An emotional support animal (ESA) is a pet that provides therapeutic benefit to an individual with a mental or physical disability. While there are several types of assistance animals, such as service animals trained to detect and respond to seizure signals, an emotional support animal is not necessarily the same as other therapy animals.
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In particular, service animals are trained to perform specific tasks, such as guiding a blind person to a destination or alerting a person with epilepsy of an impending seizure. To compare to that, an emotional support animal is more of a pet that provides companionship and comfort to an individual with a mental or physical disability.
How can an emotional support animal benefit someone? Well, just like a service animal, an emotional support animal can provide relief from a number of disabilities. In some cases, people with disabilities find that having an emotional support animal is essential to their daily lives.
For example, many people with mental illnesses are uncomfortable being alone in public. In some cases, they may not be able to leave their home without becoming anxious or panicking. However, if they have an emotional support animal, they can travel and work in public without the fear of social anxiety or panic attacks.
Still, getting an emotional support animal involves more than just seeing an animal as a friend. There are several important steps to becoming certified as an emotional support animal owner. These rules may also vary in different states.
Understanding Emotional Support Animal Certification in Louisiana
As a whole, Louisiana has a relatively relaxed emotional support animal certification process. However, there are a few rules that you should know about.
We help people get the proper documentation to make their pet an official Emotional Support Animal. Online approval in minutes - Housing & Travel letters.
To start off, you must have a recognized mental or physical disability. This means that you must qualify under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Your disability must be preventing you from performing basic tasks, such as working or participating in activities that are important to your daily life.
Earning this qualification comes in the form of getting an ESA letter from a licensed mental health professional (LMHP). You will be screened by a mental health professional to determine if you qualify for an emotional support animal. The evaluation process can take a day on average, but you should be aware that it can take longer than expected.
For your ESA letter to be considered valid, make sure to choose the right doctor, clinician, or other LMHP options. You will also need to submit all the required documents, such as a letter from your doctor, a letter from your treating clinician, and proof of diagnosis. An ESA letter also needs to be renewed every year.
Once you have a valid ESA letter, you may be permitted to have an emotional support animal and to bring them to certain areas that may otherwise be off-limits, oftentimes with no extra fees. This allows disabled people to have equal access to public places and services. If your animal is particularly aggressive or rambunctious, or causes significant distress to others, note that they may still be requested to leave.
Kyoko
Kyoko is from a family of 3 and moved to New York with her parents and siblings when she was 13. Kyoko is fond of spending a great amount of time with pets, specifically her beagle Luna and cat Missy. Her boyfriend often complains that she spends too much time giving attention to their animals. Kyoko has written dozens of articles concerning pets and is aiming at owning a pet shop one day!
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