Emotional Support Animals (ESAs) have gained mainstream popularity as companions that greatly benefit people with mental health conditions by allowing them to live happy and functional lives. But even though ESAs aren’t covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act, they still need to have documentation to be allowed into public transport and housing.

One of these documents is a doctor-signed letter. What is it and what tips should one follow when asking a doctor to procure it? The answers are waiting below. But first, let’s discuss what an ESA is and which mental health conditions can benefit from the presence of this animal.

What is an Emotional Support Animal?

Simply speaking, ESAs are pets. But unlike a typical pet, an ESA is prescribed by a licensed mental health professional (LMHP) to a person that has a disabling mental condition. The emotional support animal’s job is to bring comfort to the patient with a mental illness by being present at their side.

Unlike a service animal, an ESA doesn’t have the access rights to public transportations and facilities. However, an ESA is allowed in places with no-pet policies such as condominiums and apartments. They can also be exempted from pet fees.

What is an Emotional Support Animal (ESA) Letter?

An ESA letter is an official document that proves a person’s legitimate need for an Emotional Support Animal as a treatment for their disability. This document must be signed by a licensed mental health professional from the state the person in need of an ESA resides in. The letter must also contain the doctor’s official letterhead, professional license number, and contact information.

Mental Health Conditions That Benefit from an Emotional Support Animal

• Depression
• Anxiety
• Post-traumatic stress disorder
• Chronic stress
• Attention deficit disorder
• Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
• Learning disabilities
• Emotional disorders

5 Tips to Ask Your Doctor for an ESA Letter

1. Schedule an appointment

Don’t go for a walk-in consultation. It’s best to call an LMHP and say that you need help before setting an appointment.

2. Discuss your symptoms

On the day of your consultation, honestly answer all the questions the LMHP will ask about the mental problems you’ve been experiencing. What you’ll say will determine if you’ll be clinically diagnosed with a mental condition.

3. Allow the LMHP to make recommendations first

It’s standard practice for LHMPs to prescribe medications and observe the progress of your treatment first. If your medications won’t work, they’ll suggest other therapy strategies. Listening to your mental healthcare provider before opening the idea of having an ESA will help them see that you’re doing your best to be better, and not using an ESA letter for your own gains.

4. Ask if owning an ESA brings positive results

When nothing works, say something in the tone of: “I’ve heard that having an animal helps in treating people like me. Do you think it would work?” Don’t be pushy about it. LMHPs are getting skeptical about the increasing demand for ESA letters.

5. Discuss having an ESA as an option

An LHMP will voice out their opinions and recommendations regarding ESAs as well as the pros and cons of having one. They’ll also ask if you feel better being around your pet or an animal. Like in #2, you must answer honestly. But be open to other suggestions your LHMP will give.

It may take a long time for a licensed mental health professional to give you an ESA letter. Be patient about it. ESAs are sometimes viewed in a negative light due to irresponsible pet owners using the label for their own benefit.

Know more about emotional support animals here!

• Why Choose Rabbits as Emotional Support Animals?
• 7 Qualities That Would Make Your Pet a Good Emotional Support Animal
• 9 Mental Health Benefits of Having an Emotional Support Animal
• Psychiatric Service Animal vs Emotional Support Animal: What’s the Difference?

Do you own an assistance animal? Register your pet today.

The Service Animal Registry of California invites you to have your assistance animal registered in order to designate its status. We also encourage you to take our online classes so you can be fully aware of your rights and gain more knowledge about your support animal.

Finally, we present to you our book entitled, “ASSISTANCE ANIMAL LAWS: LEARN YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING SERVICE ANIMALS, EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMALS, THERAPY PETS, AND OTHER DOGS, CATS, AND ASSISTANCE ANIMALS” to provide you with a complete education on assistance animals.

Purchase your copy of the book by clicking the image below.

There are multiple types of service dogs. Each one is specifically trained and paired with a person according to their condition in order to live a normal life. Some service dogs alert their companions of incoming seizures while others act as limbs to retrieve essential items. Then there are those trained to help people with narcolepsy.

But what exactly is narcolepsy? How does a service dog specifically trained for it help people with the condition? And what should a person in need of a narcolepsy service dog do to get one? Find the answers by reading on.

What Is Narcolepsy?

