Emotional support animals provide comfort and support to those who deal with mental health disabilities. Their presence can have many benefits, and because of this, they are protected under certain laws.
ESAs do enjoy some privileges that regular pets do not, but these privileges are rather limited. Let’s talk about Iowa’s laws regarding emotional support animals.
What Is an Emotional Support Animal?
Emotional support animals are assistance animals that provide comfort to those who are struggling with mental health disabilities. Some examples of disabilities that benefit from an emotional support animal include anxiety, depression, PTSD, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and more.
Though ESAs are not specially trained, their presence alone is often enough to provide some relief. Not only that, but ESAs require care and can help their owners establish and maintain a routine. Furthermore, being responsible for an animal’s well-being can provide purpose and improve one’s sense of self-worth.
Sometimes, ESAs also help their owners increase their physical activity levels. Dogs are a common choice of ESA, and dogs need to be walked every day. Exercise is known to provide many benefits to both physical and mental health.
Finally, there have been studies that suggest interacting with animals can reduce stress. All things considered, ESAs can have quite a positive impact on one’s well-being and are a viable method of treatment for people who struggle with mental health disabilities.
Emotional Support Animals Are Not Service Animals
Considering how big of an impact an ESA can have on one’s ability to cope with mental health disabilities, it’s no surprise that people often wonder if ESAs are service animals.
However, it is important to know the distinctions between the two because they are not the same. Emotional support animals are not service animals. Service animals have many privileges that ESAs do not, but they also undergo very strict training that can last up to two years.
According to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a service animal is “a dog that has been individually trained to do work or perform tasks for an individual with a disability. The task(s) performed by the dog must be directly related to the person’s disability.”
As you can see by the definition, a service animal must be a dog. Emotional support animals, on the other hand, do not have to be dogs. They can be any animal that is legal to own in the state of Iowa. Emotional support animals also do not have to have any training.
Because service dogs are trained so rigorously and their presence is often medically necessary, they are allowed to accompany their users to any place the public is allowed to go. This is not the case for ESAs; ESAs have very few privileges and are not allowed to go anywhere that is not pet-friendly.
Can I Take My ESA in Public in Iowa?
As we just mentioned, ESAs are not given public access rights. This means you will not be able to take your ESA with you into restaurants, department stores, or other businesses. The only public places your ESA will be allowed are pet-friendly locations like pet stores, parks, and sometimes restaurant patios.
If you want to take your ESA somewhere but you aren’t sure whether or not the business is pet-friendly, try calling ahead. There are some businesses that do allow pets inside their stores, but they don’t tend to broadcast it.
Another thing to keep in mind is that many stores don’t want animals inside because poorly behaved animals may soil the floor, damage merchandise, or disrupt other customers.
So, if you do find stores that allow your ESA inside, you should be sure that your ESA is well-behaved and won’t cause any of these issues. Too many incidents and once-pet-friendly stores will change their tunes.
Can I Travel in Iowa With an ESA?
In the past, the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) protected both ESAs and service animals and allowed them to travel in airplane cabins with their owners. However, the law was changed and went into effect as of January 2021, and now, only service animals are allowed to travel in airplane cabins.
Though your ESA will not be allowed to lay at your feet or sit in your lap, it is still possible to take them into the cabin of an airplane. Some airlines allow you to bring your pets into the cabin as carry-ons.
They must be in an airline-approved carrier that can fit under the airplane’s seats. Of course, this is only possible for ESAs that are small in size. Larger ESAs will likely have to travel as cargo.
As for other types of transportation, emotional support animals do not have any specific rights or protections. If you want to take your ESA on a bus or a train, you will need to check the pet policy of the company providing the transportation.
Some companies may allow pets in carriers, whereas others may be able to provide accommodation. However, remember that it is all up to the transportation company and they have every right to tell you that you cannot bring your ESA onto their vehicle.
Can I Take My ESA to Work in Iowa?
Iowa does not have any laws that allow people to take their ESAs to work with them. Therefore, it would be completely up to your employer whether or not they are okay with allowing you to bring your emotional support animal to work.
If your ESA is potty trained and well-behaved, you’ll have a better chance of taking them to work with you because they won’t be a distraction to other workers. Of course, some employers simply won’t be okay with it. In other cases, your ESA could pose a hygiene risk, especially if you’re working in the food or medical industry.
