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Aurora Mcvey

Professor Reynolds

English 1201

20 March 2021

How effective are emotional support animals?

Mental disorders. A struggling thing to live with. There are many treatments such as

going to a therapist or getting prescribed medication to help a person cope with their day to

day activities. Yet, there are other treatments such as having a pal by your side. Ever heard of

emotional support animals? When certain treatments don’t work, a professional may

recommend emotional support animals. The question is, would it actually help a person feel

better?

In 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act made it a law allowing emotional support

animals to be legal. Emotional support animals are protected by the law to allow them to live

with their persons and to be allowed to fly with said person. Although the emotional support

animals are protected to live and fly with their persons, they aren’t protected to accompany

their persons into public accommodations. Emotional support animals are effective. They help

over 200,000 people in the United States cope with their mental illnesses to go about their day-

to-day activities with ease. Now that I’ve explained some history about emotional support

animals, let me explain the reasons why emotional support animals are effective.

Having an emotional support animal can help decrease a person's stress, especially

college students! College tends to be a very stressful time for some individuals. There are
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multiple stress-inducing factors that college students have to hurdle over such as schoolwork,

finances, and just moving/transitioning to college. Unfortunately many colleges don’t allow

animals on their campus so they have to go about the proper steps to get it approved to live

with them on campus.

According to Mooshme.com, they believe that colleges should develop a puppy/dog

playtime during the most stressful times of the year. They also believe for these playtimes that

emotional support animals should be used for the students to connect with more. According to

www.mooshme.com, “These sessions provide benefits for college students.” (Chen). It can be

helpful to schedule a “playtime” during an exam period or stressful times.

According to www.Mooshme.com, there have been many studies done to show that

ESAs have been proven to help college students with emotional distress, such as anxiety, stress,

and depression. An article from St. Catherine University written by Alexandra Kennedy studied

thirty women between the ages eighteen and twenty five. The study measured the subjects

heart rate, electrodermal activity, blood pressure, and visual analog scale data to determine if

the emotional support animal made any difference. After much research, the article stated that

students' stress levels decreased and their grades had improved significantly. Alexandra stated

“for the people that they can help, they make an enormous difference.” As a college student,

doing my classes from home, I believe my stress level is down while having my dogs next to me.

College is a difficult time for most people, but the benefits of an ESA could help out by making it

a bit less stressful.

Emotional support animals have many benefits such as giving a sense of companionship

with their owner, reducing anxiety and stress. On ESAdoctors.com, there was a study done that
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proved a person's stress level drops when they interact with an animal that is trusted. Another

benefit can be getting more physical activity, many mental illnesses keep people from wanting

to leave their comfort zone which is typically their house. When a person has an ESA such as a

dog, they have to take them on walks or at least take them outside here and there. This can

help one feel much better due to the body releasing endorphins, according to esadoctors.com.

If the owner gets more physical activity, then it can improve their physical health which can

make them feel better on it’s own by treating their body the way it deserves. Last but not least,

they give a person a sense of purpose in life. By having an animal rely on their person for life,

this can make the person feel needed and wanted which is what some people need.

People want to feel loved and want to love others. Both animals and humans want to be

loved and to love. By putting the two together, they can get the affection they want. According

to Apibhs.com, taking care of a living creature other than oneself can help one feel important,

not only to themselves but to others knowing that they are being relied on. A person who

suffers from mental illnesses would typically enjoy this very much because it would help

distract them from whatever may be bothering them that caused them to become anxious or

depressed. Now let me explain the benefits a person gets with an ESA letter.

When it comes to the benefits of where one can take emotional support animals, it

tends to be a bit limited compared to a service animal due to the lack of training required.

