Emotional Support Animals

Hey guys, who here has an ESA?

I'm highly considering getting one (a cat). I love animals, but I'm not allowed to have pets in my apartment. However, my T thinks a pet would be really good for me, and I agree...so she said if I wanted, she'd write a letter saying that I need an ESA.

I had a cat once, and I loved her dearly. Unfortunately, she loved ripping up my apartment's carpet, and I was renting, so she had to go back to the SPCA and I never found another cat that won my heart like her.

I'm planning on going to the SPCA later this week to see what they've got and start there.

Would be a good thing to get your T to write the the letter and send that to see if you have approval. Might take time to get permission. Least you will know if you if you can have one. It took me ages to get letters from my landlords and then another letter had to specify that the cat was allowed inside. I am still in the process of getting a cat. Good Luck.

Thanks.

Fortunately for me, my apartment is one of a duplex that's owned by a local business, so they only have 2 tenants to deal with, myself included. And their reason for the no pt policy is that they are afraid they'd get out, get hit by a car (I live on a busy road)...so I think there's a good chance they'll say yes.

I hope you can get a cat. Mine is not technically an ESA, but I find him therapeutic.

Toying with the idea. Dogs and cats are about the only thing that seem to make me smile anymore.

I have a pug who has ended up being my ESA, and I am looking into the process how to now get him registered

Hi, first thing I have to say is that a pet is not an Emotional Support Animal.

Second is I don't believe you can just get an animal and call it your ESA - at least you can't where I live. Such animals are required to be trained. While not to the same extent as a Service Animal, they are still required to go through a rigorous certification process.

Thus you might want to do a little research and determine the necessary criteria your animal must meet. One thing you may wish to consider is to contact your local ESA organisation. They may be able to not only help you with meeting such requirements but may be able to point you to any organisations that have animals already certified and available for adoption.

At the same time, I think you also might want to check into laws that pertain to ESA vs Support Animals. Not every jurisdiction recognizes an ESA. In my own, while a Service Animal is required to have access to all public spaces, that is not so with an ESA. They can be refused entry, taxis, etc.

Have fabulous luck. But again, I strongly urge you to check into this before you obtain an animal.

Blog - The Official ESA Registration Of America - Emotional Support Animals in New York | ESA
Getting an Emotional Support Animal in NYC | (The Definitive Guide) | CertaPet
Why Are Emotional-Support Pets Allowed in My Pet-Free Building? - The New York Times

In the US, there is no legal registration of ESAs. ESAs are not trained. ESAs are prescribed pets. All you need is a doctors note saying you have a mental disability requiring one. Read the FHA if you want to know more. Thoes blogs are wrong and led by scam organizations.

ESAs have NO PUBLIC ACCESS rights. They are not allowed anywhere except housing and air travel. They are covered by two laws only, the FHA and the ACAA. They are not covered by the ADA. They are not service dogs, they are not trained, they require absolutely no training under the laws that govern them.

Where does my knowledge come from: I have been a service dog handler (I am disabled and have a service dog) and have been a service dog and ESA advocate for many years. Do not get your information from scam blogs and registries. There are no registries for either that are recognized by the US government, and the information those scam registries give out is misleading.

Here is reliable information on service dogs: Frequently Asked Questions about Service Animals and the ADA

And for FHA: https://archives.hud.gov/news/2013/s...heo2013-01.pdf

Please do not "register" your pet as a fake ESA or service dog. Please do not put a fake vest on your pet. Please do not take an untrained pet into public places claiming they are an ESA and you are allowed. You are not. (Using general you here, not accusing anyone, just requesting everyone please read these laws and actually understand them versus reading the scam companies that are paying lots of Google ads to sell vests to fakers and registrations to fake service dogs and ESAs so they can make money since it's unregulated.)

If you have questions about how to get your pet qualified as an ESA for your mental disorder in your housing, I'm happy to help. If you have questions about how to get a service dog trained for your disorder, I'm also happy to help. You can owner train service dogs, and many dogs can actually be trained, it's not all from programs like Guide Dogs for America. Please feel free to ask questions here and I will do my best to provide the accurate information from the right sources.

This is great. Your T should absolutely write you a letter for a cat ESA. I think it can do wonders for your health to have to take care of another being and get the emotional rewards from it. Make sure you make a reasonable accommodation request with your landlord first though. Just so you don't end up getting a cat and then having issues. Other than a few instances where they can deny the request, if you don't make the reasonable request first, with the doctor's note, they can cause you some trouble and headache.

Happy adopting!

Same here with my chihuahua.

I was looking at registering my pug in the UK, and also came across this whole issue about the sdocieties having no legal leg to stand on, and I realised I'd be wasting my time registering with them. I would hope that some establishments may take it a bit to heart when you were to arrive with an animal "registered" as an ESA, although I understand that you have no leg to stand on legally. On the other hand, I'd love to find out how to legally get him trained, because I'm sure he would ace it.