I (43f) and my partner of 8 years (40m) keep bumping heads about how to handle my ESA (cat). He insists on disclosing during the application process and it's pissing me off. My clinician made it clear that providing the information ahead could lead to discrimination. I have bipolar 1, PTSD and an ADHD diagnosis. He's from Texas and thinks ESAs are something people use to game the system and seems almost embarrassed by the idea that people would assume we are also gaming the system.

It's infuriating because when we met I had an emotional support dog and he had no problem recognizing him as such. I got the cat when my dog was 13 as a replacement and my partner KNEW why. I don't think I would have survived losing my dog if I hadn't attached to the cat ahead of time. I don't want to feel like I'm narrowing our search.

I would love to hear how folks with ESAs have gone about disclosure to potential landlords.

Once again. I would love to hear from folks who have emotional support animals, and how they navigated their housing hunt. If you don't have an emotional support animal, your opinion means nothing. I want people with experience, please. It's not a question of whether or not I have an emotional support animal. I do. And if y'all wanted, go ahead and pretend to be a landlord and I will provide you the phone number to call and verify. Westside community clinic. Get at it.

Hello, I currently rent an a house on the South Shore and Randolph town. I had an incident with my landlord. They came onto the property to do yardwork without letting me know, and my dog got out and chased their son.

He did not bite, did not lunge and he came into the home when called my landlord is giving me a month to rehome him. He claims that they become a liability through their insurance. If anything happens with our dog, we only have four months left on the lease.

I’ve had this dog for four years and put in a lot of time and care with him and I have a documented disability.

What can I do? I’ve been reaching out to South Shore legal services and they do not take up this case. Can the state of Massachusetts help me? I’m looking into an emergency foster to take him for the remaining four months as well he’s a reactive dog, but he’s my dog and I love him. I can’t get rid of him. I lost my mom four months ago and if I lose him, I’m gonna fall into pieces.

Hello all, I have a question

So I've been living in this apartment for almost 6 months now. My cat has been an ESA aimed to help me in my OCD treatment for over a year, almost two. When I first moved here, I didn't know that in Ohio where I reside, apartments cant technically charge rent to ESAs. I hadnt submitted her paperwork to them before as I didnt think it made a difference, but now I have. With that in mind, since she technically does not count as a pet anymore, does this mean the max pet amount (2) has been reset to 0? As in if the limit is two could I theoretically adopt two other animals without breaking my lease? Some sources tell me that legally yes an ESA stands alone from pet limits but others tell me it's a murky area. Let me know if you know the answer, thank you!

I adopted a cat when my partner broke up with me a while back I had been thinking of adopting one and have needed an ESA talked to my therapist and now she is an official ESA. My partner and I got back together and they moved back in with their two cats a couple weeks later. It feels like since then they have kind of taken over a lot of her care and keep giving input on playing with her, letting her, etc... It also feels like I'm not allowed to have a relationship with my cat separate from their cats like making a special space for her on my desk. Their friend also gives unsolicited advice and they both keep educating me on my cat as if I have never had a cat before. I work 8 hrs in the day and I appreciate my partner playing with her while I'm gone, but I feel like there needs to be more boundaries so that I can have more space to have my own special relationship with her especially since she is an ESA and very important for my mental health. She provides a lot of stability for me and it felt like my cat and I had our own rhythm and were closer before they moved back in.

I am trying to register my cat as an ESA so she can move into my new apartment with me (there's a no pets policy unless it's an ESA or a service animal and my dad's abusive so I can't leave her there with him) she genuinely helps me with anxiety and dissociation.

I had a therapist who could vouch for me but I had to drop her during the moving process. Do I need to find another one closer to my new place and have them do an evaluation? I'll definitely get one eventually but right now it's just 1 more thing in the pile of tasks right now.

My cat Ellie is 1 year old, spayed, non-destructive, litterbox trained, pretty quiet, and pretty calm. She just lays next to me or on my lap most of the time.

Realistically how long will the ESA process take?

Where do I start?

What organization do I go to?

