An Emotional Support Animal, or ESA for short, is a companion animal meant to bring support and relief to the owners dealing with emotional health challenges. There are many species that can become an emotional support animal, such as dogs, cats, rabbits, birds, pigs, guinea pigs, hamsters, goats, and more. However, before considering an emotional support animal, families need to think about many details, as an animal is a long-term commitment, and you need to prioritize its welfare, its routines, your housing conditions, finances, and expectations.

In this article, we will analyze more details about what to consider before getting an emotional support animal.

The family’s wellbeing

Before deciding to consider an emotional support animal, you actually need to think about the entire life the animal will have and see if the family can offer the stability, time, space, and willingness to truly care for it. An animal will affect the daily routine of the family, and depending on the species you choose to adopt, you will need to perform certain tasks to offer the animal the needed conditions.

Also, it is important to remember that a support animal is a complementary part of an individual's well-being plan, but it shouldn’t replace professional care. So, getting an emotional support animal only with the idea that they will resolve the mental-health challenge truly is not enough. An ESA may provide comfort, companionship, and emotional support, but families shouldn't assume that an animal will resolve a mental-health challenge or replace professional care. You have to want an animal in your life and treat it as a long-term commitment. An ESA isn't simply a tool for supporting a family member. It is also a living animal with its own physical, behavioral, and social needs.

Everyday care responsibilities

Owning a pet is exciting and scary at the same time. Exciting because you will have someone who truly cares for you, and scary because of the big responsibility an animal brings. So, before getting one, it is actually important to understand the daily care responsibilities for that pet. As a family, you have the benefit of spreading the tasks among all household members.

Then, it is time to consider the daily care responsibilities for owning a pet and designate the tasks from the start. Here are some tasks that owning an animal includes.

• Feeding
• Exercise
• Veterinary care
• Grooming
• Training
• Who will stay with the animal when you travel
• The overall costs of owning an animal, and if they match your lifestyle.

Is your home ready for an animal?

First, you need to accommodate the environment for the animal. You might need to adjust areas and ensure you maintain a clean, comfortable, and safe space. Pet-proofing your house is part of this, as it helps keep your pet from touching or ingesting harmful substances and reduces the chances of it damaging your home.

The pet should have a sleeping area, a play area, and a feeding zone. Also, you need to secure the exits and entrances so that the animal won’t escape. When bringing a pet home, safety should be your number one priority. Also, as a family, you need to consider the comfort of the other individuals, especially if you have kids. Before getting an emotional support animal, gather and discuss the conflicts, fears, and possible allergies, and see whether having an emotional support animal in that household is truly a good idea or not.

Differences between emotional support animals and service animals

Even though at first, these two concepts might seem similar, there are many differences, and it is important to know what draws them apart before choosing one over the other. The main difference is that emotional support animals provide support and companionship, while service animals help people with disabilities perform specific tasks that would be more challenging without that support.

Emotional support animals provide companionship to alleviate distress and help people cope with mental problems. In situations where documentation is relevant, an ESA letter may be provided by a qualified, licensed mental health professional. CertaPet explains how ESA letters work for those interested in the documentation process. This ESA letter is issued by a licensed mental health professional and shows that the presence of an emotional support animal offers meaningful therapeutic support. It is important to know that an ESA letter is issued only after an evaluation from a state-licensed mental health professional.

Service animals, instead, go through rigorous training so they can provide support and treatment for individuals with recognized disabilities. The tasks depend on the disability and could include offering extra safety while out in public, assisting with medication, detecting harmful symptoms, and alerting owners to danger. Support animals don’t have this type of training, and instead, their only presence is believed to be therapeutic. So, this training is the main part that draws the line between these two categories.

Questions to ask before considering an emotional support animal

The easiest way to see whether your family is prepared for an emotional support animal is to respond to some questions. The answers will show you whether you are ready or not for this big step, and will also help you better understand what life will be like with an emotional support animal by your side.

• Are we able to offer the needed daily care for an animal?
• Who will be the primary caregiver? 
• Can we provide attention, feeding, exercise, grooming, and a long-term commitment?
• Can we afford the routine care and veterinary costs for any unexpected situation?
• Is the animal's temperament suitable for all the family’s members?

The bottom line

An emotional support animal can offer meaningful therapeutic support to those in need. However, owning a pet is a big decision that should only be considered after truly understanding what that animal needs, how to offer it the needed welfare, and setting daily responsibilities.

Before bringing an animal home, talk openly as a family about responsibilities, allergies, other pets, travel, costs, and who will provide care each day. If an ESA is being considered as part of someone’s mental-health support, a qualified mental-health professional can help determine whether an assistance animal may be appropriate.