With an officially recognized emotional support letter, your emotional support animal (ESA) can be protected in Pennsylvania, particularly when it comes to housing. In this article, we will learn what ESAs are, how you can get your emotional support animal registered as one, and also look into Pennsylvania’s emotional support animal laws.
It is important to note that ESAs and service animals both serve as health aid, but they have different legal identities, and one cannot be treated as the other. Let’s take a brief look at their differences.
The Difference Between Emotional Support Animals and Service Animals in Pennsylvania
Service animals are highly trained animals that perform tasks to benefit their handler with a disability. They can be very crucial for such individuals as they can perform a variety of tasks for them. Some examples are:
- Alerting an oncoming panic attack or cardiac episodes by licking their owner’s hands.
- Retrieving objects for paralysis patients/wheelchair-bound owners.
- Guiding patients with blindness.
- Signaling certain signs for deaf people.
- They can even help people with autism socialize better.
Service animals are incredibly useful in situations like these. Not every animal can become a service animal, though. They are usually only dogs, but in rare cases, can be a miniature horse. These dogs are given rigorous training to specifically help people with disabilities.
Not every dog is capable of this, and they go through a selection process post-training. Service dogs that are too friendly may not qualify since they may have a tendency to play when they’re needed to perform a task for a person with a disability. Only after these measures are taken can a dog qualify to be a service animal.
Due to their exceptional utility, service animals are often given exclusive access to places where pets otherwise won’t be allowed. Their owners are exempt from paying pet deposits and other charges, can take them along on a plane, and also take them to work if their presence doesn’t cause any health or safety risk at the workplace.
Emotional support animals are completely different in the eyes of the law. While service animals are meant to be a form of physical or psychological aid for their owners, ESAs are mental aid. They are expected to provide emotional support to their owners through companionship.
The best part about owning an emotional support animal is that they don’t need any sort of training in order to qualify as an ESA. That said, this doesn’t mean they are any less useful, though – they just already know their part by providing companionship to their owners!
However, this does not mean that you shouldn’t train them at all. You have to be mindful of how they behave around other people and animals. It’s a good idea to teach them some basic skills and to make sure that they always listen to you when you’re in public.
Let’s look at some federal laws that apply to service and emotional support animals.
Federal Emotional Support Animal Laws
There are primarily three federal laws that you should be aware of when it comes to emotional support animals and service animals:
Fair Housing Act (FHA)
The Fair Housing Act prohibits any discrimination against home buyers/tenants based on their race, gender, ethnic background, religion, sexual orientation, or nationality. This is also applicable to people with physical or mental disabilities who own service animals or ESAs.
Discrimination means that a landlord/renter cannot refuse to show you their property for any of the reasons mentioned above. They have to provide reasonable accommodation for your ESA, though you have to show them your ESA letter for it.
They can impose certain restrictions, but in most cases, getting your request approved shouldn’t be a problem. They can’t charge any pet deposits or cleaning fees.
There are, however, a few caveats. The landlord can reject your ESA under certain conditions. These include the ESA being too large for the property, such as a horse in an apartment, the ESA being destructive, or having an invalid ESA letter. If you have your ESA letter and you believe your housing provider has rejected the letter on an invalid argument, you can apply to the US Department of Urban Development to handle your case.
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits any sort of discrimination against people on the basis of disability. This includes discrimination in employment, government services, and public accommodations.
Employers are required to provide reasonable accommodation for employees with disabilities. This also includes individuals who need service animals to assist them with tasks related to their disabilities. They have the privilege of bringing their service animal with them, even in a no-pet policy office. Reasonable accommodations may include modifications to workspaces and flexible schedules.
Thanks to the ADA, people with disabilities who have service animals can take them anywhere they want. Since there’s no documentation or identification required for service animals, restaurant or hotel staff can’t ask you to prove that your pet is a service animal. You also don’t have to make your service animal wear a vest as a form of identification.
Unfortunately, this law doesn’t extend to emotional support animals. ESAs aren’t allowed in restaurants and hotels the same way service animals are. If you’re planning to take your ESA to a restaurant, you should contact them first to see what their policies are regarding ESAs.
Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA)
The Air Carrier Access Act mandates a non-discriminatory behavior towards individuals with service animals during air travel. This gives people with disabilities the right to be treated with respect. Airlines should be able to provide a smooth onboarding experience for both the disabled person and their service animal.
Airlines are legally obligated to provide reasonable accommodations for service animals. This means a proper cabin/seat for both the owner and the animal as well as access to other facilities that are available during the flight (for example, access to the restroom).
It is the responsibility of the airline to train its staff in communicating effectively with disabled people using multiple mediums of communication. The airline is also required to train its staff to handle service animals appropriately and ensure that a smooth onboarding and offboarding is done for the disabled passengers.
ESAs used to be a part of the ACAA, but the law was amended in 2020 to exclude them. Today, different airlines have different policies when it comes to ESAs, so it’s best to give them a call before you head to the airport with your emotional support animal.
Getting an ESA Letter in Pennsylvania
Getting an ESA letter isn’t a very difficult process. There is no training or complicated paperwork involved. The entire process is as simple as meeting a licensed mental health practitioner and telling them about your mental state. Your mental health worker can write you an ESA letter if they think having an ESA by your side will help you with your mental health.
You can get an ESA letter if you suffer from a psychiatric condition, such as any of the following.
- Anxiety Disorders: Conditions such as generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and others characterized by excessive worry, fear, or anxiety.
- Depression: Persistent feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and a lack of interest or pleasure in activities.
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): Resulting from exposure to a traumatic event, leading to symptoms like flashbacks, nightmares, and severe anxiety.
- Bipolar Disorder: Involves extreme mood swings, including episodes of mania and depression.
- Panic Disorders: Frequent and unexpected panic attacks, which can be accompanied by physical symptoms such as rapid heart rate and shortness of breath.
- Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD): Persistent, intrusive thoughts (obsessions) and repetitive behaviors or mental acts (compulsions) to alleviate anxiety.
- Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): Impairments in attention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity that significantly impact daily functioning.
- Eating Disorders: Conditions such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, or binge-eating disorder that affect eating habits and body image.
- Autism Spectrum Disorders: Neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by challenges in social interaction, communication, and repetitive behaviors.
- Schizophrenia: A severe mental disorder characterized by disturbances in thought, perception, and behavior.
Emotional support animals are not limited to only cats and dogs. They can be any pet that brings you comfort and love. Parrots, mice, and even llamas can be ESAs (but keep in mind that it may not always be possible to request reasonable accommodations when your ESA is a large animal or one that could harm other people).
You have to get an ESA letter from a licensed healthcare professional in Pennsylvania. If a landlord discovers that your ESA letter wasn’t written by a mental health professional licensed in Pennsylvania, then your request will be rejected, and you could be evicted from the property.
Live a Stress-Free Life With Your ESA in Pennsylvania
For many people, it’s virtually impossible to part with their emotional support animal. That’s what ESA laws are for – to make sure that people who can’t live without their furry friend never have to! Once you have gotten an ESA letter from a licensed mental health professional in Pennsylvania, your emotional support animal can live with you in any residential property.
Talk to your landlord and show them your ESA letter. Unless your ESA is very aggressive or too big to fit in the property, your request will be approved easily. Just make sure that your ESA knows some basic commands and always responds to you so you can keep it under control around other people and animals.
You may also be able to take your ESA to restaurants and travel with them on planes. However, since they’re not legally required to provide reasonable accommodations to ESAs, you’ll have to call restaurants and airlines first to check if they allow them.