What is an ESA letter? Guide - 2022
An individual having an emotional or mental disorder is eligible to keep a keep that helps that patient in getting better. According to US laws, cats and dogs can be kept as emotional support animals. These two are the most common esa letter, which is kept as ESA. More animals from their families can also be kept as emotional support animals.
The animals that are termed emotional support animals are raised through proper training. These emotional support animals have to live with a mentally unstable person. They must be raised especially. If a doctor diagnoses a patient with a severe mental disorder, he can recommend an emotional support animal for that person.
That emotional support animal stays with the person to involve the person with itself. In this way, their mental health gets healthier if a person plays or consoles a pet. There is a special type of hormone that releases when a patient is happy and pats the pets. Such hormone secretion can help him control his mental disorders.
Emotional support animals are better than medication to cure a mental disorder patient as their ending stage may be proper mental disability leading them to asylum.
When a patient is prescribed serious mental disorders, the doctor then has an ESA as a part of their treatment. To keep an emotional support animal, the patient has to get an ESA letter. Such a letter is provided by the licensed doctor, therapist, psychologist, or physiatrist to the patient.
It’s mandatory to have an emotional support animal letter to keep an emotional support animal. ESA letters must be written on a valid letterhead of a doctor along with the doctor’s license number, date of issuance, state of issuance, patients’ details, and pets’ details.
Special rules are designed for keeping an ESA in your home, and you can even fly with them, keeping them in your lap.
Flying with ESA
Many airlines do not believe in taking emotional support animals on planes. There are many controversies related to this topic. Airlines claim that many persons with no mental disability take their pets to the plane and claim them as ESA.
However, these pets sometimes have caused serious issues with the passengers. That is why US law has asked to have a valid emotional support dog letter for flying if you want to fly with your ESA. It is the reason a patient must bear an ES letter as they are then eligible to take them to planes and anywhere.
Keeping ESA at home
You can also keep an ESA. The same ESA letter is required to keep an emotional support animal at home. If a person lives at a rented property or apartment, he can still keep an ESA with him as long as he has the ESA letter.
Landlords cannot deny providing houses or apartments to people with esa letter for housing. Some exceptions will not allow you to rent a house:
- If your ESA is not behaving well and there is a danger of breakage to landlords’ assets.
- If the tenant is not taking care of ESA properly
- If the safety of other tenants is being compromised.
- In such situations, you may get waived off from an emotional support animal.
Emotional support animal does not require any specific clothes, harness, or tag that depicts they are special. They should be treated and appear as other pets. It is very difficult for an individual who is dealing with depression. We must console him and allow him to move freely with his pet.
If you have chosen to get an ESA letter then you probably know that you will need a special letter to make it legal. This letter is a licensed document given to you by a licensed medical health care professional. Basically, it says that you can have an ESA. although you can also get esa letter online.
More Resources:
how to register your cat as an esa
how to register a dog as an esa