Narcolepsy is a type of sleep disorder that causes sudden attacks of sleep and extreme drowsiness. Unlike insomnia in which one can anticipate drowsiness and get to a safe place to rest, narcolepsy can be life-threatening as one who has it can pass out while doing critical tasks such as driving, biking, or walking.

Plenty of narcoleptics suffer from injuries and one-third of of them have been involved in vehicular accidents. Other symptoms of narcolepsy involve the inability to stay awake for hours or minutes and the loss of muscle tone (cataplexy, awake but paralyzed) no matter what the circumstances are.

Yes. Even if a narcoleptic individual has slept for 7 to 10 hours at night, they can or will collapse suddenly during the day. In most cases, narcolepsy is triggered by emotions that are sudden, anticipated, mild, or intense.

A service dog trained to assist a narcoleptic can help prevent life-threatening scenarios that a narcoleptic is bound to experience if they are alone.

In What Ways Can Narcolepsy Service Dogs Help?

Depending on the severity and symptoms of a narcoleptic, a service dog will undergo specialized training before they’re paired together. The tasks include:

• Catching the human as they fall – Large narcolepsy service dog breeds can be trained to catch a collapsing human. This action can prevent upper body and head injuries, especially if the person is standing, walking, or running on solid ground.
• Alerting the human for an incoming episode – Bark, nudge, or lick the human to signal them to sit or lie down before a narcolepsy episode occurs.
• Asking for help nearby – If the dog detects an injury on its handler due to a collapse, they will find the closest human and lead them to the unconscious person to call for a first responder.
• Waking the narcoleptic up – The service dog will wake its unconscious handler in ways similar to alerting them for an incoming episode.
• Guarding the human until they wake up – If the narcoleptic person cannot wake up, the service dog will make sure they remain untouched until they regain consciousness.
• Getting the narcoleptic into a comfortable position – Sometimes a narcoleptic will fall into a position in which their head obstructs their breathing. A narcolepsy service dog will raise the person’s head to make sure they breathe properly while unconscious.

How to Get a Narcolepsy Service Dog

First, you must be clinically diagnosed with a disability and at least be 12 years of age. Exceptions for getting a service dog when you’re younger than 12 only apply for those diagnosed with autism.

Then, provide proof that you live in a stable environment. Make sure that you’re cognitively and physically capable of rendering an hour a day to train with your future service dog. Having the ability to independently command and handle a service dog is part of the requirement.

You must have the means and knowledge to provide the financial, physical, and emotional needs of a service dog. Lastly, you shouldn’t have another pet dog at home as they might interfere with the service canine’s work. However, other pet animals are permitted.

Narcolepsy is not a good thing to have. It’s a condition that exposes a person to plenty of life-endangering events. What’s worse is that it cannot be cured. Which is why if you suffer from narcolepsy or know someone who does, it’s best to get a service dog specifically trained for it.

Know more about service animals here!

• Service Dogs for Anxiety: What You Need to Know
• 8 Things You Should Bring While Traveling with Your Service Animal
• The 7 Best Service Dog Breeds for People With Disabilities
• What Are The Different Types Of Service Dogs? (And What They Do)
• Psychiatric Service Animal vs Emotional Support Animal: What’s the Difference?

Do you own an assistance animal? Register your pet today.

The Service Animal Registry of California invites you to have your assistance animal registered in order to designate its status. We also encourage you to take our online classes so you can be fully aware of your rights and gain more knowledge about your support animal.

Finally, we present to you our book entitled, “ASSISTANCE ANIMAL LAWS: LEARN YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING SERVICE ANIMALS, EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMALS, THERAPY PETS, AND OTHER DOGS, CATS, AND ASSISTANCE ANIMALS” to provide you with a complete education on assistance animals.

Purchase your copy of the book by clicking the image below.

Rabbits have been around for millions of years as secondary consumers in the food chain. It was only until the Victorian era when the leporid gained popularity as an animal companion. Today, rabbits are the third common house pet in the United States — second to dogs and cats. So, it’s no surprise that they’ve also become one of the first choices for emotional support use.

According to a study, the presence of rabbits effectively lowered anxiety levels in elementary-age children. This is a promising find for other types of mental conditions. Thinking of getting an emotional support animal (ESA) for yourself or for someone you know? If yes, then you should choose a rabbit. Here are 5 reasons why.