Can I Live in a Rental With an ESA?
By now, you’re probably feeling like ESAs in Iowa aren’t allowed to do much of anything, so what is even the point of the distinction of ESA? Well, there is one privilege ESAs enjoy, and it has to do with housing.
Under the Fair Housing Act (FHA), emotional support animals can live in any rental property, including rentals that don’t allow pets, free of charge. That’s right, landlords are not allowed to charge you a pet deposit or a pet rental fee for an emotional support animal.
Beyond that, breed and size restrictions do not apply to emotional support animals. That is to say, if your ESA is a pit bull but the rental has banned pit bulls, that ban does not apply to you because your pit bull is an ESA. Similarly, if the rental only allows pets under 30 pounds but your ESA is over that number, you’ll still be allowed to live in the rental, thanks to the FHA.
However, in order to live with your ESA, you may need proof that you need this animal for a medical reason. Landlords are allowed to ask you if you have a disability and if your need for the animal is related to your disability. They’re also allowed to require proof of your need if your need is not immediately apparent.
This proof is referred to as an ESA letter, and you can get one by talking to a licensed mental health professional in Iowa. If they feel that you could indeed benefit from an ESA, then they will write you an ESA letter that you can present to your landlord should the situation arise.
Though the FHA was created to protect individuals with disabilities from housing discrimination, it also cannot infringe too far upon a landlord’s rights. As such, there are some scenarios in which a property owner can deny your request to live with your ESA.
These scenarios include the following:
- You are unable to provide proof of your need for an ESA.
- The landlord cannot accommodate your ESA because it would cause them an undue financial or administrative burden.
- Accommodating your ESA would fundamentally alter the nature of the services offered by the rental provider.
- Your ESA would pose a direct threat to the health or safety of other tenants, and there is no viable way to eliminate or mitigate this threat.
- Accommodating your ESA would result in significant physical damage to the property of others and there is no way to eliminate or mitigate the likelihood of damage.
As long as your ESA is a common house pet, it’s unlikely that a landlord would be able to turn you down. However, if your ESA was something like a horse and the rental property didn’t have a barn or a pasture, then it follows that it would be an undue financial burden for a landlord to build those in order to accommodate your ESA.
What Animals Can Be Kept as Pets in Iowa?
Iowa is pretty straightforward with its laws about what animals can and cannot be owned (or even brought into the state). It does not allow people to own or breed any dangerous, exotic, or wild animals.
The list of animals one cannot own is quite long. Some examples include wolves, coyotes, alligators, crocodiles, elephants, rhinoceros, apes, cougars, lions, tigers, cheetahs, cobras, vipers, rattlesnakes, and bears. Surprisingly, it is legal to own wolf-dog hybrids as well as the offspring of wolf-dog hybrids.
It is also legal to own Bengal cats and Savannah cats, but there are rules. The Bengal or Savannah you purchase must be the fourth or later generation descended from the original pairing of a wild and domesticated cat. Furthermore, each subsequent generation must be the offspring of a domestic cat.
Let’s try to break that down to make it a bit easier to understand. The first generation of cats would have been born from a wild Asian leopard cat (in the case of a Bengal) and a domestic cat.
One of those babies would then be bred to a domestic cat, creating the second generation. One of the babies from the second generation would then be bred with a domestic cat, creating the third generation. Finally, one of the third-generation offspring would be paired with a domestic cat, creating the fourth generation, which is what you are legally allowed to own in Iowa.
What Animals Make the Best ESAs?
Now that you understand what animals you’re even allowed to own in Iowa let’s talk about which animals make the best ESAs. Of course, which animal is best for you will depend on your own preferences and needs.
Perhaps you prefer a smaller animal because you travel a lot and want to be able to take your ESA onto an airplane as a carry-on. Maybe you need a low-maintenance animal to be your ESA because you don’t have much free time to spend on pet care.
On the other hand, you might want an animal that requires more attention because you enjoy interacting with them and would prefer an animal that wants to be interacted with often.
Whatever your preference is, we’ll be sharing some pets that we think make awesome ESAs, and we’ll be sure to explain why we think so. This list is not exhaustive, so if there’s an animal you’re interested in that isn’t on this list, that doesn’t necessarily mean they are a bad choice.
