The use of emotional support animals is on the rise. Why? Because more and more people and mental health professionals are realizing the many benefits an animal can have on a person’s psychological and physical health.
What Exactly is an ESA?
An emotional support animal is any small, domesticated pet (dog, cat, bird, rabbit, etc.) that helps alleviate symptoms of a mental illness such as anxiety, depression, phobias, or PTSD.
Federal law that applies to every state in the U.S. gives ESA owners certain legal rights. This includes the ability to live in residential buildings with their ESAs free of charge, even if the property normally bans pets.
Let’s explore this topic further and answer the question of how to get an emotional support animal in Arkansas.
Emotional Support Animal or Service Animal?
There is sometimes confusion about the difference between an emotional support animal and a service animal.
Both are types of assistance animals that can help with mental health-related issues. However, service animals must be trained to perform a specific task relating to the handler’s disability.
Emotional support animals do not require any specialized training. They perform their function just by being a reliable presence in a person’s life. Emotional support animals also can be a wide variety of animals in addition to dogs. Emotional support animals have rights when it comes to housing under federal law. ESAs are not able to go everywhere a service dog can. For example, service dogs have the right to board airplanes free of charge — ESAs do not.
Emotional Support Animals in Arkansas Rental Apartments and Condos
Did you know that federal law makes it illegal for a landlord to discriminate against a tenant (or a prospective tenant) with an emotional support animal?
Acts that could be considered discriminatory include:
- refusing to rent out a place solely due to the presence of an ESA;
- charging a pet deposit;
- evicting a tenant who decides to get an emotional support animal without cause;
- charging a fee to accommodate the ESA.
The Fair Housing Act makes this possible even in “no pets” policy housing. There are some exceptions to this. For example, owner-occupied buildings with no more than four units and single-family homes sold or rented by the owner without the use of an agent in Arkansas are exempt from Fair Housing rules for emotional support animals.
Emotional support animals are also exempt from building rules that prohibit certain breeds or limit an animal based on its size or weight. If you plan to move in with an emotional support animal, you will need to make a request to the landlord and submit an ESA letter. This request can be made at any time — when applying for an apartment, during the lease signing, or after you move in.
How to Get an Emotional Support Animal in Arkansas
To get a legitimate Emotional Support Animal, you will need a letter from a licensed mental health professional (LMHP). You can see an LMHP in person or connect with one online.
The ESA letter will have the following information:
- The licensed mental health professional’s (LMHP) name, license number, and the state it was issued.
- It is written on the LMHP’s letterhead.
- Contains the signature and the date of issue.
Under Fair Housing rules, an ESA letter is the only documentation you need to present to prove to your housing provider that you need an emotional support animal. You do not need to provide your landlord with medical records or specific details about your condition.
Qualify for an ESA Letter Online
Flying with an Emotional Support Animal from Arkansas
Emotional support animals are no longer allowed to board flights due to regulatory changes in 2021. The only mental health assistance animal that can board a flight free of charge is psychiatric service dogs.
To have a psychiatric service dog, there are two main requirements:
- The owner must have a psychiatric disability. A licensed healthcare professional can assess whether an individual meets this criterion and issue a PSD letter to qualifying clients.
- A psychiatric service dog must be fully trained to perform at least one task that assists with the owner’s disability. A PSD in training is not considered a fully qualified service animal.
PSD owners are allowed to board flights as long as they submit the DOT’s service animal transportation form to their airline before departure.
How to Get your Psychiatric Service Dog Letter online from ESA Doctors
A Win for Emotional Support Animal Owners at the University of Arkansas
According to the University of Arkansas newspaper (The Traveler), a student was awarded the ability to keep her Emotional Support Animal — Charli a Maltese dog — on the campus of the University.
A junior at the University, Emalee Babb deals with anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder, which makes day-to-day living more difficult. In an interview, Babb said;
“Having a dog forces me to get up and get out because I can’t neglect an animal. I take care of her. Sometimes it’s easier for me to take care of someone else than to take care of myself.”
Although the campus does allow certain small pets in their student housing (fish in 20 gallons or smaller aquariums), they look at individuals needing Emotional Support Animals on a case-by-case basis.