1. Rabbits are small, gentle, loving, quiet, calm, and soft

Like puppies and kittens, rabbits quickly bond with their owners. They have a loving and caring nature which makes them ideal candidates for being ESAs. Some emotional support rabbit owners even say that they are quiet, contrary to dogs and cats who bark and meow for no reason which some people find distracting.

2. Rabbits live long lives

A rabbit is indeed a small animal, but on average, it can live past 10 years. That’s a lot longer compared to their cousins — rodents, which can only live to an average of five years. You can expect to have a long-term emotional bond if you choose to have a rabbit as your emotional support companion.

3. Rabbits don’t require plenty of space

Unlike dogs that need a lot of space to move around and regular walks outside for exercise, rabbits are happy and content with having just a small space. They don’t like going out where there are a lot of people and animals, and would prefer to spend most of their day sleeping. It’s also important to remember that rabbits don’t like to be caged.

4. Rabbits are inexpensive

Rabbits are easily affordable, especially those from rescue shelters. They don’t need an expensive diet and can be fed any plant as long as the plant isn’t poisonous by nature or treated with toxic chemicals such as herbicides and pesticides.

If possible, avoid buying a rabbit from pet stores as they cost more and are likely to have genetic diseases from bad breeding practices.

5. Rabbits aren’t messy and can be trained

Dogs and cats are known to damage household objects out of stress, boredom, or instinct. Rabbits don’t usually have this behavior if you use positive reinforcement to stop them from chewing on your things.

You can also litter train a bunny so you don’t have to pick up their pellets. Eventually, rabbits will deposit everywhere in your house to mark their territories. Fortunately, neutering them would reduce their territorial tendencies.

If you’re thinking of getting a rabbit as an emotional support animal, pick one from your local shelter. Make a difference by saving an animal in need of a loving home.

Know more about emotional support animals here!

• 7 Qualities That Would Make Your Pet a Good Emotional Support Animal
• 9 Mental Health Benefits of Having an Emotional Support Animal
• Psychiatric Service Animal vs Emotional Support Animal: What’s the Difference?

Do you own an assistance animal? Register your pet today.

The Service Animal Registry of California invites you to have your assistance animal registered in order to designate its status. We also encourage you to take our online classes so you can be fully aware of your rights and gain more knowledge about your support animal.

Finally, we present to you our book entitled, “ASSISTANCE ANIMAL LAWS: LEARN YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING SERVICE ANIMALS, EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMALS, THERAPY PETS, AND OTHER DOGS, CATS, AND ASSISTANCE ANIMALS” to provide you with a complete education on assistance animals.

Purchase your copy of the book by clicking the image below.

Anxiety is our natural reaction in the event or presence of stress. It’s an emotion that triggers our fight or flight mechanism. While anxiety is an evolutionary advantage that ensures our survival as a species, unfortunately, it has also become one of the most common mental illnesses all over the world. The most common symptom of people with anxiety disorders is a panic attack.

The fact is, all of us have our own fears and we react to them differently. Some respond mildly or nothing at all while others do so in an extreme manner. And it’s sad to say that the majority of people who react extremely to their fears experience a panic attack longer and more frequently.

Fortunately, we have discovered employing psychiatric service dogs as a way to help people with anxiety and other forms of mental illnesses live independent lives. According to a 2020 study, psychiatric assistance dogs showed to greatly benefit people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Know more about psychiatric service dogs, their roles as companions for people with anxiety disorders, and the best dog breeds for psychiatric service.

What is a Psychiatric Service Dog?

A psychiatric service dog (PSD) is a sub-category of service animals trained to assist people with learning disabilities or mental illnesses. Instead of guiding the blind go from one place to another, alerting the deaf for auditory cues, or warning about incoming seizures, a PSD calms the person suffering from an episode of their mental disorder.

What Roles Do These Service Dogs Carry Out for People with Anxiety?

Even as a specialized subcategory of service animals, each psychiatric service dog undergoes a training program designed to help their future user based on the person’s psychiatric condition. Here are examples of the roles PSDs need to fulfill:

1. Detect incoming rapid negative mood changes in their users.
2. Interrupt a user’s negative behavior caused by a mental illness episode and encourage petting.
3. Provide relief until the episode has subsided.
4. Retrieve medications and other essential objects a user cannot under an episode.
5. Call for additional human assistance if their user’s episode is severe and life-threatening.
6. Accompany their user at all times.

