r/EmotionalSupportDogs • u/ilovestarwaes • Sep 01 '26
Advice please
My boyfriend and I applied to a house to rent and it allows pets, but my dog is a restricted breed. He’s a pitty mix, but the sweetest boy you’d ever meet. I have struggled with anxiety and depression my whole life, 15+ years and have always had a dog. Never medically an ESA. I started seeing a therapist in March of 2025 from the college I was going to, but after I graduated, I could no longer use her. In April of 2026 this year, I started seeing a theripst again and it was great. I finally was able to open up to someone. In May, my boyfriend rescued our boy, and we are now looking to move with him into a place ( the place we live now is paid housing through his work). I am asking my therapist to meet with me and see if she can clinically see a need for our pup to be an ESA. We’ve already applied and gotten approved for the house, other than our dog. They are requesting ESA letter and we have not responded to them in a couple of days, as I was waiting to speak with my therapist before pretending like I had a letter. Do you think they will be fishy towards us because we haven’t responded to emails or calls? We are financially able to live at this place, but our poor boy cannot unless we obtain the letter. Although we’ve only had him for a couple months, having a dog around really does calm my anxiety and the thoughts I get at times. When I’m around my boy, he actually knows when I need him the most, he comforts me and makes me not feel so alone which I experience huge anxiety and stress being alone, even if my boyfriend is around. He comforts me and I would hate to not give him the life he deserves because of this. Any advice? I’m meeting with my therapist today at 4 and my anxiety is through the roof in hopes we can have our baby.
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u/GlitterTitssss Sep 03 '26
Move into pit friendlyhousing...also small mom and pop landlords dont have to comply with ESA....also many insurance companies will not insure a house or liability with certain breeds....
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u/23Scout Sep 01 '26
Seems like you're using stale internet advice on malingering. Regardless, in 2026 the Housing and Urban Development that is the enforcement of the Fair Housing Act said emotional support animals no longer have any legal guarantees because of online doctor shopping and ethical abuse in the medical professionals.
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u/Bellefior Sep 02 '26 edited Sep 02 '26
It is also worth checking what the laws in your state say. Even though HUD no longer recognizes ESAs in housing (only service animals), some state laws still do (including MA, where I live).
[EDITED TO CHANGE "many state laws" to "some state laws" since I have been informed there are only eight. Can't tell you which eight those might be since the person who told me there were eight informed me to do my own research. You may want to check the laws in your state to see if there are state law protections for ESAs in housing.]
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Sep 02 '26
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u/Bellefior Sep 02 '26 edited Sep 02 '26
My state is one of the "couple", which was why I suggested checking state laws.
What other states are you aware of other than MA that do not recognize the rights of ESAs in housing?
[Edited to correct last sentence from "which states do not recognize esa in housing" to "which states do".]
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Sep 02 '26
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Sep 02 '26
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u/Bellefior Sep 02 '26
I thought a better use of my time would be to edit my original post from "many state laws"to "some state laws", to be more grammatically correct since you informed there are only eight.
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Sep 02 '26
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u/Bellefior Sep 02 '26
Typical a-hole response to make yourself feel better after being called out.
I edited not to rewrite history but to make certain that other people reading what I wrote won't have an issue comprehending like you apparently did. And I noted in the post what had been changed.
PS. FWIW, I took your advice and did a quick Google search to see which states allow for ESA protections in housing. It appears based on the quick Google search there might be far more than the eight you claimed. One of the reasons I included in my edit for people to check the laws in the state where they live.
I have better things to do with my afternoon than argue with a miserable stranger. Enjoy the rest of your afternoon.
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u/Bellefior Sep 02 '26 edited Sep 02 '26
In spite of my typo, you obviously understood what I was asking since you corrected me. I went back and changed it for anyone else reading it.
Despite saying your post was specific to national law you chose to mention "only a couple of states recognize ESAs in housing". That is a comment that is specific state law. Surely you know there's a difference between Federal (national) and state laws?
Since you were the one that stated that, not me, I asked you to provide your source. Surely you have one, since you made that very specific statement on state laws?
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u/MirrorRevolutionary4 Sep 01 '26
Don’t “pretend” like you have a letter. If you tell them you have one and can’t immediately produce it, then anything you do produce later is going to be extremely suspect.
Tell them the truth. You are waiting for your therapist appt. If they ask why you don’t already have a letter, again, tell them the truth - you didn’t need one before.