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It’s no hidden secret that animals can lift your spirits and boost your mood. Even scientific research shows that animals have long been part of the human psychiatric treatment process.
The only difference is that in the present era these animals are categorized as emotional support dogs or cats.
Of course, patients cannot certify a dog as an ESA on their own.
A qualified patient must get a written consent from a therapist or a licensed mental health professional to certify a pet as an emotional support dog.
Plus, it has to be noted that not all pets are allowed to enter communities, workplaces, and houses with no pet policy.
Under these circumstances, only an emotional support animal letter can help you.
Rest assured, anyone who has a certified ESA can rent a decent accommodation, and the landlord must comply with the request.
Denying accommodation leads to penal charges and punishment.
So, here’s a write-up that will help you certify your pet as an emotional support dog.
Or else, in more simple words, a post that will help you learn how to get an emotional support animal letter for your dog.
How to Get an Emotional Support Dog Letter?
An emotional support dog letter is a legal document that will help you certify your dog as an ESA.
To get the letter, all you have to do is get in touch with your therapist or licensed mental health professional.
You can tell them how your dog has helped you cope with the symptoms of your mental health.
And then request an emotional support dog letter.
The doctor will evaluate your mental health condition and see how a dog fits into your existing treatment plan.
If the doctor deems it necessary and essential for the growth of your mental health, they will write an ESA letter for you stating that the dog helps provide emotional support to the concerned patient.
Eventually, you can use this letter to differentiate your dog from other dogs while traveling or taking a walk in the park.
In addition to this, you also have to keep the methods of getting an ESA letter in mind.
These methods will determine how fast and easily you can get an ESA dog letter.
In total, there are two ways to get an emotional support dog letter – the traditional and the online method.
The Traditional Method
This method allows a patient to visit the physician’s office and meet the doctor in person.
In particular, a therapist who has been attending to your concerns through sessions and consultations.
You can talk to your therapist and seek help.
As for patients who do not have a doctor to help them out.
They can find a mental health professional and get their symptoms treated before requesting an ESA letter.
This way, the physician will understand where you’re coming from, and you will get an ESA letter purely based upon the medical evaluation.
The Online Method
The process of getting an emotional support dog letter online is quite simple and easy.
You don’t have to wait for an appointment or get out of your house to drive all the way to the doctor’s clinic.
All you have to do is sign up online and fill an application form.
The form will require you to fill in basic personal and medical information.
The information remains confidential as per the HIPAA guidelines.
And soon after form submission, you get to meet the mental health physician over a video call.
The physician will ask you a few questions, assess your current symptoms, and help you get an ESA letter upon qualification.
The only exception, in this case, is that there are several fake ESA letter services out there.
They will lure you into believing that everything is legit but end up giving you a fake ESA letter, which, in turn, can land you in a lot of legal problems.
So, besides getting an emotional support dog letter online, you also have to watch out for these red flags.
Emotional Support Dog Letter: Red Flags You Should Avoid
Before you go online and start googling terms such as how to get an emotional support dog letter, here’s what you need to keep in mind.
- Your letter must be printed on the doctor’s letterhead.
- It must include the date of expiration and date of issuance.
- The ESA letter must mention the doctor’s license number.
- It should also contain some information about the dog and the patient’s mental health condition.
- The doctor’s signature or stamp
If your letter contains everything that’s mentioned above, you don’t have to worry about anything.
You can go ahead and rent a decent accommodation and legally certify your pet as an emotional support dog.
In addition to this, ensure that you don’t get your ESA letter from an online platform that asks for the consultation fee beforehand.
A legit HIPAA-compliant telemedicine platform will always provide consultation first and then take the required fee for the ESA letter.
Also, do some research about the doctor and the respective clinic.
See to it that the clinic has a physical address or presence and never provide your card details unless you completely trust the platform.
All these cautionary steps will enable you to get an emotional support dog letter from a licensed mental health physician.
Final Thoughts
It is vital to understand that terms such as certification are used interchangeably with an emotional support dog letter.
Certification simply means that you get an ESA letter for your dog from a licensed therapist or mental health professional.
In fact, the best way to get an ESA letter is by talking to your therapist and helping them understand how a dog can help alleviate the symptoms of your condition.
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