An emotional support animal, or ESA, is an animal companion that provides comfort and support to someone suffering from a mental or emotional disability such as depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder or a phobia. Emotional support animals and their owners have certain protections under federal and state laws. Landlords, Co-Ops, HOAs, and other housing providers must allow tenants to live with their ESAs free of charge, even if the building has a policy banning pets.

To have a valid emotional support animal, you must be in possession of a recommendation letter from a licensed health care professional (sometimes also referred to as a “licensed mental health professional” or “LMHP”). The ESA letter will establish that you have a disability and that an emotional support animal alleviates symptoms of that disability. Under federal law, this is the only legitimate way to qualify an animal companion as an emotional support animal.

A valid ESA letter is the only documentation you need in order to qualify an emotional support animal. Landlords cannot ask for a certificate, registration, license or ID, or insist that your ESA wear a vest. These items do not confer any legal status on emotional support animals. Some ESA owners use such items as tools to signal that their animal companion is an ESA, but they are not mandatory and do not function in lieu of an ESA letter as valid forms of proof for an ESA. There is also no need to register your ESA in a database or registry.

People use a wide variety of animals to serve as their ESA. The most common ESAs are dogs and cats. Under Fair Housing rules, an ESA can be a dog, cat, small bird, rabbit, hamster, gerbil, other rodents, fish, turtle, or other small, domesticated animal that is traditionally kept in the home for pleasure rather than for commercial purposes.

Psychiatric service dogs (PSDs) are specially trained canines that perform tasks to assist individuals dealing with mental health issues. As a recognized type of service dog, PSDs are protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The major difference between a PSD and an emotional support animal is that PSDs need specialized training. Although there is no documentation requirement under the ADA for psychiatric service dogs, many owners obtain PSD letters to confirm their eligibility and to avoid issues dealing with airline employees at the airport.

Psychiatric service dogs are permitted to board the cabin of planes. Airlines are not allowed to charge any additional fees for bringing your psychiatric service dog.

In order to fly with a PSD, you will need to submit the DOT’s Service Animal Form to your airline. This form requires the handler to confirm they have a service dog that has been trained by a third party or themselves.

We are ESA and PSD owners ourselves. We understand how impactful an animal’s love can have on not only your mental well being but your creative spirit. We know what it feels like to need your animal.

We don’t leave our clients hanging, our clients come back to us year after year and will refer their friends and family to us as well. We earned their loyalty by being loyal. In fact, you may be here from a referral from a loved one! If you want to feel safe and secure during this process, we are on your team and will help you navigate through this experience as stress-free as possible.