Thoughts on ESA Animals for Anxiety/OCD?

I have a dog registered as an ESA, having him registered has allowed me to keep him in my apartment w no pet rent and he helps a lot with my mental health especially while he was more in his prime. But I kind of accidentally got him so he was free and coincidentally already trained and planning to get one and training it can be a lot of effort and money. Mine was abandoned by my mother's ex and bonded to me, he seemed to already know how to do deep pressure and other comfort stuff and would do so frequently while I was having anxiety attacks and meltdowns, he even on many occasions would alert to my mother's blood sugar dropping and to a few of my seizures. He seems to have at one point had the training for in public but is mostly out of practice and struggles heavily with trying to get other people to pet him, although he can reliably ignore other dogs and frequently uses the bathroom on command, and he's also ancient w medical conditions so he can't be used as a service dog but he makes for a decent ESA.

I 100% agree with the comments above, they can be a lot of work/money. However, (as mentioned above) that they 100% rely on you to take care of them I have stopped myself from self harm multiple times because I know they need me to take care of them. I have two parrots and they need me to wake them up every morning (uncover their cage) and this is one of the only things that actually gets me to get out of bed. So yes, a lot of work but they keep me going and keep me here.

Yes! I turned my cat into an ESA when I moved into my first apartment because it was the only way I could have him with me and he's such a calming influence for me. He also provides me company so I'm not alone after losing my mom.