Service Dog Breeds for Anxiety

Not all dogs can make it to be psychiatric service animals. There are some canine breeds favored for their high trainability, temperament, and the level of affection they can provide to their users. Some examples of these dogs are:

• Great Danes – Despite being large dogs and bred for hunting boars, Great Danes are very calm, making them one of the best choices for an anxiety-PSD. They are best paired with men or bigger and stronger people in general.

• Retriever Dogs – Gold, Labrador, or Brindled, it doesn’t matter what type of retriever there is — they are friendly, cuddly, and highly trainable.

• Boxers – Appearance isn’t everything and Boxers prove that. Even for a medium-sized dog with an indifferent expression, Boxers are strong, energetic, and tolerant. They can quickly hop to their users’ laps to stop any negative behaviors.

• Standard Poodles – Like Retriever dogs, Poodles are highly intelligent and friendly. What makes them different from the former is that they don’t cause allergies and asthma, making them ideal PSDs for sensitive people.

• Mini Schnauzers – Known for being well-mannered and alert, Mini Schnauzers are the most behaved and focused dog breeds to accompany a user outside their home. They’re also the best at warning other people in the house of a possible panic attack.

Conclusion

PSDs are more than a best friend who’s there to help you and offer comfort when you feel like the world is out to harm you or everything is lost. They are also life-savers. A person having a PSD can live a happy, healthy, and independent life. Do you know someone who needs a psychiatric service dog? Talk them into getting their own today!

Read more about assistance animals here:

• How to Train Your Dog to Become a Therapy Animal
• 6 Rules of Etiquette When Being Around Service Animals
• Why Do Miniature Horses Make Great Service Animals? 5 Reasons Why
• 8 Things You Should Bring While Traveling with Your Service Animal
• Psychiatric Service Animal vs Emotional Support Animal: What’s the Difference?

Do you own an assistance animal? Register your pet today.

The Service Animal Registry of California invites you to have your assistance animal registered in order to designate its status. We also encourage you to take our online classes so you can be fully aware of your rights and gain more knowledge about your support animal.

Finally, we present to you our book entitled, “ASSISTANCE ANIMAL LAWS: LEARN YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING SERVICE ANIMALS, EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMALS, THERAPY PETS, AND OTHER DOGS, CATS, AND ASSISTANCE ANIMALS” to provide you with a complete education on assistance animals.

Purchase your copy of the book by clicking the image below.

Any creature can be registered as an emotional support animal (ESA). Pigs, chickens, llamas, alpacas, sheep, goats, parrots, small horses, rodents, and rabbits are some good examples aside from cats and dogs.

However, not all animals can become an emotional supporter. Because if people were to register any creature as an emotional support animal if they desired, it would cause a lot of inconveniences — especially if these animals misbehave in public.

So which traits should your pet have to make them qualify as a good emotional support animal? Read on to find out.

1. House-trained

Your pet should at least be trained on where and when to poop. This will help you avoid problems during your travels when your pet becomes a legitimate ESA. Many rail and air transportation passengers complain about ESAs defecating in the cabin. Don’t be this kind of owner.

2. Friendly to everyone

It’s given that your ESA is friendly with you. But they should also be friendly with other animals and people. An ESA is not a guard dog and shouldn’t act with hostility towards others they don’t know. This quality would also guarantee safe travels.

3. Obedient and easy to train

Although your ESA is far from being a service animal, they should at least still have the ability to learn and obey simple orders. You don’t want to have an unruly and destructive ESA that would add to your stress at home and wherever you go.

4. Focused

As an ESA owner, you can expect your companion to be with you at all times even when you travel. It’s important that your ESA should have the quality of staying focused under any circumstance. That means not being easily distracted when they see another human or animal.

5. Gentle and affectionate

Good ESAs know when their owners are sad, anxious, or stressed, and it’s their job to be near when that happens to provide emotional support. However, some animals may have undesirable reactions even if they have good intentions.

Some examples would be lunging, playful biting, and scratching. These actions can harm you physically. If your pet does this, there’s no need to worry as you can still train them or change their character to act more gently and lovingly.

6. Relaxed temperament

Pair up your pet’s gentle actions with an easy-going character. It would be a problem if your pet is gentle when they approach you but is easily frightened when you approach and touch them.

7. Gives your life purpose, stability, and happiness

Lastly, your pet should be one of the reasons you wake up and do your daily tasks. They should be the reason for you seeing the world in a positive light. And finally, their presence should actually calm you when you’re feeling stressed, anxious, sad, scared, or angry.

