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Do You Have an Emotional Support Animal?

WolfKitty

654d

Does anyone else have an Emotional support animal (ESA)? My cat is mine, and the renewal for his paperwork is coming up soon and I'm freaking out cause it's a pretty penny

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    • ryce

      654d

      @loralies And yep! For the record for OP, any company or online registry that costs money is not a legitimate ESA letter. ESAs are essentially prescribed by a doctor, they write a letter and that should count to the housing authority (and to them exclusively, as ESAs don't have public access rights.) Any websites that give "certification" of any kind in exchange for an ID/letter, that are not legitimate online doctors, are a scam. Hopefully that reassured you about costs, but sorry if you've been scammed before.

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    • kandi63

      653d

      YES!! I'd hate to think of where I'd be without my Rocky and Miss Kitty! My therapist has officially assigned them as emotional support pets. Rocky I've had since he was a puppy. He's now 7 years old!! He's a ShihTzu and the best friend I've ever had.

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    • Bobert

      653d

      Also some good information to know is that your housing is not allowed to charge u a pet fee for ur ESA

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    • Officialishness

      653d

      They shouldn’t charge money for it. Going to your therapist/psych or PCP should just be whatever you usually pay, and then ask for an ESA prescription

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    • WolfKitty

      654d

      Thank you for letting me know it shouldn't cost anything. Looking further into it, there's actually an online ESA registration thingy that does it for free, but I'll definitely get in contact with a therapist so I can get it done the right way

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      • ryce

        653d

        @WolfKitty Just know that they are technically still fraudulent, and if a housing authority is genuinely educated on ESAs, then they may reject it and ask for a letter from a doctor. Online certifications / registrations do also do harm to not only people that are uneducated, but to real ESA and service dog handlers, who can often get their own *real* documents rejected because others have been miseducated and think they need to be "registered". However, there are some online doctors that will simply ask for your diagnosis's and write the letter for you, and letter templates that you could just give/email to your doctor to sign off on. Hope this helps!

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    • Harley.Q

      654d

      I have 2 animals that help me with emotional support and my dog helps me with motivation to get outside and play with her which really helps me. I'd been stuck in the bed for almost 3 years and where my mother inlaws dog got run over recently my dog ain't had her best friend so she gets really excited when I put my socks and shoes on so I do it just because she needs to get out and play so the last several days I've been going outside with her and she usually leads the way to where she wants to go so we been going to the creek that's close by and today I actually took my shoes off and got in the water then I heard meowing and it was my cat he loves when I'm outside too so if he knows I'm outside he always stays close by and it makes me so happy but none of my animals are certified but any animal could be an emotional support animal as long as they are yours. We've had my cat since he was Itty bitty and our dog since she was still a puppy so both raised by me and my husband just spoils them by feeding them all the time. I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have my fur babies their always there when I need them and love cuddles so I don't have to worry about being alone with them around. And I agree everyone needs a animal whether it be a cat, dog, ferret, rat, lizard, or whatever you fancy they will always be ur best friend and most don't talk back lol

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      • ryce

        653d

        @Harley.Q All creatures can provide emotional support, and all creatures can be emotional support animals, but just know that they are different. Emotional support animals not only exist to support a disabled handler and can therefore avoid pet fees or local breed bans, but they must also be "prescribed" by a doctor. It's just a letter, written to prove to the housing authority that the animal does help you and is essentially "medical equipment", and there is no "certification" of any kind for emotional support animals (or service dogs + horses) in the US. Of course though, animals are natural healers and do wonders at providing emotional support even if they aren't recognized that way in the eyes of the law (:

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    • Jo__00

      654d

      It shouldn't cost anything

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    • loralies

      654d

      My therapist did it for nothing all I needed was a letter from her.

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      • ryce

        654d

        @loralies And yep! For the record for OP, any company or online registry that costs money is not a legitimate ESA letter. ESAs are essentially prescribed by a doctor, they write a letter and that should count to the housing authority (and to them exclusively, as ESAs don't have public access rights.) Any websites that give "certification" of any kind in exchange for an ID/letter, that are not legitimate online doctors, are a scam. Hopefully that reassured you about costs, but sorry if you've been scammed before.

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        • Harley.Q

          654d

          @ryce that's actually good to know

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    • ryce

      654d

      I do not, but I have a service dog! he is task trained to do mobility work, alert work, psychiatric work, and he has specific tasks that help with my dissociation + autism symptoms :>

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      • Cece7

        654d

        @ryce how do you go about getting a service dog for mental illness? I’m not sure how that process works but sounds interesting..

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        • ryce

          653d

          @Cece7 Feel free to message me if you're genuinely curious about the process! Having a service dog is a lot of work and money but it can be worth it. Just like any service dog, the first step is where you'll get your dog, whether it's paying out of pocket for a program, or raising and training your own service dog through what is called owner training. Service dogs need to know at LEAST one trained task to assist a disabled handler, and emotional support is NOT a task, so the dog has to do something other than just that to be a legitimate service dog and go in public with you (as well as having extensive manners training, obviously). The most common psychiatric task is called deep pressure therapy or DPT. It's when a dog is specifically trained to, on command, lay a certain way on your body to help physically calm you down. My boy knows it across my legs in three ways, on my chest, and when I'm laying down. My boy knows some guide work, so he can get me out of a building or follow someone while doing a "momentum pull" and I'm holding onto his harness, to keep me physically walking to get me away when I'm dissociating or panicking. Not all dogs can, but my boy can alert to when my anxiety is too high and I'm going to have a panic attack. For a while he reminded me to take my meds every morning! Dogs can also learn to paw or lick to stop self harming behavior, go get help, stand in front or behind you if you're anxious in lines/people near, circle around you to clear out crowds, block your face from others, and more (: That's just some tasks people use for psych / sensory reasons!

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    • Hannahchlarson1

      654d

      I don't, but I really need one

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☝ This content is generated by our users and it is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult with your physician before making any medical decision

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