How to Get an Emotional Support Animal in Massachusetts

If you suffer from an emotional or mental health condition such as depression, anxiety, or certain phobias, you could benefit from an . Emotional support animals (ESAs) are protected by Federal law in each state, and some individual states such as Massachusetts have adopted their own laws giving ESA owners additional support.

Unlike service animals, emotional support animals aren't trained in specific tasks. There are also not many limitations on the types of animals that qualify; cats, dogs, birds, and even miniature horses qualify as ESA. Additionally, emotional support animals are allowed to travel with you on certain airlines and also are allowed to live in rental houses with "no-pet" policies, and you shouldn’t be charged any pet security deposit or rent.

However, it's not enough to say that a dog or the domesticated animal you have is an emotional support animal and not simply a pet. You'll need an ESA letter to show that the animal is for your mental well-being so that you can comfortably live with your ESA in Massachusetts. This is where DoNotPay becomes helpful.

What Is an Emotional Support Animal?

An ESA refers to an animal that provides some form of support and comfort to the owner. There are a variety of animal types that qualify to be ESAs, including dogs, cats, pigeons, goats, parrots, ducks, turkeys, rabbits, chickens, and much more. Unlike service animals, emotional support animals aren't specially trained to perform any service or task.

What Is an ESA Letter?

An ESA letter is a prescription letter acquired from a licensed mental health professional (LMHP). The LMHP examines you and then explains your condition as well as the reason as to why you would benefit from an emotional support animal in Massachusetts. This letter is the only certification you require for your companion animal. If you own a legal ESA letter, you stand to enjoy all the benefits of an ESA.

Who Can Write an ESA Letter in Massachusetts?

An ESA letter can only be drafted by a licensed mental health professional. The letter determines if you qualify for an emotional support animal.

Any of the following licensed healthcare specialists can write up and sign an ESA letter:	Psychiatrists Addiction Therapists Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists Licensed Professional Counselors Behavioral Therapists Licensed Clinical Social Workers Cognitive-Behavioral Therapists Doctors qualified to carry out mental health assessments Licensed Clinical Psychologists Licensed Clinical Social Workers
Some of the common mental conditions that qualify individuals to receive an ESA letter:	Anxiety Attention deficit disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) Chronic stress Depression Learning disabilities

How to Ask for an Emotional Support Animal in Massachusetts

Requesting a professional or a doctor to prescribe an can be a bit challenging for some people, especially if they have a mental disorder. If you're completely unable to do it yourself, you can request a close friend or family member to do it for you.

If you're in a position to do it on your own, here is what to do:

Set an appointment with your doctor
Explain your symptoms
Allow the doctor to make recommendations
Don't try to push the matter
Take the matter as a treatment option
Talk with an LMHP and allow them to talk to your doctor
Receive an ESA recommendation letter
Choose your emotional support animal

How to Get Hold of Emotional Support Animals in Massachusetts

With the fact that no special training is required when getting an emotional support animal, you only need to choose a pet of your own. You'll need to decide the type of pet or animal you want to adopt and then check for it in any local place around to get one. If you already own a pet or once you acquire one, you'll only need to certify it as an ESA.

How DoNotPay Can Help

Through our new product, DoNotPay can help you with all of your ESA-related concerns, including asking airlines about their accommodation options, finding the most affordable online ESA letter service, and contacting your landlord about your ESA.

Search "service animal" on DoNotPay.
Select the type of issue you need help with, including contacting your landlord about your ESA/service animal, asking your airline about ESA options, or requesting ESA/service accommodations at other venues.
Answer a series of questions regarding your current situation and the details of your ESA/service animal, so we can generate the best results for you.

If you need to travel, DoNotPay can help you secure an ESA letter so you can arrange accommodations for your ESA with Southwest, American Airlines, and United Airlines, among others.

Why Use DoNotPay to Solve Your ESA-Related Concerns in Massachusetts

With a variety of solutions out there to help solve your issue, you might be wondering why you should use DoNotPay to solve all your ESA-related issues. Here are three reasons.

DoNotPay excels in these three areas:

It’s fast. You don't need to spend a lot of hours trying to handle all your ESA-related concerns.
It’s easy. You have no reason to struggle to fill out tedious forms or keep track of all the steps involved in solving your ESA-related issues in Massachusetts.
It’s successful. You can rest confident that we'll make the best case for you.