Does your pet have all of these qualities and do you need them to be your Emotional Support Animal? Talk to your therapist as soon as possible so they can be registered right away.

Read more about assistance animals here!

• How to Train Your Dog to Become a Therapy Animal
• 6 Rules of Etiquette When Being Around Service Animals
• 7 Top Tips for Responsible Pet and Assistance Animal Ownership
• 9 Mental Health Benefits of Having an Emotional Support Animal

Do you own an assistance animal? Register your pet today.

The Service Animal Registry of California invites you to have your assistance animal registered in order to designate its status. We also encourage you to take our online classes so you can be fully aware of your rights and gain more knowledge about your support animal.

Finally, we present to you our book entitled, “ASSISTANCE ANIMAL LAWS: LEARN YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING SERVICE ANIMALS, EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMALS, THERAPY PETS, AND OTHER DOGS, CATS, AND ASSISTANCE ANIMALS” to provide you with a complete education on assistance animals. Purchase your copy of the book by clicking the image below. 

A therapy dog is a type of working animal that visits people that are under physical, emotional, and mental stress to provide relief. They are different from emotional support animals in which ESAs mostly accompany one human and don’t assist disabled people with their daily life just as service animals do.

Not every dog can become a therapy animal. Certain criteria must be met and the dog must undergo training before it can be considered one. If you’re planning to make your dog or puppy do therapy work, you can use this list as a starting guide for training.

1. Teach them basic obedience

Dogs of all ages are playful. Which is why they should undergo basic obedience training when they’re still puppies. Adult dogs can be taught as well but they may find it hard to be obedient if their temperament has solidified. The only exception are dogs who are already submissive by nature

2. Teach them to be friendly, affectionate, and calm towards strangers

After your dog is trained to behave when you need them to, follow it up by teaching them to be open to strangers. Again, this should be done when the dog is still young or a puppy. Expose your dog to other people with different attributes.

They must learn to trust the presence of young, adult, elderly, with hair, bald, cleanly-shaved, bearded, tall, or short men and women. It would be difficult for guard dogs to be therapy dogs due to their protective nature.

If you’re training an aggressive animal for therapy work, it might take a long time or the pup will probably not become a certified therapy dog.

3. Teach them to ignore distractions

Noises, food, visual cues, and other animals are common causes of distraction among dogs. A canine that isn’t trained to ignore distractions is prone to jumping off or running away from a person in need of therapy once they see, smell, or hear something off. Make sure that your dog is trained to focus on the present and shrug off any kind of interfering stimuli.

4. Teach them to allow touching

It’s part of a therapy dog’s job to be touched in order for the person in their care to feel relief. This is one of the make or break points before a canine can be certified for therapy work because not all dogs like physical contact. Some might even react aggressively at the slightest touch. Training your dog to allow touching can be done together with teaching them to be open to strangers.

5. Teach them environmental stability

Since therapy dogs will visit a lot of places as a part of their work, it’s essential to train them not to fear or react badly to new environments. As early as now, make your dog accustomed to going to different locations other than your home or places you both frequent for walks.

Remember that the younger you start training your dog, the easier it is for them to learn what it takes to be a therapy animal. And older dogs that undergo therapy animal training have a low chance of being certified.

Read more articles for pet, therapy, emotional support, and service animals here!

• 6 Rules of Etiquette When Being Around Service Animals
• 7 Top Tips for Responsible Pet and Assistance Animal Ownership
• 8 Care Tips for Your Companion and Assistance Animal According to Veterinarians
• 9 Mental Health Benefits of Having an Emotional Support Animal
• The Best Grooming Practices to Prepare Your Therapy Pet for Their Next Visit

Do you own an assistance animal? Register your pet today.

The Service Animal Registry of California invites you to have your assistance animal registered in order to designate its status. We also encourage you to take our online classes so you can be fully aware of your rights and gain more knowledge about your support animal.

Finally, we present to you our book entitled, “ASSISTANCE ANIMAL LAWS: LEARN YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING SERVICE ANIMALS, EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMALS, THERAPY PETS, AND OTHER DOGS, CATS, AND ASSISTANCE ANIMALS” to provide you with a complete education on assistance animals. Purchase your copy of the book by clicking the image below. 