With that said, let’s talk about which animals make fantastic ESAs!
Dogs
If you’ve ever owned a dog before, then you know exactly why they’ve made this list. Dogs are one of the best options for an ESA because they are so people-oriented. They love to give and receive love. Beyond that, it’s almost as if they have a sixth sense that lets them know when we’re down and need comforting.
There are also hundreds of dog breeds and mixes to choose from, so big or small, calm or energetic, you should be able to find a dog that suits your lifestyle. Another great thing about dogs is that even the most low-maintenance of dogs can benefit from a walk outside.
As we mentioned earlier, exercise is very important for both your physical and mental well-being. Not only that, but getting outside and enjoying the fresh air is also good for you. Just like exercise, the great outdoors can improve your mental health! So, not only can a dog help you by being there to comfort you, but they’ll also help you be more active and get outside more.
Cats
Dogs are great, but they aren’t the right choice for everyone. Cats are a bit more low-maintenance in comparison, as many of them can lead completely indoor lifestyles. However, if you did want to walk your cat, we’ve seen it done before.
Though cats are stereotyped as wanting to murder us all in our sleep, many of them are actually quite sweet. Some cats are independent, but others are cuddle bugs who love attention.
Of course, some may find independent cats more appealing. Some people want a companion to hang out with, but they don’t want to feel like they’re constantly being bothered for attention.
Cats also enjoy playing and can even be trained using positive reinforcement techniques! Being relatively low-maintenance but still sociable and companionable is what makes cats a great choice for an ESA.
Rabbits
Rabbits make good ESAs because they are cuddly and spunky. They are the type of animal that will bring a smile to your face, not just because they are adorable but also because of how much personality they hold in their little bodies. Is it not fun to see a playful rabbit jump into the air and binky?
Rabbits are very social and need daily interaction. Because of their social nature, some people like to keep them in pairs (just make sure they are both sterilized), though you can have single rabbits as long as you’re willing to spend time with them every day. As such, they’re a good option for someone who is looking for an ESA that enjoys a lot of interaction.
Since rabbits are prey animals, many of them do not enjoy being held while you are standing. However, if you sit on the ground, you will find that rabbits are a lot more comfortable being held and petted in your lap. Like all animals, you’ll find some rabbits are more cuddly and affectionate, whereas others are more independent.
Ferrets
Just like rabbits, ferrets have made this list because they are one of the most spunky and vivacious animals you can own. You’ve probably seen goofy videos of ferrets all over the internet. We think ferrets could absolutely brighten someone’s day with their antics.
Ferrets are quite energetic and also require daily interaction. They are escape artists who will slither into any crevice their noodle bodies can fit into. This can be pretty dangerous for them, which is why they need to be kept in cages. Of course, you’ll also need to ferret-proof a room for when they are let out of their cage to play.
When ferrets are done playing, they might enjoy sitting in your lap or lying on your chest and cuddling with you, which is another reason they made this list. Just be aware that ferrets are a bit fragile, so they need to be handled with care and should not be handled by toddlers who have yet to develop their motor skills.
Gerbils
If you want a companion that is seriously low-maintenance, then consider getting gerbils. Because gerbils are social with their own kind, you do need to get at least two. They are a lot less low-maintenance than other animals because you don’t need to do much aside from feeding them and cleaning their enclosure.
As long as they have a friend or two to hang out with, they’ll be just fine. Unlike other animals, they also don’t need to be let out of their enclosures for exercise or play. They’ll need a wheel to run on and some chew toys, but that’s it.
At the same time, if you do want an animal you can hold, gerbils tolerate it pretty well. However, it may take them some time to warm up to you as they are so small and can sometimes be fearful of humans due to our comparatively large size.
A gerbil would be a good choice of ESA for someone who enjoys having an animal companion but who perhaps doesn’t have the time or means to care for a dog or cat.
ESA Laws in Iowa
Emotional support animals change the lives of many by providing their owners with comfort via companionship. In Iowa, emotional support animals are given special privileges by the Fair Housing Act.
Under this law, ESAs are allowed to live in any rental with their owners for free, even if that rental doesn’t allow pets. Other typical rental rules such as breed restrictions or size restrictions also do not apply to ESAs. Emotional support animals in Iowa unfortunately do not enjoy any other privileges.