Can You Apply For An ESA Letter Before You Get The Animal?

Humans are complicated. No matter how much you try to understand someone, they end up acting differently due to their self-serving intentions. At this point, we all crave someone we can love, someone we can trust, and or just someone whose whole world will revolve around us. You just cannot expect all this from humans, you can give importance to them, but you can’t guarantee the same come back from them.

However, as humans, we have the privilege to choose our company. In the process of evolution, a man never survived on his own. All these years, man took the fellowship of animals to live. In the modern world, we term them Pets.

Pets are just adorable creatures with an astonishing power to bond with their owners. They offer double times the love you offer to them. They have the ability to help their owners help them emotionally too.

Keep reading to know more!

Emotional Support by pets a.k.a “ESA”:

As we described earlier, animals have the potential to provide emotional assistance to humans. The pet that gives emotional benefit to its owner is also known as an emotional support animal.

Studies have shown that animals can even heal chronic mental illnesses, where medications seem to be nothing but waste.

As per the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), an ESA can help patients with the following disorders:

• Intellectual disability (Mental retardation).
• Provisional Tic disorders.
• Developmental coordination disorder.
• Gender identity disorder (GID).
• Substance-related disorder (alcohol, drugs).
• Neurocognitive disorders (NCDs).
• Bipolar disorder.
• Learning disorders.
• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity disorder
• Sexual disorder.
• Anxiety.
• Stress.
• Depression.
• Trauma and lots more.

How Do Emotional Support Animals Help With Mental Health?

As it’s clear emotional support animals can help you in many ways, now here comes the question, how?

Many pieces of research have been conducted in the past and still continue to run from time to time. In one of these researches, researchers once kept a group of people in the same room with pets. These people agreed that they felt calmer and less anxious when they were petting the animals. Other than this their heartbeat was regular and blood pressure levels also dropped down to normal.

These were the outcomes of one-time interaction, so you can imagine the results when a dog or cat will always be by your side 24*7. For this very reason, people like to visit pet care centers from time to time, and some even want to adopt their own pets as Emotional Support Animals.

Petting an ESA will grab your attention from your anxiety and feeling of loneliness to caring for your emotional support animal. Other than this, the responsibility of an animal will give you a sense of purpose and increase positivity in your life.

How To Make a Pet As An Emotional Support Animal

Only a specialist, i.e., a local licensed mental health professional (LMHP), has the right to differentiate a normal pet from an ESA. There are many privileges to certify a pet as an ESA; some of them are :

As per the Fair Housing Act, you will get legal access to stay with your pet on any rental property without paying extra rental charges.

You can take your pet on the plane to fly with them anywhere. (Now, only these airlines allow flying with your ESA, Click here to check out the list.)
You can keep your ESA on Airbnb with you.

You can bring your pet to your workplace. (Although the employer is not obliged to allow you to do that. However, stating your pet as your ESA will underline your “need,” which can surely count as a plus point.

A legal document signed by a state-licensed health professional that certifies a pet as an emotional support animal is called an ESA Letter or emotional support animal letter.

As it is clear, certifying a pet as an ESA has several benefits; now, how to certify a pet, and who can do that for you?

The process to certify a pet as an ESA goes as

• Consult an ESA company that provides licensed ESA Letters.
• Apply on the website of the ESA company by filling out your medical details and your pet details.
• Now, the health professional will carry out the evaluation process by going through your form.
• If the health professional is convinced of your need to stay with an ESA, you will get your approval within the same day via email.

If you find an ESA company, check whether these steps are complete or not, as there are many scammers in the market.

Following health professionals can certify your pet as an emotional support animal:

• A Primary Care Physician
• A Licensed Therapist
• A Licensed Psychiatrist
• A Licensed General Physician
• A licensed psychologist
• Any Licensed Mental Health Professional (LMHP)

Do You Have To Get an Animal Before Applying For It As an ESA?

It is totally legal to apply for an ESA letter even before getting a pet. As long as you provide complete details of your pet, which you wish to adopt and want to certify as an ESA, the health professional will happily evaluate your application.

The main aim of the ESA letter is to verify your need to have an ESA; as long as that is genuine, you will get an ESA letter.

Before adopting a pet, getting an ESA letter can be, in fact, more beneficial. Most of the time, landlords don’t even let the pet enter their property without an ESA letter. Acquiring an ESA letter certification in hand will give you a sense of security that your pet will certify as an ESA, and you will have a legal right to keep them with you whenever you bring them to your apartment.

End Note

So, as we have explained, it’s a great deal of help to adopt a pet. With their emotional assistance, a pet can benefit its owners in several ways. The pet owner who keeps a pet for emotional support is privileged with so many perks given to them by the U.S government. To enjoy these privileges, you must have an ESA letter to certify your pet. However, many bogus companies will try to fool you with fake services like ESA registration. Don’t fall into their spam and get a legitimate ESA certification from trusted platforms like Fast ESA Letter!