[HappyhedgiesNS]

Hi
My little guy helps me so much he goes almost everywhere with me as I suffer from anxiety among other things and he keeps me focused and gives me the ability to deal with things. it was suggested that I look into a Emotional support animal letter laws are not clear in Canada and I'm not sure if I need one as the only thing i see is about housing and travel. does anyone know anything about ESA letter and if i need one just to have my little guy with me when doing everyday things

 

[Spiky_Floof<3]

I'm not sure... Maybe you could call someone, like a vet, doctor, or someone who might know?

 

[ChloëMali]

I'm not an expert on this subject, but I do know a fair bit and I'll attempt to break it down for you. I have a couple of mental illnesses and have been looking into different options for myself:
First, Emotional Support Animals (ESAs) are considered pets, not service animals. They are exempt from no-pet housing rules, just like service animals, but in other situations, like restaurants and malls and airplanes, it is entirely up to the establishment whether they will let your ESA in, whereas service animals are permitted everywhere.
To obtain an actual, legal ESA, you have to (at least where I am) talk to a doctor or mental health professional. Now, here's the thing. There are many websites that will let you print out an ESA letter. This means that a lot of people will print out letters for their pets and will insist that ESAs get the same rights as service animals, and then their pets will misbehave. That's why ESAs were banned from airplanes. Because of some people's dishonesty, things were made harder for people with actual ESAs.
I would encourage you to read some articles on the difference between ESAs and service animals. Those were really helpful to me. Also, since your pet is a hedgehog, you don't have to worry about destructive behavior an so such, so many places would probably be willing to let your pet in. I think talking to a doctor about making your hedgie your ESA would be worth a shot. Just make sure that your hedgie is safe and happy and not stressed out, and remember that establishments are not legally obligated to let an ESA in.
Hope this helps a little!

 

[trissten]

An Emotional Support Animal — or ESA for short — is an animal, usually, a dog or cat (most often a dog) whose very presence tends to calm or have therapeutic effects upon its owner in times of stress and difficulty. Traditionally, an Emotional Support Animal has been trained by a professional trainer to be a support animal, but recent laws have changed allowing many more pets to be deemed an ESA which were not designated as such previously. With numerous benefits for health, Emotional Support Animals serve two areas under federal laws.

 

[Jedadeana]

Here's an article on the subject from a website that I have found very helpful overall. Not sure if this one will answer all your questions though, seems pretty basic, but it does mention some Canadian stuff (not sure when it was published though)
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Hedgehog Emotional Support Animal

A hedgehog emotional support animal is a real thing that is certified by doctors. Because they aren't a traditional service animal, there may be conflict that a

heavenlyhedgies.com

 

[textilexst]

The fact that ESA are not considered service animals makes it much more difficult to register them officially