Although emotional support animals do not have to be as highly trained as a certified service dog there are some things you will want to consider when choosing a dog intended for emotional support or training one you already pet parent.
Emotional therapy pet certification.
An emotional support dog esd or esa is a pet or animal prescribed a licensed therapist to provide a health benefit for those that suffer from an emotional or mental disability.
Esa has joined forces with a team of mental health professionals with an expertise in emotional support animal evaluations and prescription letters to help you with your esa and to provide you with your evaluation letter which is required by law to travel with your animal.
After achieving a cgc certification your next step will be to contact an organization to acquire your pet s pet therapy certification.
If you suffer from a mental disability such as depression anxiety or one of the many other psychological disorders you may qualify for an emotional support animal.
The federal fair housing act requires housing facilities to allow service dogs and emotional support animals if necessary for a person with a disability to have an equal opportunity to use and enjoy the home.
To fall under this provision you must have a disability and you must have a disability related need for the animal.
A typical pet therapy test for your dog s certification will observe the following.
Therapy pet certification how to get a pet therapy certification or formally known as an esa letter.
Learn more about emotional support dog letters.
Emotional support dogs have rights that normal pets do not.
And these rights are guaranteed by federal law.
Emotional support animals also referred to as therapy pets can provide a positive benefit to their handlers.
Emotional support animals esas are designed for people in distress.
In other words the.
In order to have a legitimate support animal you will need to obtain an emotional support animal letter which you can only get by speaking with a licensed mental health professional.
Emotional support animal certification by getting proper certification for your emotional support animal you will be able to have it fly with you in the cabin of commercial airplanes and live with you in housing that has policies prohibiting pets on the premises.
Certification is the final hurdle in a dedicated process toward becoming a therapy dog however which includes temperament assessment training and more.
Before you dive into training you should first see if you qualify for an emotional support animal.
Can any dog be a therapy dog.
Therapy dog certification ensures that both dogs and handlers are well trained and it reduces the liability to facilities says burch.
In some cases you can apply online.
First an esa has access to almost all types of housing regardless of no pet policies.
They offer a constant comforting presence in the face of uncomfortable symptoms from anxiety depression autism bipolar ptsd and more.