Service animals are allowed just about everywhere with the proper documents. Emotional

support animals are not allowed to go anywhere with their persons. The ESA letter provides

them to fly on most flights if the airlines allow it and the letter provides free living for the pet to

live with their persons without any additional cost for pets and also allows them to be in “no-
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pet” housing. ESA’s aren’t just pets, they do have a job to do. Unfortunately, many places will

not allow them in with the owner. ESA’s are allowed in any store other than major businesses,

such as target and walmart that will accept ESA’s but all stores still have the right to reject ESA’s

in their store. People tend to mix up the different type of support animals when it comes to

allowing their animals to accompany them to different places. I am now going to explain the

difference between each support animal.

Although, some people seem to be confused on what the difference is between

different service animals. There are many differences between the three, service animals are

trained individuals to help in medical emergencies typically, as an example, someone having a

seizure. Therapy animals on the other hand are trained for mental emergencies to provide

extreme comfort for extreme times of need such as someone in a disaster area or hospital. Of

course, emotional support animals. ESAs aren’t required to go through any training for their

job. They are solely there to provide companionship and affection to their person. Both service

animals and therapy animals have to go through specific training to be able to do what they do.

An emotional support animal doesn’t need such training, due to emotional support animals not

needing training it makes it much easier to choose which type of animal to have by your side.

There are about 200,000 people who have an emotional support animal in the United

States today. When people think about emotional support animals, they typically like to go to

the idea of dogs or even sometimes cats. Cats and Dogs aren’t even the half of what people

own as emotional support animals. Some others would include hedgehogs, parrots, ferrets,

bunnies, monkeys, hamsters, and guinea pigs. These are some of the less exotic emotional

support animals people may have, although there have been a few who have had an alligator or
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a pig as an emotional support animal. There are many animals to choose from when trying to

get an emotional support animal. It could be helpful to think about what your budget is like, do

you have room for that animal, will you need an energetic or calm animal, and also the more

exotic the emotional support animal, the more restrictions on where they are allowed to be.

Although there are many animals to choose from, it seems that dogs are the typical

choice when it comes to emotional support animals. According to psychology today.com,

“Dogs are highly receptive to our emotions and often absorb them.” This is a scary statement

because of the fact our ESAs are there for their owners at their lowest which can then cause the

animals to begin to feel the way the person does. Psychology today did a study that showed

people who were either anxious and/or nervous tended to have anxious/nervous dogs. Now to

carry on to how to certify an ESA.

Certifying an ESA is a must if one is looking to own an ESA. According to

www.esadoctors.com, a person must have “depression, phobias, PTSD, anxiety, and/or panic

attacks to qualify for an ESA”. The person must be diagnosed by a licensed therapist or health

care provider, once they are diagnosed they can get the ESA papers signed and receive a ESA to

help them cope further through life's challenges not alone.

Emotional support animals help their owners cope with their mental illnesses. According

to www.ct.counseling.org, animals have a nature of relieving any anxiety and depression people

carry day to day. An emotional support animals main purpose is to provide their owner with

comfort and understanding to help them calm down or to just be there for their owner while

they are calming down.There is always another side to every situation.

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Emotional support animals is a controversial topic at times. An essay in

www.foxmagazine.com stated “When it comes to my fears, there’s not much I can do if I’m

uncomfortable being on a plane with an untrained animal. … Under the Air carrier Access Act, a

person has the right to have his or her emotional support animal with them on planes.” (Rachel

Taylor). People can be uncomfortable with the thought of emotional support animals or being

around them due to a fear of animals.

When it comes to emotional support animals, people don’t take it very serious. They

think they want to get their animal certified to be able to take them wherever not knowing

what exactly it means. People will buy a vest that says “emotional support animal” when they

aren’t certified at all. By people faking such a thing, stores began to stop taking it as serious so

the people who truly need an emotional support animal aren’t taken as seriously as they should

be.

Animals can be dangerous if not taken care of properly. Due to emotional support

animals being untrained, people can’t depend on their animal being completely safe and not

being disruptive or harming someone or something. Some people believe they should have to

go through basic obedience training to be certified.

