What’s an Emotional Support Animal? Your Guide to Support Animals and Dogs

Here’s everything you need to know about ESAs.

December 18, 2024

In This Article:

What Exactly Are Emotional Support Animals? Difference Between Emotional Support Animals and Other Types of Animals Benefits of Emotional Support Animals How to Legally Obtain an Emotional Support Animal Where Can You Bring Your Emotional Support Dog or Animal? Frequently Asked Questions

If you have a pet of any kind, it’s likely that you turn to them every day for different kinds of emotional support. However, there is a difference between an official emotional support animal (ESA) and your very understanding Labrador. Here’s everything you need to know about ESAs.

Main takeaways

Any animal can be an ESA, but dogs are the most common ESAs.
ESAs are not the same as service animals.
ESAs can support their pet parents through any number of different mental health issues and crises.

What exactly are emotional support animals?

An emotional support animal is a pet that provides comfort, companionship, and emotional support to individuals who are dealing with mental health conditions, such as anxiety, depression, or other psychological issues.

Definition of an emotional support animal

An ESA is a pet that is prescribed by a licensed mental health professional to a person with debilitating mental illness. They may also receive special training to ensure that they can provide support. Animal-assisted Psychotherapist Braquelle Murphy puts it simply: “An ESA comforts someone with a mental health disorder and can provide support during a crisis.”

Purpose of emotional support animals

An ESA has many purposes that extend beyond the usual expectations of a pet. If their pet parent has anxiety, for example, an ESA may have ways of distracting their parent from an impending panic attack. They may also be able to alleviate the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, bipolar disorder, and more.

History of support animals

The path to recognition for ESAs has a long, complicated history. Even today, many people struggle to get their need for their ESA recognized and may be denied entry to certain places with their ESA.

Origin story of support animals

While animals have been used in therapy for a long time, it is only relatively recently that ESAs have been recognized as a separate category.

Evolution of legal recognition

ESAs still do not have much recognition under the law.

Legal definition

The definition of an ESA is simple: an animal who provides emotional support to a person with a mental health difficulty or disorder. However, as they are not protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), there is no set legal definition of an ESA. The only requirement is that they are prescribed by a mental health professional.

Rights and protections under the law

Even today, ESAs are not protected under the ADA or the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA). However, an ESA is protected under the Fair Housing Act (FHA), granting the parent the ability to have the ESA in their home, even where they otherwise would not be allowed.

Documentation and certification

If you have an ESA, you should have paperwork from your mental health professional proving they are essential to your mental health. You will only need to produce this in situations such as applying for housing, as you cannot take an ESA everywhere that you could take a service animal. Your animal does not need to wear any particular tags or clothing to identify them as an ESA.

Difference between emotional support animals and other types of animals

There are many differences between ESAs and other service animals, but the main differences regard the legal protections and requirements of these animals.

Emotional support animals vs. service animals

“Service dogs are protected under the ADA and the ACAA to enter certain public spaces, private residences, and public transportation,” Murphy says. “Service dogs help someone with a disability accomplish a task, while an ESA solely comforts someone with a mental health disorder.”

Additionally, there are no federal laws that require ESAs to complete any training. “To become an ESA, a licensed mental health professional needs to write an ESA letter that states that the handler would benefit from an ESA,” Murphy says. On the other hand, service animals go through rigorous training to support a person with a disability, and they require extensive documentation.

Emotional support animals vs. therapy animals

While it may seem like an ESA and a therapy animal are the same, there are some differences. While an ESA is trained to live with and support a specific person, therapy dogs volunteer in clinical settings. This may include mental health institutions, hospices, hospitals, nursing homes, and other places where people need additional comfort and emotional nourishment. Therapy dogs tend to be calm and remain unbothered in stressful situations.

Emotional support animals vs. pets

While all of our pets provide emotional support through the nature of their existence, Emotional Support Animals are very different from pets. Instead of providing general reassurance, they are trained to reassure a specific person through the symptoms of their emotional distress.

Benefits of emotional support animals

There are many benefits to having an ESA beyond emotional support.

Psychological

ESAs are, of course, particularly beneficial for people who have serious mental health conditions, but also have other psychological benefits. “ESAs can provide companionship, support in social situations, comfort during times of distress, and add a sense of purpose and meaning in the person’s life,” Murphy says.

Physical health

ESAs can also support their parent’s physical health, particularly if they have a mental health condition that makes it difficult to get outside. If their parent is anxious or agoraphobic, the ESA can provide a reason for them to get out and exercise while providing emotional support.

