By making your pet dog or cat an emotional support animal (ESA,) you can bring that animal with you onto a domestic US flight or a foreign flight of 8 hours or shorter with a point of departure or arrival in the US without paying any extra for that privilege, even on flights that normally prohibit animals or flights that require all animals or animals of your ESA’s type to fly in the cargo hold as a checked pet. You can also live with your dog or cat in residential housing without paying pet rent or a pet deposit of any sort, even in housing that normally prohibits pets or pets of your ESA’s type.

To make your dog or cat an emotional support animal (ESA), all you need is a doctor’s letter stating two things:

1) That you have a mental or emotional disability or disorder
2) That an ESA may help alleviate some of the symptoms of that disability or disorder

If you don't have a doctor of your own to ask for this letter, or you do not wish to ask you doctor, you can use the telemedicine services of Certifymypet to speak with a doctor and get that letter. Then, you can register your ESA and get ID cards, an identifying vest and listing in a secure 24/7/265 ESA verification service, giving you total peace of mind that you and your ESA can enjoy your rights without unnecessary delays and hassles.

Making your dog into a service dog is easy, as long as you qualify for a service dog and your dog can be trained as a service dog.

The first step is to make sure you qualify. In order to qualify for a service dog, you must have a diagnosis for one or more physical or psychiatric disabilities or disorders. These can include, but are not limited to, the following:

- Allergies
- Anxiety disorders
- Chronic pain
- Hearing impairment
- Migraines
- Mobility Issues
- Nervous habits
- Panic attacks, seizures
- PTSD
- Substance abuse
- Visual Impairment
- Other physical and mental disabilities

While you do not need to obtain a doctor’s note to have a service dog or present a doctor’s note to anyone in order to access a facility with your service dog, a diagnosis for a qualifying condition is still required, and if your qualifications for a service dog are ever called into question, having this diagnosis in your possession (or, at least, accessible) can be invaluable. At the end of the day, however, as long as you qualify, you can have a service dog.

If you do not yet have a qualifying diagnosis, you can speak with your doctor to obtain one. If, however, you do not have a primary doctor or, for whatever reason, do not wish to discuss these concerns with that doctor, such as if you don’t have insurance to cover an expensive doctor’s visit, you can use the convenient, low-cost telemedicine services of Certifymypet.

With this service, you can speak securely and confidentially with a licensed doctor via teleconference about your condition. If you have medical records to show a history of your condition, you can even show it to the doctor to help demonstrate your qualifications. Even if you don’t have such records, however, or don’t wish to request a copy from your regular doctor, the doctor you meet with through Certifymypet can help you develop the medical records you can later use, if necessary, to demonstrate your medical history of the condition.

Once you have your qualifying diagnosis, the only other thing you need to turn your dog into a service dog is to train the dog in the specific tasks he or she will perform to help you with your diagnosed disability or disorder. The tasks must be directly related to your disability or disorder and the dog must perform them consistently on command (or other cue) in order for your dog to qualify as a service dog. You can either do this training yourself or hire a professional to do it for you. All service dogs must also be trained in basic obedience, including avoiding urinating or defecating except in designated places, avoiding excessive barking, whimpering or other distracting or obstructive behavior, and avoiding all aggressive behavior, whether toward other people, animals or you yourself.

Once your service dog is properly trained, you’re ready to venture out into the world together. One way to help avoid needless hassles and delays once you and your service dog are out and about and trying to access publicly-accessible spaces is to register your service dog. While this is not a legal requirement to have a service dog, it confers a bunch of useful benefits, including ID cards and a Day-Glo vest and entry into a verification service you can have any contact 24/7/365 to verify your service dog status, if necessary.