ESA (Emotional Support Animals)

[SalixIncendium]

For the last 45 minutes or so, I've been playing a podcast on YouTube while cleaning my ashram. I find myself paused in the middle of an ad which played in the middle of it by a company called Official ESA, which is apparently an organization that arranges getting authorization to have an emotional support animal with person at all times.

I preface what I'm about to say with stating that I recognize the need for some to have emotional support animals and advocate people having their pets with them at all times to support that need.

However, in listening to this nearly 4 minute ad, it appears that they are advocating and encouraging regular pet owners to retain their services to qualify their pet as an ESA to override apartment/hotel/business pet policies and to save pet surcharges. Seems to me like they are trying to make a buck by abusing the system.

I won't post any links to ads, but the company can be found in a simple Google search.

Do you feel the company is abusing the system? If not, why not? If so, how do you feel about that?

 

[Debater Slayer]

If they are trying to help people whose pets are emotional support animals to get that recognized by landlords, hotels, etc., I don't think they're abusing the system.

If, however, they are trying to get pets that are not emotional support animals to be recognized as such for the financial benefits and exemptions, then that is not only abusive of the system but also irresponsible in that it may bring more suspicion to genuine claims of needing an emotional support animal and thereby make it harder to get one's pet recognized as such when there's a need for said recognition.

 

[SalixIncendium]

If they are trying to help people whose pets are emotional support animals to get that recognized by landlords, hotels, etc., I don't think they're abusing the system.

If, however, they are trying to get pets that are not emotional support animals to be recognized as such for the financial benefits and exemptions, then that is not only abusive of the system but also irresponsible in that it may bring more suspicion to genuine claims of needing an emotional support animal and thereby make it harder to get one's pet recognized as such when there's a need for said recognition.

I'm interested in your opinion on which of these they are doing in their ad campaign.

As I said, above, I'm hesitant to post a link because I certainly do not want to, in any way, support traffic to a company who is doing the latter.

 

[Debater Slayer]

I'm interested in your opinion on which of these they are doing in their ad campaign.

As I said, above, I'm hesitant to post a link because I certainly do not want to, in any way, support traffic to a company who is doing the latter.

I understand your unwillingness to post the link, and I would feel the same way about doing so. I don't believe I can form a solid conclusion on the ad without knowing more details, though, so I'll base my answer on your description:

However, in listening to this nearly 4 minute ad, it appears that they are advocating and encouraging regular pet owners to retain their services to qualify their pet as an ESA to override apartment/hotel/business pet policies and to save pet surcharges.

If their pitch is to exploit the rules for emotional support animals by bending them to fit non-ESA pets into them, then I think they're abusing the system.

 

[The Hammer]

Do you feel the company is abusing the system? If not, why not? If so, how do you feel about that?

I think 100% yes these businesses are a sham. All it takes to get authorization for an ESA is a note from your medical provider.

"Only a licensed mental health professional like a therapist, psychologist, or psychiatrist can write an ESA letter for an apartment, as they are the only ones qualified to assess your need for an emotional support animal based on your mental health condition. "

 

[The Hammer]

Understanding the Requirements: Who Can Legally Write an ESA Letter

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"When seeking an ESA letter, be mindful of red flags that could indicate a scam or illegitimate service. Here are the warning signs to watch out for:

Online platforms offering instant ESA certifications for a fee without a thorough mental health assessment can be a red flag.

Services guaranteeing immediate approval and ESA letter issuance without proper evaluation by a licensed mental health professional might not be legitimate.

Providers claiming that any animal can be registered as an emotional support animal without verifying the need through proper channels should raise concerns."

Etc etc

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

For the last 45 minutes or so, I've been playing a podcast on YouTube while cleaning my ashram. I find myself paused in the middle of an ad which played in the middle of it by a company called Official ESA, which is apparently an organization that arranges getting authorization to have an emotional support animal with person at all times.

I preface what I'm about to say with stating that I recognize the need for some to have emotional support animals and advocate people having their pets with them at all times to support that need.

However, in listening to this nearly 4 minute ad, it appears that they are advocating and encouraging regular pet owners to retain their services to qualify their pet as an ESA to override apartment/hotel/business pet policies and to save pet surcharges. Seems to me like they are trying to make a buck by abusing the system.

I won't post any links to ads, but the company can be found in a simple Google search.

Do you feel the company is abusing the system? If not, why not? If so, how do you feel about that?

Here in Ontario, emotional support animals don't have any special legal status. Service animals do, but to be considered a service animal, the animal needs to have specific training to assist a person with a disability.

Also, any pet owner can override apartment pet policies: by provincial law, "no pets" clauses in residential leases are unenforceable.

Because of this, we don't see much like this here, but when we do, I think these businesses are preying on people who don't know the law to make them think they'll get special legal entitlements if they jump through some hoop to make their pet an "official" ESA.

Now... I don't know the ADA that well (it's largely similar to the law here, but there are sometimes important differences) but from what I can tell from a quick googling, ESAs don't get that many special rights under your law, either:

... so it seems like these ESA qualification companies may also be misrepresenting the benefits they can provide.

All that being said, I don't have any issue with the idea that people can derive important emotional support from an untrained pet.

 

[Stevicus]

For the last 45 minutes or so, I've been playing a podcast on YouTube while cleaning my ashram. I find myself paused in the middle of an ad which played in the middle of it by a company called Official ESA, which is apparently an organization that arranges getting authorization to have an emotional support animal with person at all times.

I preface what I'm about to say with stating that I recognize the need for some to have emotional support animals and advocate people having their pets with them at all times to support that need.

However, in listening to this nearly 4 minute ad, it appears that they are advocating and encouraging regular pet owners to retain their services to qualify their pet as an ESA to override apartment/hotel/business pet policies and to save pet surcharges. Seems to me like they are trying to make a buck by abusing the system.

I won't post any links to ads, but the company can be found in a simple Google search.

Do you feel the company is abusing the system? If not, why not? If so, how do you feel about that?

If there's some kind of loophole in the law or something in the system that allows them to do this, then perhaps that's something to look at on a legal basis. I know nothing about this company or whether this is allowed by law.

As an ethical matter, I do find it a bit shady when people try to use loopholes or some other shenanigans to try to game the system for some ulterior motive.

Although in this case, it might be more a matter analogous to the part in the Godfather where the lady is telling about how she got evicted because her little boy brought a dog home and tried to hide it from the landlord. The little boy loved the dog, and his mother was heartsick about the whole thing. I even did that once as a kid myself. I brought a dog home, but wasn't allowed to keep it. So, I recognize that it may be breaking the rules, but I can also kind of sympathize when it comes to people and their pets.

Also, I think there's a significant degree of public sympathy for emotional support animals. It seems to be a thing these days. So, I suppose there could be a question of whether a business might be expected to make a reasonable accommodation for those who have a medically-recognized need for emotional support animals.