An emotional support animal is usually recommended by mental health specialists like therapists, psychologists and psychiatrists to people with mental disabilities. This Emotional support animal program works in conjunction with the primary treatment. Though it is the least mentioned option, but it is highly beneficial. An emotional support animal can help a patient cope with the struggles they face during their treatment. Having an ESA makes you feel loved and cared about which helps in healing and disappearance in the symptoms of the disorder.
Where your ESA is providing you with so much care and affection, then its your responsibility too to look after it. Before adopting your ESA, do your homework about what that furry animal is going to need on a daily basis. Take notes of what they eat, what kind of an environment they are used to living in, how often they need to be groomed, how many times a year they need to be taken to a vet, etc. Preparing for your ESA is crucially important.
Start with gathering supplies like a collar leash, an ESA identification tag, feeding and watering utensils, toys and pet carriers. Establish house rules for the ESA – will they be allowed to sit on the couch and bed, will they be allowed to touch your belongings or not, etc. Plan your ESA’s arrival on a weekend or when you can have time to spend together. Get to know each other and do not miss on giving equal time to everyone else around you as well.
Prepare for housetraining, read the tips and instructions given to you at the time of the adoption of the ESA. Be consistent and follow a healthy and regular pattern. This might take a little more effort, but it will have effective results. For faster housetraining, read housetraining guides and search the web more.
Make sure that your pet is healthy because animal shelters and rescue animal organizations take animals from everywhere and there is a possibility that your ESA has not been vaccinated before. Despite the efforts of the workers at animal shelters, viruses can be spread and can come to your house with your ESA, so make sure that its shots are up to date and it is in good general health. Take him to the vet regularly. There they will receive regular health check-ups and needed vaccinations. Make appointments to get your ESA sprayed or neutered.
In order to make housetraining and obedience training easier, give them a crate. It is like a room of their own, every animal needs its own space to rest. Moreover, it would save them from absorbing any negative energy around them.
Even though your emotional support pet is your companion, but let it know who is the boss from the very beginning. Teach it discipline, whenever they do something they are not supposed to do to stay calm and let them know in a disapproving voice that they have misbehaved.
For your own and your ESA’s benefit, give them an active lifestyle, play with them, plan walks and exercises. Remember to temper your expectations, do not think that your ESA is a magic wand that will lighten up your mood instantly. Patience is key.
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