They’re a scam that’s been going on for years and those darn ads still show up every day in our online feeds. How do those companies get away with it? I don’t know, but I do realize that very few who read those ads and send in money have any idea they’re being scammed.
I asked friends online, “Do ads for ‘ESA letters’ sold online make you mad?”
I added: “Help educate the novice pet guardians who might fall for the scam without doing their due diligence—please!
“What do the ads say that you know is not true—for example, ‘you can take your ESA anywhere, just like a service dog’?
“What is the truth about the so-called ‘rights’ of ESAs to access, housing, travel (including via air)? Where is this information found?”
“What is the real process to be pursued by someone who wants a real ESA letter from a legitimate source?”
What is an Emotional Support Animal (ESA)?
An Emotional Support Animal (ESA) is an animal that provides a therapeutic benefit (e.g., emotional support, comfort, companionship) to a person with a mental health or psychiatric disability (such as a serious mental health condition). An ESA is not considered a Service Animal, but under U.S. law, an emotional support animal is also not considered a pet and is generally not restricted by the type of animal. Any domesticated animal may be considered as an ESA (e.g., cats, dogs, mice, rabbits, birds, hedgehogs, rats, minipigs, ferrets, etc.) and they can be any age. However, an ESA must be able to be manageable in public and does not create a nuisance.
ESAs do not perform specific tasks, instead, it is the presence of the animal that relieves the symptoms associated with a person’s serious mental health condition. For a person to legally have an emotional support animal (ESA), the owner must be considered to have a qualifying mental health or psychiatric disability by a licensed mental health professional (e.g., therapist, psychologist, psychiatrist, etc.), which is documented by a properly formatted prescription letter. The difference between a legitimate ESA and a pet is the letter from your licensed mental health professional.
How do I figure out if an ESA is right for me?
There are no hard rules about who would and would not benefit from an ESA. The primary benefit is often the simple companionship that comes from spending time with an animal. Animals can be a great comfort during times of distress and a much-needed positive presence on a difficult day. Depending on the type of animal, taking care of an animal can be a lot of work. For some, this kind of responsibility can be useful motivation to do things like adhere to routines (e.g., feeding your animal at the same time/s every day) or get outside and exercise regularly (e.g., walking a dog).
If you think that an ESA might be right for you, start a conversation with your mental health professionals about it. Tell them why you think having an ESA would be beneficial to you specifically. Your professional may already know about ESAs and be able to tell you if they would recommend one for you, or you might need to learn more about ESAs together before they make a recommendation.
Where do ESAs come from?
ESAs can come from any of the places that pets come from. Unlike Service Animals, ESAs do not need to be raised or trained in a specific way. Emotional Support Animals can be adopted from shelters, purchased from breeders or pet stores, or obtained from anywhere else that a pet could come from—maybe your neighbor’s cat had kittens!
https://www.umassmed.edu/TransitionsACR/resources/emotional-support-animals-101/
What do online ads for “fake” ESA letters look like? Here are a few:
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REAL ESA LETTERS—FROM REAL DOCTORS
Our ESA Letters Guarantee:
▪ Waiver of ALL Pet Deposit Fees!
▪ Waiver of any Breed Restrictions!
▪ Waiver of any Weight Restrictions!
▪ Lowest Price Legitimate ESA Letter!
Only $65! See if you qualify!
_____
Get qualified to live and travel almost anywhere with your pet in three easy steps (even if they have a “no pets” policy).
Qualify online and instantly!
Get doctor approval in 48 hours (or less)
_____
Jamie Robinson (Florida) It’s the way the ads are worded, saying that their pet can go anywhere with them, which is against the law and not true in most other countries that don’t recognize ESAs. These ads put out a lie sugarcoated with something people want to believe, by getting them to spend money that they could more effectively spend elsewhere. Also, even ESAs require that the person be disabled in some way, and the ads and the websites they are linked to make NO mention of the law.
Kat Camplin (California) It’s not faking that a dog is an ESA, it’s faking a disability to be qualified for an ESA. I get that finding pet-friendly housing can be difficult, but faking the need for an ESA to get into housing just makes it harder for everyone, including those with a real need.
Isabel Alvarez Arata (Texas) I feel as though it’s a symptom of how uninformed consumers are about the implications of purchasing these products. They think it’s harmless, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Lori Leah Monet DVM (Colorado) Every pet is an emotional support animal. But that doesn’t mean they should be in a public place. Training and control are important. When I see an “ESA” lift his leg (and he’s not neutered), I wonder exactly how this dog (or kangaroo) got the variance. It makes real support animals get that questioning look from those around. I have seen ESA dogs get into fights in stores. I have seen ESA dogs attack a seeing-eye dog. Unfortunately, I can’t legally ask why a dog (or cat or iguana) is an ESA. But it doesn’t keep me from losing my poker face in the exam room.
