Understanding Emotional Support Animals (ESAs): Definition, Benefits & How to Get One

Emotional Support Animal (ESA) – as defined by Wikipedia: “An emotional support animal (ESA) is a companion animal which provides therapeutic benefit, such as alleviating or mitigating some symptoms of the disability, to an individual with a mental or psychiatric disability. Emotional support animals are typically dogs and cats, but may include other animals.

In order to be prescribed an emotional support animal by a physician or other medical professional, the person seeking such an animal must have a verifiable disability. To be afforded protection under United States federal law, a person must meet the federal definition of disability and must have a note from a physician or other medical professional stating that the person has that disability and that the emotional support animal provides a benefit for the individual with the disability. An animal does not need specific training to become an emotional support animal.”

I Read The Definition, But Again I Ask: “What Is An Emotional Support Animal?”

Wait a second, an emotional support animal sounds an awful lot like a Service Dog!?  Confusing, I know…let me see if I can help clarify muddy these waters.

Revised ADA Requirements: Service Animals

First of all, lets take a look at the Revised Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Requirements for Service Animals and see what it has to say.  From the Revised ADA Requirements: Service Animals doc:

Check out the bottom of the first paragraph: “Dogs whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support do not qualify as service animals under the ADA.”  So, the ADA does not cover ESA’s, but it appears there are definitions under the Service Carrier Act, the Fair Housing Act, and also maybe some specific state laws that define things differently so lets research a little further.

Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) As It Relates To ESA’s

This excerpt is from the following document: http://airconsumer.ost.dot.gov/rules/20030509.pdf

So lets look more closely at this line: “This document refines DOT’s previous definition of service animal by making it clear that animals that assist persons with disabilities by providing emotional support qualify as service animals.”  So according the the ACAA an emotional support animal does qualify as a service animal.

Fair Housing Act As It Relates To ESA’s

This excerpt is from the following document: https://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/documents/huddoc?id=servanimals_ntcfheo2013-01.pdf

I researched through FHAct and Section 504 on the HUD.gov website and couldn’t find specific definitions of Emotional Service Animals.  The above clip does show that “assistance animals” include “emotional support animals”.

As for the individual state laws?  Since there are 50 states I don’t think I’m going to try and dig into that one, but Service Dog Central does a very good job looking at different legislation state by state.

So what does this all mean?  My take and I could be wrong:

• The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) does not include Emotional Support Animals (ESA) in it’s definition of Service Animals.
• The Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) includes ESA’s in it’s definition of Service Animals.
• The Fair Housing Act (FHAct) includes ESA’s in it’s definition of Service Animals.

That was a bit of a long definition, but as you can see different bodies define ESA’s differently so their really is no clear answer.  What about your guys?  Is this how you view Emotional Support Animals?  Am I missing something?  Tell me your thoughts in the comment section below.

These are my interpretations and as always, it is best to discuss your rights with a qualified attorney.

We’ve altered our Wordless Wednesday posts.  Rather than being Wordless we are using our “Word Wednesday” posts to define a term that relates to the content in our blog.

Top Picks For Our Puppies

1. BEST PUPPY TOY
   We Like: Snuggle Puppy w/ Heart Beat & Heat Pack - Perfect for new puppies. We get all of our Service Dog pups a Snuggle Puppy.
2. BEST DOG CHEW
   We Like: Best Bully Sticks - All of our puppies love to bite, nip, and chew. We love using Bully Sticks to help divert these unwanted behaviors.
3. BEST DOG TREATS
   We Like: Wellness Soft Puppy Bites - One of our favorite treats for training our service dog puppies.
4. BEST FRESH DOG FOOD
   We Like: The Farmer's Dog - A couple months ago we started feeding Raven fresh dog food and she loves it! Get 50% off your first order of The Farmer's Dog.

Check out more of our favorites on our New Puppy Checklist.