You will need the support of a mental health professional to get official documentation for the animal. If your doctor or therapist doesn’t think you need an emotional support dog, then consider not getting one or finding a different mental health professional.
The letters for housing and flying are slightly different. The letter for housing does not need to describe the actual mental disorder you need your pet for. The letter for flying does need to give a specific diagnosis and reason for needing the support dog.
You will be asked to fill out an online survey that assesses your need for an emotional support dog. Your survey will be evaluated by a mental health professional. They will provide you with a letter of need if they determine you would benefit from an emotional support animal. The cost of getting this kind of service should be between $50 and $200.
You can either tell your landlord about your need in person or in a letter. Legally, the landlord has to make a reasonable accommodation for those with a disability. This includes accommodating a prescribed emotional service animal even if the house or apartment usually excludes pets.
Your landlord does not have the right to ask about your specific mental health diagnosis. A letter from your mental health professional should simply state that you have a mental health issue that requires animal support.
In order to educate your landlord about the rules surrounding emotional support animals you will need to know them yourself. Review federal, state, and local regulations relating to emotional support animals, disability, and housing. The Fair Housing Act is the central US federal law that protects against discrimination in housing. Specifically, it protects those that use assistance animals against discrimination.
It is important that the letter from your doctor is dated within a year from the date of your flight.
When calling to let the airline know that you will have an emotional support dog with you on your flight, it is also a good time to review the emotional support dog rules with an airline official and ask them any questions that you have.
You will likely have to get your dog vaccinated a certain amount of time before the flight and provide proof of these vaccinations to the airline. Find out what the timeline is for getting the required vaccinations and what documentation the airline will need before your dog can fly.
If the first airline official you interact with does not want to let you on your flight, ask to speak with a customer service representative that deals with disability-related issues.
Emotional support dogs do not need to have any specific training. However, it is a good idea to keep overly aggressive, loud, or jittery dogs off of flights. [5] X Research source Taking an obedience class with your dog can be a good way to ensure that he will be well-behaved for the flight. This can also be helpful for your dog’s other interactions with people.
