Certified emotional support animals are animals that offer companionship and support to people with emotional disabilities. Such animals differ from service dogs in the sense that they aren’t specially trained. However, they still do quite a lot to improve the owner’s quality of life.

People adopt emotional support animals for different reasons. For afflicted military veterans, PTSD animals help them cope with their trauma. For people suffering from depression, certified emotional support animals help give them a sense of purpose. An emotional support animal could enrich your life in countless ways.

Before you adopt that emotional support dog, speak to an experienced mental health worker to ascertain if this should be an option for you. Caring for an animal will require a lot of time, responsibility, and patience. If they give you the go-ahead, this is what is expected of you for you to be able to qualify for certified emotional support animals.

You Must Be Emotionally Disabled

For you to qualify for certified emotional support dogs, you must be diagnosed with an emotional disability by a certified therapist, psychologist, or psychiatrist. The pet ought to be prescribed to you by these professionals. They must decide that, for your mental health, you need the animal.

Make Sure that Getting an ESA is What You Really Need

Before you get certified emotional support animals, you ought to consider how an EDA will help your mental health support system. Often, the whole point of having an emotional support dog is getting constant companionship and something to care for. For some people, this extra dependant wouldn’t be such a good idea.

You don’t want to adopt an animal and find out that you are emotionally incapable of providing for and caring for it. This is why you ought to make sure you check all the necessary boxes.

You Must Have an ESA Dog Letter

This letter is the primary and most crucial step in the process of getting certified emotional support dogs. This is a letter written by your mental health provider, say your therapist. They are obliged to assess you and decide if an emotional support dog is what you need for your condition.

Some therapists are uncomfortable about writing these letters since they aren’t trained in the matter but can connect you to other therapists who are more familiar with the process. An ESA letter will help you fly with your pet and gain access to buildings. It may also result in landlords giving exceptions on no-pets rules.

You Must Renew Your Letter

An ESA letter isn’t a one-off thing. You will need to present another one of these every year, which is how long an ESA letter takes before it expires. This implies that you ought to have a consistent relationship with a therapist who will provide you with the note when you need it and if they see it fit.

Consider Whether Your Ailment is Covered

Certified emotional support animals are only granted to people suffering from specific ailments. Before you even begin the process of getting an emotional support animal, or registering your dog as one, confirm whether your illness is on this list.

For example, issues such as anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress, depression, and attention deficit disorders (ADD) automatically qualify you for an emotional support animal. If you fall under any of these, then you should work on adopting a certified emotional support animal.

Emotional Support Animals and a Better Quality of Life

Emotional support animals have what it takes to add vigor, love, and joy into your life. If you are suffering from depression, an ESD will get you out of bed each morning to feed and walk her. Having a permanent dependant will also help you pull yourself together for their sake. Aside from all of this, you will receive nothing but unconditional love and support from your emotional support animal.