Washington Emotional Support Service Animal Certification

If you are in Washington, you may have heard of emotional support animal or ESA. An emotional support animal works like a companion animal for people and patients, for offering therapeutic benefits.

Usually such animals are either cats or dogs, although a patient can choose other pets. The whole purpose of an ESA is to offer relief and support for disability, psychological symptoms or emotional stress. Check some of the basic facts you need to know before getting an ESA certificate.

The procedure

To get an emotional support animal in Washington , you have to check with your physician to consider the option of proving verifiable disability, as stated by law. Your doctor or medical professional will give a note or a certificate, which will mention the concerned disability and the need for emotional support animal that will offer therapeutic care and healing.

However, the animal isn’t treated a service animal and therefore, there is no need for any formal training. In fact, all domesticated animals, including rodents, birds, reptiles, cats and dogs, can become an ESA.

Emotional Support Service Animal in Washington

Animal experts attribute most animal actions and thoughts to instinct. It seems that they don't give our dogs, cats, birds and other pets enough credit. Why? Because there are documented cases of peoples' pets saving them from fire, fending off attackers and other brave acts. How do we truly know that our beloved pets are doing these things strictly from instinct? Though I'm not an animal behaviorist or scientist, throughout life I've watched and worked with many different animals. I believe that they have feelings, and are more like us emotion-wise than we give them credit.

For example, lately in the news, a woman reported that her Golden Retriever gave her the Heimlich manoever when she was choking on a piece of apple. He kept jumping on her chest until the apple ejected from her throat and flew across the room. Then, he ran over and ate it (he still is, of course, a dog). He knew his owner was in danger and responded to it. Now, that's devotion.

Observe your animals deeply, and see what you think. Are they just doing what their genes tell them to do or are they showing emotions? Science is advanced, but there is so much more to know about our pets and what makes them tick. Those who relate well to animals seem to be more in tuned to the way they think. Being calm and slow moving around many animals puts them at ease. Same with people, we like those who are calm and not aggressive towards us. Animal husbandry is fascinating, and worth learning more about. The more we know about our animals, the better we will relate to them. We may not speak their languages but we can at least show them the respect and understanding they most definitely deserve.

Not Just Instinct - Animals Have Feelings and Emotions Too

Meet the 'Airbnb for Dogs' (and Cats, and Ferrets, and Chickens)

One scroll through social media is probably enough to convince you--if you needed convincing--that people love cute animals in general, and their dogs in particular. But while humanity in general may be endlessly enamored of man's best friend, bosses frequently disagree.

From fears of litigious allergy sufferers to costly personal injury claims to animal-hating landlords, there are plenty of reasons company leaders might be skeptical of joining the dog-friendly office trend.

If your boss is among them and you're a die-hard dog lover, is there any way to persuade him or her to open up your workspace to fuzzy friends?

Here's yet another area of life where science might be able to help you out. New research from Central Michigan University offers a rationale for dog-friendly offices that you just might be able to sell to your wary boss.

The furry secret to improved collaboration

The study, which was highlighted recently by UC Berkeley's Greater Good Science Center, is based on a simple premise: Have groups complete short tasks that involve creativity and cooperation, such as coming up with a fictional 15-second ad, and see how having a dog present for the experiment affects outcomes. So, how did it go?

It turns out canines are great for collaboration. Both the participants themselves and outside experts who rated the videotaped tasks for closeness, warmth, and cooperation said that adding a dog to the mix made people more trusting and more helpful. In short, just having a dog around seems to do wonders for teamwork.

"When people work in teams, the presence of a dog seems to act as a social lubricant," lead author Steve Colarelli commented. "Dogs seem to be beneficial to the social interactions of teams."

Why do dogs have such outsize impacts on how we treat each other? The answer offered by the researchers will come as no surprise to most pet owners--it seems that having animals nearby just makes us happier, and people who feel better tend to be nicer.

So if your boss is not sold on opening your office to canine companions, you might want to show him this study. And if you need to apply a little more pressure, earlier research showing that dogs also reduce stress, or this useful post from my Inc.com colleague Christine Lagorio-Chafkin on overcoming objections to dog-friendly offices might also be helpful.

Do you find your personality or behavior changes when there are dogs around?

Meet the 'Airbnb for Dogs' (and Cats, and Ferrets, and Chickens)

Service dogs are amazing. They have been extensively trained, live strict but loved lives, and take care of their owners like truly no one else can. The dogs' abilities to detect seizures, pick up dropped items, and even warn owners of impending stroke or heart attack make these dogs literally life savers.

With all the amazing things these animals can do, it's no wonder we have learned to accept them in places we usually wouldn't, like a restaurant or the office. But there is a growing cynicism towards service and support animals in general, and mostly because of misunderstanding, and I'll admit that I used to be one of these people.

I was not raised in a house with pets, and I never could understand the "emotional support animal". I could understand a seeing eye dog or a dog that assists with the hearing impaired, but these are obvious needs that a dog could help with. When I would see articles about an emotional support pig or bunny, I would roll my eyes.

Every day, people suffer from invisible illnesses that these amazing animals help with. They aren't always trained, but are a loving companion that can bring relief to their owners' suffering and these people and animals often are treated with prejudice. It does seem silly that a turkey can bring comfort to a guy on a plane, but we just don't know and should refrain from thinking we do.

The Emotional Support Animal Professionals