Ottakee Posted February 16, 2019 Share Posted February 16, 2019 My daughter has a letter from her therapist saying an emotional support animal would be helpful for her, specifically her bearded dragon. She wants to register said dragon as an emotional support animal. So many of the sites though seem like a scam where anyone and everyone can register just about anything for any (or no) reason. If i do this, I want it to be reputable. Also, we will not be taking the critter into food establishments, on an airplane, etc. OK, basically mom will allow the dragon to go out in public with her in open areas, to home depot, the pet store, etc......basically all places any pets are allowed. She though really wants her registered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted February 16, 2019 Share Posted February 16, 2019 There isn't a legit registering organization. It's an honor system, and the proof is the therapists letter. Period. The places you are finding are all just collecting money - diploma mills for lack of a better term. If it will make her feel better, find, but there is no legit certifying body, or test, etc. This is true even of service dogs, actually. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted February 16, 2019 Author Share Posted February 16, 2019 1 minute ago, Ktgrok said: There isn't a legit registering organization. It's an honor system, and the proof is the therapists letter. Period. The places you are finding are all just collecting money - diploma mills for lack of a better term. If it will make her feel better, find, but there is no legit certifying body, or test, etc. This is true even of service dogs, actually. That was my feeling. She could always just carry along a copy of the letter from the therapist and it is a local, well known place. Then again other than the dentist, I don't see a need for her to take the dragon anywhere that pets are not allowed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 16, 2019 Share Posted February 16, 2019 I’d also suggest looking at the lizard’s well being. Beardies like a warmer habitat than many pet lizards, and outdoor/store temperatures may well be a little cold for the lizard, which can have health implications. She might need a carrier with a heat pack to take the beardie with her (I’m especially thinking of big warehouse stores that are COLD). Also, if she’s uncomfortable talking to strangers and having people approach her, she may want to avoid taking a lizard into public places. They tend to attract a lot of attention-even more than a service dog would. That may be very stressful for both of them. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted February 16, 2019 Author Share Posted February 16, 2019 9 hours ago, dmmetler said: I’d also suggest looking at the lizard’s well being. Beardies like a warmer habitat than many pet lizards, and outdoor/store temperatures may well be a little cold for the lizard, which can have health implications. She might need a carrier with a heat pack to take the beardie with her (I’m especially thinking of big warehouse stores that are COLD). Also, if she’s uncomfortable talking to strangers and having people approach her, she may want to avoid taking a lizard into public places. They tend to attract a lot of attention-even more than a service dog would. That may be very stressful for both of them. We discussed the cold as we are in Michigan. Generally the beardie rides inside her jackets, etc. For her the beardie breaks the ice in social situations . Then again I am not take the dragon many places with us. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 16, 2019 Share Posted February 16, 2019 (edited) 4 hours ago, Ottakee said: We discussed the cold as we are in Michigan. Generally the beardie rides inside her jackets, etc. For her the beardie breaks the ice in social situations . Then again I am not take the dragon many places with us. She might want to get some of the reusable hot hands packs-the ones you snap to activate and boil to recharge. She could put one in an inner jacket or shirt pocket on cold days and that would give the beardie a warmer spot to cuddle to if he needs it. Also, if she puts on her jacket and wears it a bit, so her body heat heats it up some before putting the beardie in it, her pet will be more comfortable. In warm weather, a sugar glider pouch might be useful as a place for the dragon to ride safely with her. I also assume your DD recognizes stress signs in her dragon and knows to get Er him out of the situation. Dragons can sometimes have threat responses, like arm waving and head bobbing, misinterpreted because they seem human and “cute”, and I know we’ve had times that was problematic at a tabling event. Basically, she needs to be able to be the emotional support person for her dragon, too :). Edited February 16, 2019 by dmmetler 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6wildhorses Posted February 16, 2019 Share Posted February 16, 2019 It's important to understand the difference between an emotional support animal and a service animal. An emotional support animal does not have the same access rights as a service animal. This article details the differences: https://www.servicedogcertifications.org/the-difference-between-a-psychiatric-service-dog-and-an-emotional-support-animal/ Emotional support animals may live in places with "no pets" policies, and they may fly on airplanes. Those are the only special rights they have. In order to have public access rights, you need a service animal who performs tasks. As others said, there is no official certification process, so you're correct that they're all basically scams. Here's another article with more information: https://adata.org/publication/service-animals-booklet. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zimom Posted February 16, 2019 Share Posted February 16, 2019 ktgrok and 6wildhorses already said what I was going to tell you: 1) emotional support animals (ESAs) do not need to be registered and in fact there is no way to do so. Anywhere that says otherwise is just taking your money. If she wants to have proof, she should just carry her paperwork from her doctor giving permission to have the animal. 2.) Emotional support animals do NOT have public access rights. She may not take him anywhere, unless the place (store, etc) decides to allow the animal otherwise (pet friendly). This includes flying since it is not a dog since most airlines have now cracked down and have strict rules for ESAs. There are very big differences between service dogs (SD), emotional support animals (ESA) and therapy dogs (TD). Service dogs (actually the PERSON with the service dog), is the only one with public access rights. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted February 16, 2019 Author Share Posted February 16, 2019 Yep, I know the difference between a trained service animal and the emotional support category. I don't intent to allow her to take it to non pet friendly places anyway. I know people/businesses are afraid to refuse an emotional support animal but I have seen this abused many times.....esp by bold people will poorly/untrained animals. When I was in Florida a guy came into the restaurant with his emotional support dog and made a big deal to the guy at the bar (where he sat) and others around him about how another place had refused him, etc and on and on. The dog wasn't horrible (at least not as bad as the owner) but was sniffing around other people, then tried to lay at my friend's feet....which meant the leash went from the owner across the walkway to where the dog was laying down. The poor waiter and waitresses had to step OVER the leash to bring food to other customers, etc. I do not want to be "that person". 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted February 16, 2019 Share Posted February 16, 2019 1 hour ago, Ottakee said: restaurant with his emotional support dog and made a big deal to the guy at the bar (where he sat) and others around him about how another place had refused him, etc and on and on. The dog wasn't horrible (at least not as bad as the owner) but was sniffing around other people, then tried to lay at my friend's feet....which meant the leash went from the owner across the walkway to where the dog was laying down. The poor waiter and waitresses had to step OVER the leash to bring food to other customers, etc. Wow, they should have nixed that for safety reasons! They can allow the dog without allowing the dog to wander or create a safety hazard. There's no harm to registering but it is stupidly expensive for something that is not at all useful and not at all official, and the bearded dragon won't be able to wear the cute vest, lol. If my dd really wanted to register her ESA, and wasn't the type to ask too many questions, I'd be tempted to, ahem, handle it for her. Then provide her with a registration document, it would be easy to print a page with the ESA's photos and Emotional Support Animal for Ottakee's DD. She could file it or frame it. Maybe an ID tag or patch from Amazon (idk what would work with this animal), and call it a day. It's no more fake than anyone else's registration. My guess is that she'd like it to be 'official' and also might like some of the swag. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 17, 2019 Share Posted February 17, 2019 You can get an "official" vest/harness for your beardie 🙂 https://www.etsy.com/listing/656602796/adult-bearded-dragon-emotional-support?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=bearded+dragon+harness&ref=sr_gallery-1-7&organic_search_click=1 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alicia64 Posted February 17, 2019 Share Posted February 17, 2019 21 hours ago, dmmetler said: I’d also suggest looking at the lizard’s well being. Beardies like a warmer habitat than many pet lizards, and outdoor/store temperatures may well be a little cold for the lizard, which can have health implications. She might need a carrier with a heat pack to take the beardie with her (I’m especially thinking of big warehouse stores that are COLD). Dmmetler said it better than I could have said it. Alley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted February 17, 2019 Author Share Posted February 17, 2019 1 hour ago, dmmetler said: You can get an "official" vest/harness for your beardie 🙂 https://www.etsy.com/listing/656602796/adult-bearded-dragon-emotional-support?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=bearded+dragon+harness&ref=sr_gallery-1-7&organic_search_click=1 She would LOVE this. But I am not paying that much for it.....but she might. I think she just wants a cute vest. For those not aware, she is also cognitively impaired and easily fixates on things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted February 17, 2019 Share Posted February 17, 2019 1 hour ago, dmmetler said: You can get an "official" vest/harness for your beardie 🙂 OMG I NEED A BEARDED DRAGON!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 17, 2019 Share Posted February 17, 2019 I’ll bet you could find someone to do one much cheaper-there usually are people selling harnesses at any reptile show, and adding the lettering and beardie would be one sheet of transfer vinyl and someone with a Vinyl cutter. There are some super cute outfits and harnesses for beardies. It’s one advantage lizards have over snakes-they’re easier to dress up 🙂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zimom Posted February 17, 2019 Share Posted February 17, 2019 yep, since you clearly understand the difference between a SD and an ESA, if you find a vest and want to mail it to me, I'm more than happy to put the vinyl on it for her 🙂 (my daughter has a SD and has had more than one fake SD try to go after her which is why I am so passionate about this subject. Folks don't realize or don't care that these fake dogs, not only are a nuisance but can easily ruin a true SD that takes years and tens of thousands of $$$ to train) 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted February 17, 2019 Author Share Posted February 17, 2019 49 minutes ago, ZiMom said: yep, since you clearly understand the difference between a SD and an ESA, if you find a vest and want to mail it to me, I'm more than happy to put the vinyl on it for her 🙂 (my daughter has a SD and has had more than one fake SD try to go after her which is why I am so passionate about this subject. Folks don't realize or don't care that these fake dogs, not only are a nuisance but can easily ruin a true SD that takes years and tens of thousands of $$$ to train) Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted February 18, 2019 Share Posted February 18, 2019 On 2/17/2019 at 4:02 AM, Ottakee said: She would LOVE this. But I am not paying that much for it.....but she might. I think she just wants a cute vest. For those not aware, she is also cognitively impaired and easily fixates on things. You could make that vest out of felt and a snap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 18, 2019 Share Posted February 18, 2019 I’d suggest something that doesn’t stretch as easily as felt. It looks like this one is a small piece of neoprene. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted February 18, 2019 Author Share Posted February 18, 2019 45 minutes ago, dmmetler said: I’d suggest something that doesn’t stretch as easily as felt. It looks like this one is a small piece of neoprene. Likely we could find a very small scrap at a fabric store and cut to fit 🙂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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