Page 27 2024 Animal Stories Lincoln Daily News February 2024 Support Animals are treated as regular pets by the airlines. You will be charged a fee for your ESA to fly with you and if your pet is larger than what is allowed in the cabin of the airplane then they may be required to ride in cargo. Service Animals are always allowed to fly with you for free. Hotels have the right to make their own determinations about Emotional Support Animals, so before you travel check out the hotel’s website. Airbnb sites used to allow ESAs in their properties free of charge. Now, the law has changed, and they can charge a free or not allow your ESA at all. Making your Emotional Support Animal Official It is always smart to have documentation to support your claims. Registering your Emotional Support Animal with US Service Animals will allow you to provide a certificate of registration to airlines, hotels, and other essential spaces. You will also get an official Emotional Support Animal vest, ID tag, and become part of the largest support animal and Emotional Support Animal database in the United States. There are fees involved with legally registering your pet as an Emotional Support Animal. If you are thinking of registering your animal, be aware of scams. It is crucial to realize that registering your Emotional Support Animal shouldn’t be too easy. There is more involved than paying a fee and printing a certificate, many of which are not recognized as official. It is essential to speak to a board-certified physician, receive a diagnosis that would qualify you to have an ESA, and then receive written documentation from that physician. Also be aware that you will need to update that certification with a board-certified physician every year, there is no such thing as a lifetime certification. Emotional Support Animals can be an important part of the life of a person with mental or emotional conditions. When people who do not have the disability misuse the system by misrepresenting their pets as Emotional Support Animals to obtain special privileges, they undermine the importance of the accommodations made for individuals in legitimate need of assistance. Please, take the time to research all of the options, advantages, and disadvantages to registering your pet as an Emotional Support Animal. Sources: https://www.usserviceanimals.org https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/news/ everything-about-emotional-support-animals/
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