Benefits of Emotional Support Animals For Anxiety

What Animals Can Be ESA?

Any domesticated animal can qualify to be an ESA. Some of the best emotional support animals for anxiety include dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, and even rats or other rodents. Each creature has its own unique benefits to provide to its owner. For instance, many people choose cats as emotional support animals because of their potential for companionship and relatively relaxed temperaments. Some people may even adopt a reptile as their companion.

Having a creature to care for and relax with can promote a great amount of comfort and healing. What is important to consider is that an emotional support animal for anxiety is different from a service animal, including how one goes about obtaining such a pet.

How to Get an Emotional Support Animal

While it is not difficult to buy or adopt a pet, qualifying a pet as an ESA requires a few extra steps. The most important step is to obtain a letter from a therapist, social worker, psychiatrist, or another mental health professional. This letter will confirm that you are suffering from a mental illness recognized by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V). The document should be on official letterhead and will essentially act as your “prescription” for your emotional support animal.

Even though no specific regulations surround an ESA, this letter should be taken whenever traveling with your animal. Additionally, it is worth keeping in mind that certain airlines or landlords may have their own policies regarding pets, so you should do your research ahead of time to avoid any potential issues.

Emotional Support Animals vs. Other Assistance Animals

While emotional support animals provide comfort through companionship, they differ from other types of assistance animals, such as service animals and therapy animals.

• Service animals: These animals, typically dogs, are trained to perform specific tasks for individuals with disabilities. For instance, a guide dog for the blind or a dog trained to alert someone with diabetes of low blood sugar. Service animals undergo extensive training and are legally recognized under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
• Therapy animals: These animals visit hospitals, schools, or care facilities to provide emotional comfort to groups of people. They are trained to be well-behaved in various settings but do not have the same legal protections as service animals.
• Emotional support animals (ESAs): These animals do not perform specific tasks related to a disability. Their role is to offer comfort and emotional stability to their owner through their presence. This makes ESAs different from service animals regarding training requirements and legal recognition.

Legal Rights and Limitations of ESAs

While ESAs provide significant emotional support, their legal protections differ from service animals. Under the Fair Housing Act (FHA), ESA owners have the right to keep their animals in housing that typically enforces "no pets" policies, as long as the owner provides documentation from a licensed mental health professional. This law prevents housing providers from discriminating against individuals with an ESA based on their need for emotional support. Unlike service animals, specifically trained to perform tasks for people with disabilities, ESAs do not require specific training. As a result, they are granted housing accommodations under the FHA, but aren't guaranteed the same public access rights as service animals.

For air travel, the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) used to allow ESAs to accompany their owners in the cabin without extra fees, but regulations changed in 2021. Now, airlines are no longer required to recognize ESAs as service animals, and most major airlines treat ESAs as pets. Thus, pet fees may apply, and certain restrictions like crate requirements or specific seating assignments could be enforced. ESA owners need to check with individual airlines ahead of time, as policies may vary.

While ESAs offer invaluable emotional support, owners need to understand the distinctions between ESAs and service animals, as well as the limitations of ESA rights in public settings like restaurants, stores, or public transportation. Unlike service animals, which are covered under the ADA, ESAs are not granted automatic access to all public areas and are subject to local or establishment-specific pet policies.