My Experience as a First Time ESA Owner
As someone who has suffered from depression for many years, I have always known that an emotional support animal could help me. My family always had dogs growing up and during my difficult high school and college years they were always a great source of comfort. As an adult, I faced my depression head on with therapy and medications, which helped to varying degrees.
The support and companionship of a dog is something I wanted for years, but I never followed through because of my demanding job in sales. I work long hours in the office and also travel frequently, so adopting a dog never seemed practical. However, with the recent COVID-19 pandemic and the stay at home order in place for my city, I began working remotely from home. My employer has informed me I can continue to work remotely indefinitely, and not having to commute has actually improved my productivity.
Now that I’m home all day, it seemed like the perfect time to get a dog. I had one major issue however: my lease does not allow for pets of any kind. I knew from passengers with dogs on flights that there was such a thing as an emotional support animal that had special legal rights. I did some research and discovered that in order to qualify, you need a recommendation letter from a licensed therapist. More importantly, I found out that qualifying my dog as an emotional support animal would give me the legal right to live with my ESA.
I spoke to my longtime therapist about whether he could recommend an emotional support animal for me. My therapist thought it was a great idea, and confirmed that dogs are known to have many therapeutic benefits for people with depression. However, my therapist was not familiar with ESAs or ESA rules, and instead recommended that I find a professional who had expertise in that area.
With the Coronavirus lockdown rules in effect, it was pretty much impossible to find a therapist I could visit that specialized in emotional support animals. I began looking online for therapists that work remotely, and I settled on a company called ESA Doctors. I filled out a questionnaire on their website, and I was connected to a therapist licensed in California where I live who evaluated my mental health. I qualified for an ESA and was given an ESA letter signed on the therapist’s official letterhead. I was a little wary at first about using a therapist I would not meet face to face, but the therapist gave me her license number which I verified on California’s website and she also gave me her address, email and phone number.
The process of qualifying for an ESA letter went smoothly, and the next part was probably the most difficult for me: talking to my landlord about bringing an emotional support animal home. Under federal and state law, owners of emotional support animals are granted the right to live with their ESA as an accommodation for their mental disability. Even in a no-pets building like mine, a landlord technically has to allow my emotional support animal to live with me. Nevertheless, it felt like a daunting task to even ask when I knew that my building didn’t allow for pets. My landlord is not unpleasant, but he’s sort of a gruff, serious guy. I didn’t want my landlord to think I was trying to skirt the rules or use my mental health as an excuse to bring home a pet.
Before I reached out to my landlord, I had a lot of questions about the process, what the rules were and what I should do if my landlord pushed back. The team at ESA Doctors was excellent. They responded quickly to my emails, and provided thorough responses and pointed me to the right resources. They were extremely patient and understanding.
When the day came to inform my landlord about my ESA, I was nervous but felt prepared to take on any challenges. To my great relief, my landlord understood my request and accepted my ESA letter. All of my worry was unfounded, my landlord didn’t yell at me or grill me with questions — he was actually pretty pleasant about it. I received an exemption from the building’s rule on pets for my emotional support animal, and I was ecstatic!
I had placed a hold in the meantime with a breeder for a dog I had wanted for years. One of the happiest days of my life was when I got to pick up my emotional support puppy, and brought him home to my apartment.
My emotional support Corgi has done wonders for my mental health. She helps keep me grounded, and gives me a reason to get up and take a walk around the block in the morning. I was always afraid that I wouldn’t be able to keep up with taking care of a dog — but I find the opposite is true. Having my emotional support animal to care for takes me out of my head, and keeps me more active than I would normally be. I truly love my emotional support Corgi and she’s been a miracle for my depression.
With therapy, medication and my emotional support dog, I have felt better than ever and have my depressive episodes mostly under control. If you’re dealing with a chronic mental illness and you suspect an emotional support animal might really help you out, I can’t strongly recommend enough that you explore your options. The process is painless, and the right to an ESA is protected by law — landlords will accommodate you as long as your ESA letter is in order. An ESA can be a true life saver and a valuable part of addressing depression.
