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Emotional support animals (ESAs) can be an essential lifeline for numerous people struggling with emotional or mental disorders.
However, unlike guide and service dogs, the purpose of these dogs and the laws surrounding them are not well understood.
For those living in the state of California, this short article will go through everything you need to know about ESAs and the laws concerning them.
It will cover:
What is an emotional support animal
How to qualify for an emotional support animal
Which state and federal laws cover emotional support animals
The rights of emotional support animals and their owners in regards to:Housing
Employment
Transportation
Public Spaces
This short article ought to offer you with everything you need to know whether you have your own ESA or whether you are handling a friend, employee, neighbor, or so forth that benefits from the support of an ESA.
What Is An emotional support Animal?
Emotional support animals are animals that are prescribed by a medical professional to offer companionship and emotional support to individuals who need it.
The types of people who may qualify for an ESA vary greatly and include individuals suffering from depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and a plethora of other challenges.
Emotional support animals can be any type of animal including dogs, cats, birds, lizards, and horses. There are no restrictions, though dogs are one of the most common ESAs.
Emotional support animals differ from service animals, such as guide dogs, in terms of what they are trained to do.
Service animals are trained to carry out particular tasks that specifically relate to the impairment of their owner. For example:
Guide dogs are trained to help blind or partially sighted individuals navigate;
Seizure alert dogs are trained to either view over their owner or fetch help in the case of a seizure
Diabetes dogs are trained to alert their owner when their blood sugar drops
Psychiatric support dogs are trained to carry out particular tasks, such as maintaining the attention of their owner when on the street so they do not walk into traffic.
Emotional support animals, by contrast, are simply tasked with giving love and companionship and not to carry out particular tasks as they relate to a particular disability.
While some ESAs may be trained to carry out anxiety-reducing practices such as pressure therapy, they are still not considered service animals.
This is essential because both federal and state laws for service animals and emotional support animals are different.
How To qualify For An emotional support Animal?
Qualifying for an emotional support animal is typically described as receiving an ESA prescription, as the process greatly resembles receiving a doctor’s prescription.
In purchase to legitimately qualify for an emotional support animal, you should be diagnosed with a mental or emotional condition as stated in the American Disabilities Act, though the details of this condition need not appear in the letter.
Conditions typically considered suitable for an ESA include:
Attention deficit disorder
Autism
Bipolar
Cognitive disorder
Depression
General anxiety disorder
Learning disorders
Post-traumatic tension disorder
Severe anxiety
There is no official registration system for ESAs; rather as the owner of an ESA, you need a letter from a licensed medical professional stating your need for an emotional support animal.
This letter applies to you, and simply needs to state that you need the support of an ESA. The letter does not need to state which animal is serving as your ESA, and you do not need to register your animal as an ESA with any organization.
For this letter to be recognized in the state of California, it should be signed by someone who is licensed to practice medicine in the state of California and should be delivered on their practice’s letterhead.
The letter ought to be renewed every year, and letters much more than 12 months old do not need to be accepted as proof of the need for an ESA.
Which state and federal laws Cover emotional support Animals?
There are a number of federal and state laws that relate specifically to the rights of emotional support animals.
When state and federal laws do not align, whichever law offers the greatest liberty and flexibility ought to be applied.
Currently, in the state of California, federal law dictates the rights of ESAs in regards to housing and transportation. There is state law offnullnull