Deciding To Own Multiple ESAs

So you have established that you are prescribed an emotional support animal. What exactly does that entail when thinking about the number of pets that you may have. Is it possible for a person to have and live with multiple emotional support animals? Can a person have multiple species if they are going to have multiple support animals, such as a dog, a cat, and a snake? You would think that a person who loves animals and has a diagnosed disorder who have multiple animals. Does that mean there are legal ramifications?

The law states that it is perfectly fine to have multiple service animals. If we look to the Americans with Disabilities Act, we see that the FAQs outline the possibility that certain individuals may need multiple emotional support animals to function in their daily lives.

That means two things to people who are looking for multiple support animals. One, the therapist could advise against having multiple support animals do to the diagnosis that one is given. Also, there might be situations in public places where having multiple support animals could be a nuisance to the general public around, such as multiple dogs in a restaurant or a flight, in which rights of the person may be rejected.

No Limit? Only if the Situation Calls for One

So the Americans with Disabilities Act does not provide a set line to how many emotional service animals one can have. So where should somebody draw the line if there is one to be drawn?

The Fair Housing Amendments Act (FHAA) is more explicit about the “no pets” rule. Landlords are asked by law to not discriminate against somebody who has been diagnosed with a disability or psychological disorder and has an emotional support animal. The renter or owner of the property must modify within certain limitations its policies for people who have emotional support animals to get them through their daily lives. These people and their emotional support animal must be extended the same rights as regular tenants. This means that they are to have full of all the facilities of the property without any discrimination. If by chance the person has multiple emotional support animals, then that person and the tenant would have to agree on specific terms of living, since it may not be beneficial for either party.

So the question become, how many support animals would qualify as a reasonable amount? The main focus on this falls on the individual who has an emotional support animal must consider the animal’s welfare when thinking about the living situations. For instance, if the person decides to rent out a small room, it would not be smart to have two larger dogs or a horse.  If the person instead decides to have two smaller cats, that may be consider reasonable since the cats are less likely to cause too much harm in the provided space. The individual must also have to account for all the other things to consider when taking care of animals, such as the price of medicine and how much food do the animals need. Those go without saying.

It also may be the case that a therapist may determine a person unfit to care for multiple animals. In this case, the therapist cannot ban completely the notion of multiple animals, but rather suggest that a person would be better off with just one.

There are a lot of factors that go into owning an emotional support animals and those factors increase when thinking about owning multiple. It is always important to think about the welfare of the animals when making the decision to own a pet.

If you are looking into owning an emotional support animal or have any questions related to the process, feel free to look at some of the FAQs on Emotional Support Animal Co.