Social and emotional

Additionally, ESAs can help with people’s social and emotional health. They can provide support in one-on-one or social settings, making a person feel more confident and helping them to better tolerate the situation.

Choosing an emotional support animal

While service animals tend to be dogs, any domesticated animal can be an ESA.

Species and breeds

ESAs can be “dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, mice, ferrets,” Murphy says. In fact, there have been instances of people having peacocks, reptiles, and other exotic animals as ESAs. Generally, however, cats and dogs are the most popular choice.

Emotional support dogs

Dogs are the most popular ESA due to their temperament, flexibility, and how possible it is to train them. However, all dogs are different, and some breeds are better suited to being ESAs than others. “Some popular ESA dog breeds are Golden Retrievers, Labradors, Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, Poodles, and Yorkshire Terriers,” Murphy says. One deciding factor is how easy it is to take smaller breeds to different places.

Finding the right companion

Choosing the right companion to be your ESA isn’t that different from choosing a pet. You need a calm, loving animal with a good temperament who can learn how to support you in the ways you need. Some breeds learn things faster than others, but all animals can make good ESAs.

How to legally obtain an emotional support animal

Any animal can be an Emotional Support Animal, but they do need to be prescribed by a mental health professional.

Steps to obtaining an ESA letter

Visit a therapist, a psychiatrist, or another person trained to recognize your need for an ESA. All you need is for them to sign a letter declaring your need for an ESA. You can also register your animal online.

Where can you bring your emotional support dog or animal?

You can bring your ESA anywhere you can bring a pet. You may be able to bring them to other other places based on their policies, including:

Flights

Unfortunately, ESAs are not covered under the ACAA, so you cannot bring your ESA on a flight that you wouldn’t otherwise be able to bring a pet onto.

College

As your right to an ESA is not protected in the same way that service animals are, they have the same rights under the law as a pet. This means that while your college may allow an ESA with documentation, they don’t have to.

Work

Similarly, while you may be able to bring your ESA into a workplace that would otherwise allow you to bring any other pet, there are no legal regulations that require your workplace to allow you to bring an ESA.

Challenges and criticisms of ESAs

Sadly, there are still challenges to having an ESA.

Misuse and fraudulent claims

Many people have fraudulently called their pets ESAs just so that they can bring them everywhere, which has damaged the reputation of ESAs. “Some providers do not write ESA letters due to lack of clear guidelines and ethical concerns,” Murphy says.

Public perception and misunderstanding

“Some people feel that people are misusing the system,” Murphy says. “Some people are trying to pass their animal off as a service animal to gain access to some public spaces or gain other benefits of being a service animal, and this can be dangerous. Additionally, Murphy says, “a number of people are also gaining their ESA letters through commercial sites that are fraudulent. This also underlines the ESA system and poses risk to the handler, animal, and landlord.”

FAQs

What mental illnesses quality for ESAs?

There are a number of mental health struggles that may lead to a person getting an ESA letter, including bipolar disorder, anxiety, depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, eating disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia, and many more.

What animals are not allowed to be emotional support animals?

ESAs are not required to complete any training, so any animal can theoretically be an ESA. However, you may run into some difficulty with larger or more exotic animals. A landlord may not accept an ESA that is too large for the property.

Why are people against emotional support animals?

There are many reasons why people are against ESAs, most of which stem from people not completely understanding what they are. Additionally, some people have made fraudulent claims just because they want to have their pet in their apartment, which makes others skeptical even when people have legitimate ESAs.

References

Ferrell, J., & Crowley, S. L. (2021). Emotional support animals: A framework for clinical decision-making. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 52(6), 560–568. https://doi.org/10.1037/pro0000391
‌Hoy-Gerlach, Janet, et al. “Emotional Support Animals in the United States: Emergent Guidelines for Mental Health Clinicians.” Journal of Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Mental Health, vol. 6, no. 2, 23 Aug. 2019, pp. 199–208, https://doi.org/10.1007/s40737-019-00146-8
‌Younggren, Jeffrey N., et al. “Emotional Support Animal Assessments: Toward a Standard and Comprehensive Model for Mental Health Professionals.” Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, vol. 51, no. 2, Apr. 2020, pp. 156–162, https://doi.org/10.1037/pro0000260

Marianne Eloise

Marianne Eloise is a writer for outlets like The Cut, the Guardian and the New York Times. She is also the author of an essay collection Obsessive, Intrusive, Magical Thinking. She has been going on adventures with her dog Bowie since she was 17.