Kathy Smith (North Carolina) I did a podcast about this topic. Landlords, hotels, etc., need to rethink their policies regarding pet fees. It’s incentivizing people to commit fraud. I recently was in a property management course and they mentioned that these “profitable add-on fees” were being investigated by Washington. Legislators are realizing that these mandatory fees are getting out of control, and as a result, are making housing even more unaffordable. Once they regulate this, then I think that will make these ESA/SD scammers move on to the next thing. What makes me so upset is that these fakes hurt those who need service animals for their disability.
Lacey Olson (Washington) I don’t have any personal experience with fake ESA letters, but I know it happens often and it’s a gross misuse of accessibility, especially for things like housing where perhaps no pets are allowed unless it’s an ESA so people register all their pets as a loophole. I’m someone with CPTSD and crippling panic attacks, and my psychiatrist is the one who recommended I look into an ESA in the first place. Now that I’ve experienced how much emotional support my dog offers—she literally comes and lies on me when I’m in a panic spiral—I can’t imagine abusing the system like that. It makes those of us who really do need the support for true mental health issues look like liars and frauds.
Photo by Lacey Olson
Dia Barney Nonaka (Arizona) There are several misconceptions about various classifications of dogs. Emotional Support Animals (ESAs), Service Animals (SAs), and Therapy Animals are often confused for one another. This battle makes it difficult for the managers of public spaces, people unsure of what they can/can’t do with their animals, and most importantly, people with Service Dogs.
When I see ads that construe these facts to take advantage of this confusion to make money, I become frustrated. Frustrated that it is allowed to continue and can’t be shut down for blatant fraud.
▪ Claiming a dog can become a service dog by simply registering it on their registry? FRAUD
▪ Charging for this false registry? FRAUD
▪ Claiming a dog can become an emotional support animal by simply registering it on their registry? FRAUD
▪ Charging for this false registry? FRAUD
▪ Service animals must wear a vest in public? FALSE
▪ Charging people for a vest claiming their pet is a service animal? FRAUD
If you need a service dog, you will train them to meet your needs. Bam! You have a service dog. I recommend working with a reputable trainer for this training, but it is not required. You do not need to pay any extra costs to have a service dog. You simply have to have a disability and train the dog to assist you.
If you need an emotional support animal, you will ask someone qualified to diagnose your disability to verify that you have a disability and that the animal helps you with the symptoms. Bam! You now have an ESA.
There are so many myths surrounding these classifications of animals that allow unethical companies to profit from the misunderstandings.
MYTH: ESAs enjoy access to all public spaces.
FACT: ESAs enjoy access to rental housing (without fees) and public places where the venue chooses to allow them.
MYTH: Service Animals have the right to go anywhere, everywhere, at all times.
FACT: Service Animals have the right to access almost all public spaces, but must behave while there. They do not have access rights if they are misbehaving.
Perpetuating these misconceptions for money is unconscionable. Not only is it taking advantage of the individual customer, it’s perpetuating the misconceptions. When non-qualified animals enter public spaces, they make it difficult for qualified animals. People with service animals should not have to worry about other dogs approaching them, members of the public harassing them, or having to excessively justify their presence everywhere they go.
Amy Shojai wrote an article titled FAKING IT: Scammers Hurt Legit Service Dog & Emotional Support Animal Partnerships. Her conclusion: “Online companies are getting very good at meeting the letter of the law, if not the intent. They promote themselves as a way to relieve pet owners of unfair expenses (pet deposits, airline fees, no-pets-allowed housing or other services)—oh, and sometimes as an afterthought, they add in the emotional aspect, too (insert #sarcasm).”
The American Psychiatric Association offers a Resource Document on Emotional Support Animals, with this Introduction:
Psychiatrists may be asked to write a letter supporting a patient’s request for an emotional support animal (ESA). Laws about ESAs vary across federal, state, and local jurisdictions. As this is an evolving area of law, it is essential for psychiatrists to stay up to date with laws in their jurisdiction. This resource document provides an overview of the clinical, ethical, and legal considerations that a psychiatrist should consider when asked to write an ESA letter for a patient.
In this document, pertinent issues related to ESAs are described under four sections:
1. Relevant Federal and State Laws
2. Clinical Considerations
3. Ethical Considerations
4. Liability-Related Considerations
Please don’t fall for the online offers that may be fraudulent. Your best resource for a legitimate ESA letter is, of course, your own mental health provider.