Therapy animals visit a lot of facilities like hospitals, schools, prisons, emergency settlements, mental asylums, and other places that require their therapeutic presence. By owning one, you need to make sure that they are at their best before you let them interact with people.

Doing this will help prevent the spread of diseases, trigger allergic reactions, injuries, and other kinds of human unpleasantries. With that said, follow this list as a guide to groom your therapy pet so that they can help people in need of an animal consolation.

1. Use the right grooming tools

Buy a nail clipper, nail file, hairbrush, toothbrush, shampoo, toothpaste, and other grooming tools designed for your pet and their specific breed. Remember that animals have a different physiology from us humans. Their skin has a specific pH balance.

Their nails, mouth, teeth, and gums are built differently. By buying the right tools, it will be easy to groom them before they do therapy work.

2. Trim their fur

This practice is optional and depends on what kind of animal your pet is. Thickly furred felines such as Persian cats don’t need trimming because their body will adjust hair growth depending on their environment. Golden retrievers on the other hand require periodical trimming once their fur grows too long.

3. Brush their fur

If you choose not to trim your therapy pet’s fur, you can just opt to brush it. This practice is just as effective as trimming when it comes to preventing dander allergies on the human they’ll interact with.

4. Brush their teeth

Like humans, animals will also develop plaques, cavities, and bad breath if they don’t get their teeth brushed. Once a human smells your pet’s bad breath, expect the same reaction when you get a whiff of someone with a bad breath as well. Research on how often you should brush your pet’s teeth or if you need to brush them at all.

5. Trim their nails

Dogs are known to put their paws on humans as a way to say “I love you”. Some animals also like to hug or latch on to humans they like. The problem is that an animal with untrimmed nails might cause a scratch. It’s ideal to trim your pet’s nails every three to four weeks.

Read this article for proper canine nail trimming. If your therapy animal isn’t a dog, search the web for tips designed for their species.

6. Feed them with the proper diet

One cause for a furred animal’s over-shedding is a poorly balanced meal. Too much protein causes fur overgrowth and eventually liver and kidney problems. Talk to a veterinarian about how much and what brand of food you should feed your therapy pet.

7. Take them to the vet

The best way to groom your therapy pet before letting them work is to take them to the vet. A veterinarian can do a thorough examination and would give you a list of treatments and grooming practices to follow specified to their species, breed, and current condition.

That includes all the things listed above as well as how to deal with parasites such as flea ticks, lice, and intestinal worms.

Is your therapy pet needed soon? Make a list of grooming tools to buy today and schedule an appointment with a veterinarian. The earlier you do, the more time you’ll have to prepare to make your therapy pet look and do its best for those that need them.

Read more here to know more about assistance animals:

• 5 New Year’s Resolutions for Pet and Assistance Animal Owners
• 6 Rules of Etiquette When Being Around Service Animals
• 7 Top Tips for Responsible Pet and Assistance Animal Ownership
• 8 Things You Should Bring While Traveling with Your Service Animal
• 9 Mental Health Benefits of Having an Emotional Support Animal

Do you own an assistance animal? Register your pet today.

The Service Animal Registry of California invites you to have your assistance animal registered in order to designate its status. We also encourage you to take our online classes so you can be fully aware of your rights and gain more knowledge about your support animal.

Finally, we present to you our book entitled, “ASSISTANCE ANIMAL LAWS: LEARN YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING SERVICE ANIMALS, EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMALS, THERAPY PETS, AND OTHER DOGS, CATS, AND ASSISTANCE ANIMALS” to provide you with a complete education on assistance animals. Purchase your copy of the book by clicking the image below. 

When we talk about a new year, one of the things that come to mind is making resolutions to improve our life or add excitement to it. But we also forget that our four-legged friends also need annual changes. They may not say or show it but the want is there. Looking for some ideas for new year’s resolutions to make with your animal companion? Use this list as your inspiration.

1. Measure their food every time

Most, if not all animals don’t know that they are overeating. If you’ve noticed your companion gaining weight, it’s a sign that you’re putting too much food in their bowl. While an animal looks cute if they’ve reached a “chonkers” physique, being overweight actually shortens its life.

It’s also worth mentioning that making an animal obese is a form of abuse, be it intentional or not. You must talk to your vet and follow the recommended serving of your pet or assistance animal’s food.

