Thursday, December 19th 2019
After flying with Bumble Bee from Chicago to Seattle and Seattle to Los Angeles, we received many questions on how he was able to do so. Bumble Bee is a 40lb golden retriever; therefore, he cannot fit within a carrier. Dogs and cats fly commercially when they are small enough to fit within carriers. Any animal outside of a carrier and in the cabin of a plane is a service animal or emotional support animal (ESA). Bee was able to fly with me in-cabin because he is my ESA. I am not going to explain my psychological disability that calls for an ESA. Disclosing that information is inappropriate and an invasion of privacy. However, I do feel it necessary to discuss what it means to be an ESA for those that are unfamiliar.
Emotional Support Animals are animals that provide support to people with psychological disabilities. These disabilities can include anxiety, PTSD, bipolar disorder and many more. To have an ESA, a licensed mental health professional like a therapist, psychologist, psychiatrist, etc. must consider you emotionally disabled, and the health professional must submit this information in a letter with specific formatting. I will not go into further detail on the process of getting an ESA letter for your animal other than to say that having an ESA is a responsibility and a form of treatment for psychological disabilities. Websites that promise to get your pet on an “ESA list” are lying to you, there is no “list.” The only thing necessary in having an ESA is a valid letter from a licensed professional. Further, some people attempt to get ESA letters for the perks that come along with being an ESA. I urge you not to try to trick the system. Firstly, I do not know how you can. But also, many people need ESAs to function through their psychological disorders; further, by falsely identifying an animal as an ESA, you are disrespecting a system meant to aid people with serious psychological disabilities. For more information on getting an animal an ESA letter, please discuss it with your licensed mental health professional.
Lastly, I want to distinguish the differences between an ESA and a service animal. Emotional support animals are very different than service animals. It is extremely important to understand this distinction. Service animals are ADA covered meaning they can go into public establishments like grocery stores or theaters, and Emotional Support Animals are not. Service animals are required to have a certain level of training. This training can be for years or months. ESAs are required to behave well, but they do not need any specific training certificates. Both animals aid their owners, but a service animal is a working dog. Please avoid lumping ESAs and service animals together as it is not accurate. Service animals hold a type of honor for protecting the lives of their owners.
If you want to learn more about our experience traveling and our tips for flying with a dog, please read my article linked here: