1. What is an Emotional Support Animal (ESA)?

Emotional support animal is a pet that brings its owner a desirable mental and psychological support. However, unlike a common pet, ESA has a legal status that allows it to accompany its owner almost everywhere absolutely for free.
Quick pace of life, daily stress, intensive work schedule lead to the situation when people feel lonely, unhappy and unable to find the inner balance. In this case, an ESA might become the part of the assigned treatment. The loving pet can provide its owner with comfort and friendship he or she needs so much.

2. Does my pet qualify as an emotional support animal?

Yes, it does! Any pet can become the emotional support animal. Even if you have the funny peacock or the friendly alligator, you are allowed to register it as an ESA. Though, definitely, the most common choices are dogs, cats and rabbits.
However, you need to keep in mind that not all ESA animals can use their rights to the fullest. For example, if you have a snail, you can hardly take it to the plane`s board because the airline will prohibit it in respect to the other passengers.

3. What if I don’t qualify for an ESA?

You will get a permission to register your pet as an ESA if you are no younger than 18 y.o. and if you have the emotional or mental disability that has to be treated with the ESA`s assistance. The most common conditions that qualify are the following: anxiety, depression, panic attacks, ADHD, PTSD, OCD, age-related cognitive decline, etc. You can find the full list in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5).

4. What is the difference between an ESA and a service dog?

Even though emotional support animals and service animals both belong to the category “assistance animals”, they have absolutely different rights and duties. While the role of ESA is to bring emotional support to the disabled person, service animals are vitally important for people with physical disabilities. They help the blind, hearing and visually impaired people to perform their basic life functions. Moreover, service animals are always those that have taken special training.
Considering different roles of ESA and service animal in their owners` life, they also have different rights. Service animals are allowed almost everywhere with their owners while ESA`s appearance in public places is not regulated by the law.

5. How to register your dog as an emotional support animal?

To register your dog or any other pet as the emotional support animal, you need to contact the state licensed medical professional. His role is to confirm that getting the ESA is likely to bring you therapeutic benefits and to issue an ESA letter.
The simplest way to get an ESA letter is to use an online telemedicine service. In this case, you manage to save much more time and efforts than with the real-life visit.

6. Can I take my service dog or emotional support animal on an airplane?

Yes, emotional support animals and service dogs are both allowed on the airplane. Moreover, you do not have to pay any fees for your pet, so it travels with you absolutely for free.
However, there is one thing to note: make sure to inform the airline that you are going to travel with an ESA in advance. Airlines require different documents for your ESA pet and have different policy towards various animal types. Check it long before the flight to avoid unexpected surprises.

7. Is my ESA allowed to be taken in the cabin of airplane when traveling?

If you provide the airline with the necessary documentation, you are allowed to take your ESA to the airplane cabin, so it could sit on your lap. However, as mentioned before, some animals are never allowed in the cabin: reptiles, snakes, alligators, etc. To get the full list, contact the airline you are going to use.

8. Can I bring my emotional support animal to hotels?

You can bring your emotional support pet to any kind of rental accommodation. The landlord is obliged to accept your pet even in case he has a no pet policy. Moreover, you do not have to pay either pet fees or pet deposits. The only demand is that your ESA is well-behaved enough not to distract the other tenants and not to damage the private property. If anything of the kind happens, ESA owner is to take financial responsibility.

9. What if my emotional support animal creates a disturbance or destroys property?

Having registered your pet as an ESA, you certainly get plenty of benefits. Though, you need to remember that there are duties, too. You are responsible for the behavior of your pet, so you need to train it not to disturb other people or to destroy the public or private property. If the inappropriate behavior of your pet has resulted in damage, you might be faced with the necessity to pay compensation or even to be refused in accommodation.

10. Are stores required to allow service animals to be placed in a shopping cart?

If you have a service animal, you can take it to the store with you since this pet is vitally important for your physical well-being. However, most stores prohibit placing service dogs in a shopping cart because of food safety reasons.

11. I have damaged/lost my original letter. How can I get a new one?

That is hardly a problem. Get in touch with our medical specialists (if you used our online service to get the ESA letter) and make a request for issuing an extra document. You will need to pay a standard fee for extra document and get the original of your ESA letter sent by post immediately after application.

12. What is the refund policy?

We make sure that our clients are absolutely satisfied with the service, so we have the refund policy. If you do not get the ESA letter or face any trouble with its use, we will either fix your problems or get the whole amount refunded. Please keep in mind that refund policy does not relate to cases when the customer has changed his mind about getting an ESA letter, so make a decision beforehand.

13. Can I upgrade my plan?

When making an order, you are asked to choose between three plans: ESA Housing Letter, ESA Travel Letter or the Combo Plan that gives the maximal benefit. Please consider the plan choice carefully because you will not be able to change it in most cases. However, you can upgrade your Travel or Housing plan to the Combo one paying the difference only if that happens within the 60 day period after the approval.

14. When will payment be processed?

As soon as your application is approved, you can pay for the order. Note that you do not have to pay anything if your request is denied. After you send the payment, it gets processed immediately.

15. How long is my ESA letter valid?

An ESA letter is valid for 12 months. At the end of this period, you can get in touch with us and renew the document for a reduced fee. Note that you do not need to pass the registration procedure again in this case.