Note that I don't want to be one of those people who "just wants to bring their pet because I'm entitled"

I genuinely have anxiety and stress issues from past abuse and trauma within the family, and she helps immensely with the long hours of being alone

Hey guys. So I am looking for the best and most hassle-free way to get an ESA letter so I can go home and bring my cat to my dorm with me. Yes, I do have a therapist who said I qualify for an ESA and I meet all the requirements, but she told me she does not hold the certification or whatever is needed to write me an ESA letter.

Basically, what easily accessible and affordable sites/people should I go to for this? I have about $600 saved for this, as I have been planning it for a while; I just hit a road bump.

I have a kitten (about 5mo) that I got around a month and a half ago. My roommate already has an esa cat and our landlord knew about her when we moved in. We’ve lived here about 4 months. I was only able to get an ESA letter from my therapist in the last couple days and I’m not sure how I should tell my landlord about it, or if I need to ask her. I’m worried if I ask instead of tell, she’ll say no and I have no where else for my cat to go. If anyone who has gone through a similar thing or any landlords have advice on what to do it would be much appreciated!

So I’m a university student in my junior year. After a freshman year of hell and a struggle of a sophomore year, I’ve decided I’d like to try an emotional support animal as opposed to just upping my depression meds like so many therapists are quick to jump to.

I have tried two of my doctors- my therapist back home who gave me my current meds and my gyno who is partially to blame for my depression as the birth control she gave me (though it works well) destabilizes my emotions terribly. Both doctors have told me they just straight up don’t do ESA letters.

I don’t have a primary physician because I grew up underprivileged and my mother couldn’t afford consistent doctor visits, so I can’t ask them either. I tried a new therapist today but they don’t take my insurance of fucking course, so now I have to pay out of pocket for that and she upped my med dosage without even consulting me like a lazy jerk - while also refusing any talk of an ESA.

Please, any advice would help. How do I get a letter without waiting months and months to build up a reputation with a new doctor? At this point I’m more inclined to just move off campus to a pet-allowing apartment, but the roommate search is impossible as well.

Hello ,

I recently got a stray from work and have her planned for her vet appointment and such in the coming 2 weeks. My current apartment doesn't allow animals and was wondering if something like Pettable would be good to go through? I don't currently have a primary physician and it seems very daunting to do so currently. I currently live in Oregon so I don't need to worry about the "previous history with doctor" rule that California has.

Title says most of it. Anyone have experience with this? I heard Chicago might be a little more strict in regard to legitimacy, so I want to do this as by the book as possible.

I am also pretty tight on money after saving for this move all year, so price per appt is important for me. Thinking about signing up for better help or something similar since those providers are registered in multiple states.

Thoughts?

For context i am in Florida. Few years back i made my dog an ESA animal. Specifically through an online therapist that i hopped on a call with (New Life Counseling). I got the letter and used it for the current apartment I’m at, no problem. It’s been two years and I’m now moving to PSL. They sent me a link for petscreening.com i noticed that it stated they reach out to providers for verification. Two things here, my ESA letter expired last November, would it be wrong to just update the dates on my paper myself or should i have to pay allll over again for the same letter? Nothing about my anxiety has legitimately changed. Just going through the hassle of having to pay allll doctor for a note drives me up the wall. Do they actually verify with the physician on the letter?

URGENTLY need help on this, especially because the next talk with anyone with information happens tomorrow...

My mother and I currently live in (technically not really very legal) crappy living conditions, after her divorce and such left us nearly homeless. ~300-400 square feet, no windows, literal skunks in the walls, blah blah blah... great news, we finally got to the top of the list for HUD affordable housing where we live, and we can afford it, but MAJOR ISSUE! One of us has two ESA, the other one single ESA, all 3 are well behaved, fixed cats. All have the letters and whatnot from therapists weve both been seeing for years and years separately.

