Service dog or ESA for depression/autism: What's the best choice?

Question

I have depression and autism is it better to make Lucky a service dog or a ESA? Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed | Male | neutered | 40 lbs

Jyothi Alagappan · Accepted Answer

Hi and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Service dogs and Emotional Support Animals (ESA) are two very different categories. Service dogs are animals that have been trained specifically to performed tasks for people with disabilities. To qualify as a service dog, the animal must be individually trained in that specific task by a qualified trainer and the animal should be able to perform the task in any environment/scenario. Examples of service animals and their tasks include: seeing eye/guide dog, mobility assistance (opening doors, pulling wheelchairs etc) and diabetes alert dogs. ESAs do not require specific task training. An ESA is a companion animal that a medical professional has determined provides a therapeutic benefit for an individual with a mental or psychiatric disability. Therefore, I recommend considering what exactly you would like Lucky to do for you. If there are specific tasks you would like Lucky to perform, given your disabilities, I would contact qualified trainers. If not, then I would talk to you a doctor or mental health professional about getting Lucky to be an emotional support dog for you. Good luck!

Service dog or ESA for depression/autism: What's the best choice?

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