Here are some of the ways ESA dogs can benefit your mental health: There are myriad mental health benefits when it comes to emotional support animals. Mental Health Benefits of Emotional Support Animals If your ESA doesn’t meet the size requirements, it may have to fly in the plane’s cargo hold or it may not be allowed to fly at all. Emotional support dogs are only allowed in the cabin on most airlines if they meet the size requirements and the owner pays the pet fee. But due to a change in the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA), airlines are no longer required to accept ESAs. Prior to 2021, emotional support animals were able to fly on airlines for free with their owner. Can Emotional Support Dogs Fly on Airlines? “A therapy dog has to have a very calm temperament…It needs to be well-trained, well-behaved, socialized and able to listen to instructions very well,” explains Morrissette.

You may see them used in senior centers, schools, libraries and hospitals. Therapy dogs are used for companionship and comfort just like ESAs, except they have undergone extensive training and socialization for this purpose. Service dogs are allowed almost anywhere, while entry for ESAs is up to the discretion of the establishment. It’s against the law for someone working at a business or government facility to ask for a service dog’s documentation. While emotional support dogs require an ESA letter for certain permissions, service dogs don’t have to be certified. “Service dogs are almost like medicine with four legs and a tail because they’re needed to function daily,” explains Morrissette. According to the ADA, service animals must be dogs and are always trained to complete specific tasks that help their owners with their day-to-day activities. An ESA mostly offers comfort and companionship. Therapy DogsĮmotional support animals and service animals are not technically considered pets. Your licensed mental health professional or doctor must recognize that your ESA provides you with a psychological and/or emotional benefit. To qualify for an emotional support animal, you must be suffering from a diagnosed mental illness or disability, such as depression, anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder. The next step will be to obtain an ESA letter from your licensed mental health professional. You’ll want to select an animal that best suits your mental and emotional needs most people select dogs.

The process differs if you don’t currently have an animal and are looking to get one. If you already live with an animal that benefits your mental health and are seeing a licensed mental health professional, you can ask them to write you an ESA letter to prove that it’s crucial to your well-being. It’s up to each individual business, such as restaurants and retail stores, to accept or deny your ESA. This is because, unlike service dogs, emotional support animals aren’t protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). However, there are several places where ESA letters aren’t accepted. The letter confirms that you’re dealing with a diagnosed mental illness and that your pet is providing you with mental and/or emotional benefits. You must retrieve the letter from a physician or licensed mental health professional, including a therapist, psychiatrist or psychologist. What’s an ESA Letter?Īn ESA letter is the only legally accepted way to prove that your pet is an emotional support animal. Many ESAs haven’t been trained at all-their mere presence is enough for someone to reap the psychological benefits. The capabilities of your ESA depend on how much you train them to better serve you. “Having that animal beside them can prevent them from going to a worse place.” “If a person is about to spiral or head into a bad feeling, sometimes just holding the animal can calm them down,” Morrissette says. What Is an Emotional Support Animal (ESA)?Īn emotional support animal (ESA) is any domesticated animal that provides a psychological and/or emotional benefit to its owner.

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