Emotional support animals are effective for people who experience mental illnesses to

help them go about their days with more ease. They are used all over the world and study after

study has shown promising results. There are many benefits to owning an emotional support

animal if you need one. I believe if emotional support animals had to undergo more training

than they would be more accepted as a whole in the population than they are now. I believe for

ESAs to grow more and more over the years to come. With how many people already have
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emotional support animals and more to come, they must be effective for people to get them

and for therapists to recommend them.

Works cited

21, Lynda April, et al. “Confirming the Benefits of Emotional Support Animals.” Counseling
Today, 13 Jan. 2021, ct.counseling.org/2015/04/confirming-the-benefits-of-emotional-
support-animals/#:~:text=HUD%20states%2C%20%E2%80%9CEmotional%20support
%20animals,medical%20conditions%20affected%20by%20stress.%E2%80%9D.

27, Keila April, et al. “Positive Effects of Emotional Support Animals.” ESA Doctors, 6 Jan. 2021,
esadoctors.com/positive-effects-of-emotional-support-animals/.

9, Maria March, et al. “How to Certify an Emotional Support Dog.” ESA Doctors, 21 Mar. 2021,
esadoctors.com/how-to-certify-an-emotional-support-dog/.

Alt, By:Kimberly. “Service Dog vs Therapy Dog vs Emotional Support Dogs.” CanineJournal.com,
17 Feb. 2021, www.caninejournal.com/service-dog-vs-therapy-dog-vs-emotional-
support-dogs/.

“Are Emotional Support Animals Allowed in Restaurants?” CertaPet, 23 Dec. 2020,

www.certapet.com/are-emotional-support-animals-allowed-in-restaurants/.

“Emotional Support Animal Registration Guide - ESA Certification.” US Service Animals Blog, 17
Oct. 2019, usserviceanimals.org/blog/ultimate-guide-to-emotional-support-animals/.

“The Growing Trend of Emotional Support Animals.” ScienceDaily, ScienceDaily, 6 Aug. 2019,
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/08/190806131437.htm.

“How Emotional Support Animals Benefit Mental Health and Wellness - San Diego: API.”
Alvarado Parkway Institute, 23 Feb. 2021, apibhs.com/2020/05/18/how-emotional-
support-animals-benefit-mental-health-and-wellness.
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Reichel, Chloe, and About The Author Chloe Reichel Research Reporter Chloe Reichel worked
for The Journalist’s Resource from 2017 to 2020. Previously she worked at the Vineyard
Gazette. Her work has also appeared in Cambridge Day. “From Best Friend to Therapist:
Research on Emotional Support Animals.” The Journalist's Resource, 17 Dec. 2020,
journalistsresource.org/economics/emotional-support-animals-research/.

Stockman, Farah. “People Are Taking Emotional Support Animals Everywhere. States Are
Cracking Down. (Published 2019).” The New York Times, The New York Times, 26 Nov.
2020, www.nytimes.com/2019/06/18/us/emotional-support-animal.html.

“Study Shows Emotional Support Animals Can Help College Students with Anxiety and
Depression.” Mooshme, 5 Apr. 2018, mooshme.com/study-shows-esas-can-help-
college-students-with-anxiety-and-depression/.

Taylor, Rachel. “Essay: an Alternate Opinion on Emotional-Support Animals.” Vox Magazine, 3

Oct. 2019, www.voxmagazine.com/news/training-emotional-support-
animals/article_50fb4c70-e413-11e9-8527-27edbcf25bd9.html.

Vu, Minh N. “Service Animals Vs. Emotional Support Animals: Ferreting Out The Truth.” ADA
Title III, 6 Aug. 2018, www.adatitleiii.com/2018/08/service-animals-vs-emotional-
support-animals-ferreting-out-the-truth/.

“What Is the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)?” ADA National Network, 30 Mar. 2021,
adata.org/learn-about-ada.