What's the deal with ESA?

@ZenKitzune Because people use support animals as a way to piggyback service animal rights and laws.

@EllaDisenchanted I'm struggling to think of serious risks here, perhaps you can help me out?

@ZenKitzune Service animal laws and rights were very hard won and service animal owners still get lots of hassle.

emotional support animals are not service animals. They don't have expectations of training, social behavior like service animals do.

So while many people properly train their emotionally support animals to behave in public most do not. Then you have people that just take their pet and call it emotional support or service animal, which is illegal, and make a bad name for actual service animals.

In the end many businesses will try to find false reasons to keep out both service and support animals because of the headache from misbehaving emotional support pets, knowing the authorities are very slow to act on claims of service animal discrimination.

So in the end people with actual service animals get refused service or harassment just for simple things because ESA abusers make a bad name for them.

@EllaDisenchanted Sounds like the system needs fixing rather than the need. People with mental and emotional problems aren't dog trainers and likely won't be able to afford or be entitled to a properly trained service animal. This doesn't mean there isn't a desperate need or benefit to having such an animal.

I suppose this only applies to a country with national healthcare but, in the long run ESA animals would save a huge amount of time and money spent on other therapies and medications which aren't as efficient in improving lives.

Proper rules need to be in place or people will always try to play the system.

@ZenKitzune Service dog owners pay for training and animals out of pocket as well. And while or would be great to see emotional support animals held you the same standards as service animals, most emotional support owners just take their pets and claim them as emotional support.

There ARE service animals that are trained for emotional and mental health service. The system in general works. It's people that don't want to take the time to train (yes, it's specialized training but you can do it yourself if you it confirms to standards AND the dog is trained for public) or Judy want to claim pets as service animals that are the problem.

@EllaDisenchanted Like I said, you need a system in place to help people train and then to assess whether the animal is fit to be an esa animal. Otherwise people will do what they are allowed to do.

@ZenKitzune There IS a standard. That standard is to train them in that standard to become an actual service animal. ESA is a psychology designation, not legal.

Service animals are legally recognized and there ate emotionally and psychological service animals.

ESAs are a loophole that injure actual service animal rights.