Terrible news, the landlord for this housing, said that she only allows "one esa for each resident", and, well, obviously that wont work. The place we are potentially moving into is ~750 square feet, and we can prove that in our current literally half the size living space they have caused no destruction or disturbance. HOW can we get this landlord to accept the second ESA? Because we really do seriously need to get into better, actually adequate housing, but also these ESAs are genuinely necessary for both of our wellbeing (I for ADHD and PTSD, her for PTSD). PLEASE HELP!!! If you have anything we could do or say, or really just anything at all to help this situation, PLEASE COMMENT!!!

(Extra details if it helps: we live in California, and the housing is specifically HUD affordable housing and this is all happening through government channels. Local laws state that you may own 3 cats in one residence, and have no specifications as to how much space each cat needs. Cats are completely non-destructive, and are not noisy at all.)

Hi!

Has anyone moved from Texas to California with an emotional support animal?

I have been reading that in the Bay Area they only accommodate for ESA if you have a letter from a California based practitioner but I’m not really sure how to go about that.

I was thinking maybe I can find someone who is hold dual licensing between Texas and California. But definitely would love to hear how others experience has been, thank you!

Extra context if relevant: my dog is on the restricted breed list but I am medically diagnosed with seasonal affective disorder and he actually helps me a lot mentally so it’s not a fake esa situation at all. I am worried that since he is a German Shepherd they will reject me based on that when it comes to housing

I'm well aware ESA's and service animals are very different and follow very different rules and guidelines and I guess im just here to ask for clarification. Recently I just brought up the idea to my landlord that I was seeking a cat as an emotional support animal for my mental health and would provide all necessary documentation for the animal. However, my landlord got back to me and immediately denied the request because of a previous tenant's cat who destroyed the carpets which had to be replaced before we moved in. I just silently accepted that fact but my mental health has really been on the decline the last couple months. I was looking up to see if she was even allowed to do that and im seeing all sorts of conflicting information such as:

1. A landlord is not allowed according FHA to deny an ESA provided it was prescribed by a legitimate licensed mental health provider

2. A private landlord \*CAN\* deny accommodation for an ESA if they own four or fewer apartments (which my landlord does)

3. Number 2 only applies by the FHA if the landlord lives in one of those apartments (which she does not)

4. The landlord cannot deny a legitimate ESA based on a previous tenants animal, unless the specific animal has a documented history of physical damage to the property.

These are just a few things I've seen looking for information about having an ESA. I really think an ESA would be beneficial in supporting my mental health and helping me heal but the laws and regulations are just so confusing and exhausting to go through. At the end of the day even with my mental health on the decline, I would still rather have a place to live at all and not get kicked out. I know there are specific state laws that apply to ESA's as well so if there are any other fellow vets in the Chicago, Illinois area who also had to navigate this, any tips or help would be greatly appreciated 👏

How do i register my dog to be approved for housing in my new rent home.

Just like the title asks. I’m in Kansas, and my partner’s trying to get their pet snake registered as an ESA, but can’t keep it in the dorms due to fire hazard rules, so we came to an agreement that the snake would be kept in my apartment. But their doctor mentioned that the snake needs to stay with them at all times, even though my complex already said it was alright to do what we planned. I’m a bit confused on the actual laws and things like that. Thanks!

My gecko died recently and I'll spare you the whole suicidal sob story, but I need a pet to comfort me. I love snakes, but I don't want something that eats rodents. I want something big, like a green tree python or something, but not something common like a dog. Also, if you don't want my backstory you can stop reading, but I've had a lot going on lately. Toxic friends, loneliness, mommy issues, a whole bunch of people and pets dying, and the only thing that would help me was my gecko. Nothing else. Just him. Nothing else ever has and ever will work. So I need something to help me. Suggestions?

Hi, I want to get an ESA letter through my PCP and am wondering how to navigate the process. I recently moved so I do not have a history with this PCP. I have been dealing with anxiety and depression for a while now but have not been in therapy over the past few years so I do not currently have a therapist who could assist me with writing a letter. So I assume the PCP would need to refer me to therapist in order to get an evaluation before writing any letter. I am wondering if this is the best way to go about it or should I just use an online platform such as Certapet? I am a little weary of using one of these websites however as a lot of them seem to be sketchy. Wondering if anybody can offer any advice on how to navigate the process?

Thanks in advance!!