over_cloxSouth Mississippi here, does anyone have any advice on how to get Brownie registered as an emotional support animal?
Emotional support animals do not qualify as service animals under the ADA. There is no process or organization to make him an “official” emotional support animal, though there are many companies that will gladly sell you a badge, certificate, or harness.
Oh I get that, and I don’t expect Brownie is in any way smart enough to fully qualify as a proper service animal.
But I do think he brings love and joy to practically everyone, no matter what age the people are.
Hell, there have been registered emotional support horses and allogators before, no joke, so I just find myself wondering if I can help find a way for my roommate to get Brownie registered as an emotional support dog… 🤷
Then I guess I’m unclear what you hope to accomplish if you already know there will be no legal privileges or protections. You could draw up your own certification and frame it, Brownie won’t know the difference.
Emotional support horses have been allowed on airplanes. The least I could try to help my roommate with is trying to get his dog qualified to purchase dog food off his insurance card.
Like fuck, there’s gotta be a way, right? Where to start though?..
No, there is no way. That will be entirely up to the airline. They treat non-service animals as pets, with all the rules and regulations that apply. There’s nothing that obligates them to treat an emotional support animal any differently than any other pet.
I did a little digging into that horse story. It seems it may actually have been a trained service animal and not just an ESA. But in either case, the DOT has since updated its rules to exclude miniature horses from being allowed on airplanes.
That sounds like it’s up to the insurance company. But, again, there is nothing in the way of being an emotional support animal that would compel it to be covered by insurance, so I wouldn’t get your hopes up for it being covered. A service animal may be a different story.
I do thank you for your advice, but I’m just not sure.
His previous healthcare provider allowed him to purchase dog food, but he switched providers and not sure if there’s a proper solution to that this year…
I dunno, just trying to help my roommate ya know.
I don’t have my hopes up, but I don’t have my hopes down either. Just asking around ya know…
early_riserI don’t know you or your roommate’s current financial situation, but if they’re struggling to buy dog food there may be assistance programs, perhaps not for the dog, but for his own expenses, that can free up money for the dog.
Oh it’s not exactly a dire financial struggle, hell one big bag of dog food for him costs something like $8 a bag, and might last upwards of 2 months. And yes he has a dedicated airtight container to keep the food fresh.
Just looking and talking around to see what all, if any options he might have with his new health insurance provider to try to save a few dollars here and there.
Best I’ve gathered so far from comments here, I’ve already advised him to just talk to his doctors and perhaps his case manager next time he’s got an appointment.
Wow only $8?? Last time I noticed dog food prices a few years ago, a bag that big would cost $50.
My roommate can’t remember off the top of his head what brand of food it was, but he’ll recognize it the next time he sees it in the store. It’s just basically plain small dry kibble, we give it to him mixed about 50/50 with water once a day.
He keeps the food in a repurposed 5 gallon ice/water cooler, minus the ice or water, to keep it fresh. A fresh bag fills that up about 80℅, so basically ~4 gallons of dry kibble, for ~$8 ain’t bad huh?
I’m pretty sure you can’t even do that with traditional service dogs. I think vet and food expenses for a service dog can be deducted from taxes (not financial advice!) but not charged to human health insurance.