2. Give them a form of exercise and let them play

Pets aren’t just the type of animals that need exercise and playtime. Even working animals also require physical, emotional, and mental workouts to maintain their wellbeing and efficiency. If you have a condition that prevents you from exercising or playing with your assistance animal, 

you can let them loose in the backyard or in the living room with their toys. Better yet, hire someone else to play with them or take them out for a walk.

3. Visit the vet twice this year

Like humans, animals also require routine physical checkups. Make sure to schedule and show up to the veterinarian’s clinic every six months. Responsible pet and assistance animal owners should prevent their companions from being sick by getting them diagnosed for conditions and treating any as early as possible.

4. Teach them new tricks

Pets will eventually feel bored from a daily routine and want something new and exciting to grow. Which is why it’s recommended to teach them new tricks or commands every year. That also includes service, emotional support, and therapy animals.

If a service dog already knows how to fetch an object through an issued command, the next thing they should learn is how to unload your dryer or play dead. Actually, teaching anything they don’t already know is a good challenge to keep their minds sharp.

5. Make them meet more friends

Dogs, cats, and even horses are social animals like us. They need to be in the company of their kin from time to time to stay emotionally healthy. On relaxed days take your pet or service dog to a canine park to socialize with other pups.

Cats can also enjoy the company of others in specified daycares. For those with miniature horses, look for local equine farms in your local area that they can freely run around.

It’s important to remember that these resolutions aren’t only beneficial for your animal. By putting in the effort to make them happy, healthy, and fulfilled, your quality of living will also improve, especially when they return your kindness with unconditional love.

Do you own an assistance animal? Register your pet today.

The Service Animal Registry of California invites you to have your assistance animal registered in order to designate its status. We also encourage you to take our online classes so you can be fully aware of your rights and gain more knowledge about your support animal.

Finally, we present to you our book entitled, “ASSISTANCE ANIMAL LAWS: LEARN YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING SERVICE ANIMALS, EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMALS, THERAPY PETS, AND OTHER DOGS, CATS, AND ASSISTANCE ANIMALS” to provide you with a complete education on assistance animals. Purchase your copy of the book by clicking the image below. 

Animals have been a part of human daily life since ancient times. Some became our hunting partners. Others were domesticated for our source of nutrition. There are also those with no correlation to human activities but just found our presence to be comforting and beneficial.

As years went by, we have found that animals, no matter what species they belong to, can provide us with emotional support during tough times. And with that emotional support, mental health benefits have also been discovered. Here is a list of these benefits.

1. Emotional support animals help prevent mental health problems

Playing with an ESA helps your brain produce dopamine and serotonin. When your brain has a healthy amount of these chemicals, you’re less likely to have anxiety, depression, panic attacks, dementia, Alzheimer’s, and schizophrenia.

2. Emotional support animals keep you occupied

ESAs are living creatures. You need to take care of them by providing food, shelter, and keeping them clean. Because of these things, your daily life has a solid structure. As the saying goes, “An idle mind is the devil’s workshop.” Having an ESA prevents you from fostering unhealthy thoughts and doing bad things.

3. Emotional support animals provide you companionship

Isolated people are more likely to develop mental health issues. Although ESAs aren’t humans, their presence can still prevent a person from feeling lonely. Some even say that an ESA’s companionship is better than close contact with a romantic interest, family member, or friend.

4. Emotional support animals help you be more social

Taking your ESA out in the public is a great conversation starter. You might not be the initiator of dialogue but the chances of people talking to you are high when you’re with an ESA. Remember, we all need regular social interaction and skills to keep our minds healthy.

5. Emotional support animals relieve your stress through touch

Had a bad day? Stroking or hugging an ESA can quickly reduce your negative feelings and stabilize intense emotions. Just make sure to choose an ESA that’s touch-friendly.

6. Emotional support animals help you develop a positive self-perception

Because having an ESA gives you responsibilities, you’ll feel that you’re needed. You’ll also feel more confident while developing a positive self-image.

7. Emotional support animals provide you with unconditional love

Love, no matter what form, helps people develop healthy daily behaviors and foster happy thoughts. Treat your ESA with tender loving care and they will return your kindness with loyalty and unconditional love.

8. Emotional support animals increase your mental fortitude

When all the aforementioned benefits of having an ESA are combined, you’ll have a mind that’s tough to crack. You won’t be so easily discouraged, disappointed, or hurt at the challenges life throws at you. You’ll also be more focused on getting things done.

