets.
ESAs are not considered pets under HUD’s guidelines. Landlords must reasonably accommodate emotional support animals even if the building prohibits pets.
I hope you got this taken care of!
Can a condo association revoke an ESA permission if the owners violated the condo rules without a first warning?
We can’t comment without knowing the nature of the violation, but landlords can reject ESAs if they pose a direct threat to the health and safety of others. The tenant is also subject to being evicted if they have violated some other building rules that merit an eviction.
Do I need to get a letter for each ESA I have or does one letter cover them both? The letter I have from my PCP does not specify but also says my specific medical conditions for wanting a esa. Which is against HIPPA laws.
You can either have a letter for each ESA or one letter that covers both ESAs.
Hello my name is tasha I was wanting to know how much would it be for me to get my dog to be a Emotional Support Animal
In order to qualify for an ESA, you need a recommendation letter from a licensed healthcare professional. The cost you would pay is for the healthcare professional’s evaluation and time. Please visit this page for more information on how to qualify for an ESA letter online: https://www.servicedogcertifications.org/how-to-get-an-emotional-support-dog-letter/
I was wondering if you could have multiple dogs registered to become emotional service dogs
To clarify, an animal can either be an emotional support animal or service dog. Neither have to be registered, and it is possible to have multiple ESAs or service dogs.
I was just told we can only have two pets registered with ESA, by law…
You do not ever need to register an emotional support animal, that is an optional step that no one can require. You are allowed to have more than 2 ESAs, but each one must be covered by a recommendation letter from a licensed healthcare professional. Please see this link for more details: https://www.servicedogcertifications.org/how-to-get-an-emotional-support-dog-letter/