Associate Director Laura James said;
“For housing accommodations like living with an animal, students must submit a written request and documentation from qualified health or other providers in support of the request.”
The CEA refers approved requests to the housing department so that a representative can meet with the student to discuss the best fit of animal and living arrangements.
Takama Statton-Brooks (University Housing Director for Residence Education) said;
“Students can make a request for whichever animal they’re wanting. Emotional Support Animals aren’t just dogs or cats, so we have to determine if it’s a fit for the halls.”
Qualify for an ESA Letter Today
Get the Love and Support you deserve!
My therapist wrote a letter to my landlord about my 3 emotional support cats, and then my landlord denied the letter saying my therapist did not verify that I am disabled under the Fair Housing Law. My therapist submitted a new letter, and now they are allowing me only ONE of my cats to be my emotional support animal, and stating that I will have to let them know which ONE I choose and I’ll have to pay rent for the other two. I absolutely need all three of my cats for emotional support. But I feel like I’m never going to win this because they are just going to keep coming up with something else. I feel like I’m being harrassed! What can I do?
Residents are allowed to own more than one emotional support animal as long as their ESA properly covers each one. Please see this article for more details: https://esadoctors.com/more-than-one-emotional-support-animal/
How can I get an emotional support small dog for my PTSD from abuse and anxiety? I also have a seizure issue is called focal seizures and I get where I am unable to speak. And my anxiety seems to make it worse when I have extreme anxiety. And my PTSD is so bad from my abuse that a lot of times every knock on the door or any sudden sounds that never bothered me freaks me out
We recommend speaking to your healthcare provider about your health issues and whether an ESA can help. If you need an online licensed healthcare professional to provide an ESA evaluation, you can get started at this link: https://esadoctors.com/esa-questionnaire/
My daughter recently had brain surgery. Her neurosurgeon wrote a script for an emotional support dog. She has lived in her house for 6 years. Her landlord is telling her there will be another $600.00 deposit if she gets a dog. She said it is not a pet deposit, but additional security deposit. Is this legal? She is not going to charge it unless my daughter gets a dog.
Landlords are not allowed to charge fees and deposits for ESAs. You may find this article helpful: https://esadoctors.com/esa-fees-refunded/
Can you train an ESA to help you with your mental illness? I have severe panic attacks and depression and generalized anxiety disorder. I would want my animal trained to help me when a panic attack occurs and remind me to take my medicine and be able to come to class with me if my anxiety is super high that day.
ESAs do not require any training, though you are of course allowed to train your animal companion to do anything you’d like. ESAs however by definition provide support just through their presence. If you train a dog to perform specific tasks relating to a disability, then it may fall under the category of a service animal.
What about a supposed service dog who barks all the time? It’s obviously not alerting the owner to anything, as it’s put outdoors and it barks at 130 in the morning and other times when it’s outdoors and the owner isnt anywhere near it and does not come to get it when it’s outdoors barking. Is there anything that can be done about that, that’s not discrimination????
ESAs are expected to be well behaved and not cause a nuisance – other tenants also have the right to enjoy their apartment. If there is an ESA causing a noise problem, you can report the owner to building management.
I need an emotional service dog because of anxiety, depression, & periods of vertigo lasting from 2days to longer sever vertigo, that comes on unexpected. Mostly anxiety, but I can not afford a service dog because I am on fixed income. My doctor & counselor tell me I need to get a service dog, but I can not afford one. How can I get one? With sudden vertigo & anxiety I need one but vet bills & I lost 3 dogs to illness & I had the first one for many years, the second one 4 yrs & the 3rd was given to me found in a ditch with no health knowledge she got sick & was diabetic & heart murmur. The vet bills are just so expensive I am afraid I wouldn’t be able to afford the vet. I am also afraid of losing another one, I get so attached to them, they are my babies &: family members. It tears me up when I lost my babies but I am talking to my councillor to get emotionally ready to get another dog but one that can detect when vertigo is coming on & anxiety is high & hard for me to cope with life. Your help is much needed & appreciated.
We’re very sorry to hear about all of your troubles. Unfortunately, we only deal with emotional support animals and not service animals. We understand it can be quite expensive to properly train a service dog. Perhaps another user in our forums may have useful advice for your situation.