9. Emotional support animals help you make good long-term behavioral changes

Owning an ESA makes people with unhealthy and self-destructive life choices think about their doings. Plenty of hardened convicts have ditched their bad behaviors after regular calming interaction sessions with animals. You too can also get this benefit by having an ESA.

All domesticated animals can be ESAs. It can be a horse, pig, lizard, or even a crocodile. To make an animal be registered as an ESA, a person needs to have a legitimate diagnosis of a mental or emotional condition and a doctor’s approval.

Read more articles here!

• Why Do Miniature Horses Make Great Service Animals? 5 Reasons Why
• 6 Rules of Etiquette When Being Around Service Animals
• 7 Top Tips for Responsible Pet and Assistance Animal Ownership
• 8 Care Tips for Your Companion and Assistance Animal According to Veterinarians
• Psychiatric Service Animal vs Emotional Support Animal: What’s the Difference?

Do you own an assistance animal? Register your pet today.

The Service Animal Registry of California invites you to have your assistance animal registered in order to designate its status. We also encourage you to take our online classes so you can be fully aware of your rights and gain more knowledge about your support animal.

Finally, we present to you our book entitled, “ASSISTANCE ANIMAL LAWS: LEARN YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING SERVICE ANIMALS, EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMALS, THERAPY PETS, AND OTHER DOGS, CATS, AND ASSISTANCE ANIMALS” to provide you with a complete education on assistance animals. Purchase your copy of the book by clicking the image below. 

According to a specific provision made by the Americans with Disabilities Act, miniature horses are the only species to be accommodated as service animals along with dogs. Like their canine counterparts, miniature horses should also be trained to carry specific tasks to assist their human with a disability.

For a miniature horse to be accommodated and recognized as a service animal, it must meet four factors or criteria made by the Justice Department: Miniature horses must be housebroken, under the control of the handler, can be accommodated by a facility based on its size, weight, and type, and must not compromise the safety of operations in a facility it enters.

But what exact traits do these equine animals possess that make them on par with canines when it comes to being service animals? Here are five of them.

1. Trainable with high emotional intelligence

Although horses are not as quick in learning skills as dogs, they possess strong intuition and emotional intelligence that dogs can find hard to beat. This means miniature horses make good psychiatric service animals because they can detect and respond quickly to handlers suffering from depression, anxiety, PTSD, panic attacks, and bipolar disorder.

2. Conscious of safety

Miniature horses are highly alert and are always looking out for dangerous scenarios. They have preserved this trait from their larger ancestors that were bred for transportation. As a result, they have excellent judgment when avoiding obstacles and finding the safest route as they guide their handlers to a destination.

3. Wide and excellent vision

Horses have a unique eye placement that gives them almost a 350° vision. They see well in the dark and can move their eyes independently. Along with reason #2, miniature horses make one the best guide animals for the blind along with dogs. Plus, a fully matured miniature horse is strong and can support the weight of a person with vision problems in case they stumble.

4. Longer lifespan

A service dog can only serve its owner for an average of 8 to 12 years. Miniature horses have an average lifespan of 30 to 40 years. Some even live for more than 50. This makes miniature horses the service animal species with the longest years of servitude. If only dogs can also live as long as them.

5. Better public acceptance

Service dogs are commonly perceived as pets rather than service animals. It’s the main reason why they face resistance in accessing public spaces even with them wearing identification vests and collars. On the other hand, handlers with miniature horses don’t face this problem often because tiny equine companions are easily recognized as service animals.

Miniature horses are as large as medium-sized dogs. They can fit anywhere, even in the passenger cabins of public transportation. They also get fleas rarely and shed twice a year — perfect for handlers that are allergic to dander. Thinking of getting yourself or someone a service animal? Consider the miniature horse.

Do you own an assistance animal? Register your pet today.

The Service Animal Registry of California invites you to have your assistance animal registered in order to designate its status. We also encourage you to take our online classes so you can be fully aware of your rights and gain more knowledge about your support animal.

Finally, we present to you our book entitled, “ASSISTANCE ANIMAL LAWS: LEARN YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING SERVICE ANIMALS, EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMALS, THERAPY PETS, AND OTHER DOGS, CATS, AND ASSISTANCE ANIMALS” to provide you with a complete education on assistance animals. Purchase your copy of the book by clicking the image below.