Unfortunate but true that people all over the world are increasingly being exposed to negativity. This negativity doesn’t necessarily mean the self-inflicted one. It may be the circumstances that one is forced to live with on a prolonged basis. For instance, there is peer pressure in office. At home, there may be the pressure for better living that one could barely afford. Another significant reason for emotional breakdown is one’s dissatisfaction or failure in love life. In short, there is no dearth of reasons for the people to seek refuge to the emotional support animals. What is an emotional support animal then?
Well, to begin here with the right mindset, you should know that an emotional support animal is essentially an animal that assists its master in everyday living and it is not a pet. Having said that, we mean, you have pets like dogs or cats at home, but they are not emotional support animals. In other words, emotional support animals are specially trained for accompanying their owners and they are not master at performing mundane tasks. These animals are usually recommended by physicians to their patients based on their individual condition.
How to keep emotional support animals?
- Your emotional support animals must be harnessed and tethered while visiting the public places. At the same time, they must be under your control so that they cannot inflict damage on others.
- They must comply with the laws of the land. Having said that, we mean, your dog, for instance, must abide the law of your state such as the Pennsylvania Dog Laws.
- You or your emotional support animal handler must have adequate control over the animal. Besides, you or the handler must not leave the animal unattended overnight.
- If you are a student, please note that you can take your emotional support animal only up to your residential hall of an institution or the university.
- Your emotional support animal must behave well in public. Having said that, we mean, the animal must be trained to behave responsibly and refrain from inflicting damages on others.
- People having emotional support animals often find hardships to find a rented accommodation, especially when they seek an accommodation in a housing. But, laws are there to protect their interest. Landlords cannot deny accommodation just because they have an animal. But, as a special tenant, they will have to produce documents pertaining to their disability or doctor’s advice for keeping the animal with them.
- Flying with emotional support animals requires a little bit of preparation beforehand. For instance, you have to book a ticket in advance for the animal. On top of it, you will have to carry the animal/s in standard containers with holes as specified by the airliner. The containers must be kept below your seat and so on. Besides, you have to ensure that the animal does not bark continually (except under some medical emergency) causing annoyance to others.
Therefore, the proposition what is an emotional support animal essentially demands a lot of preparations bespoke to an occasion. For instance, to buy an emotional support animal, you must produce a letter that verifies the need for such an animal for your mental and physical wellbeing.