TYPES OF EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMALS AVAILABLE

Any affectionate, kind and gentle animal can serve as an Emotional Support Animal. The Federal Law does not require these animals to have any specific training. ESAs include dogs, cats, rabbits, ferrets, birds and bearded dragons. Animals can do a variety of important jobs for us. Animals on the basis of their attributes and types of jobs can be divided into ten categories:

1. RECOVERY THERAPY ANIMALS: Many hospitals conduct animal assisted therapy programs for the recovery and rehabilitation of the patients. Studies show that the happier you are, the faster you heal. Mind and body are associated with each other in such a way that the state of one can vividly affect the other. A dog can be a good companion.
2. MENTALLY DISABLED PEOPLE: Animal assisted therapy(AAT) is considered to be very helpful for people with mental disorders like schizophrenia and PTSD. They can play the role of a supportive and loving companion. It helps alleviate loneliness, relieves stress and reduces symptoms of the patient’s disorder.
3. POST DISASTER THERAPY DOGS: Anyone who has witnessed a mishap, lost a family member, seen his house, property or anything he loved being destroyed, may suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder(PTSD). To please such patients, therapy dogs are used. They can comfort children and adults alike. After the Boston marathon bombings, therapy dogs were taken to help and comfort the victims.
4. PUPS IN PRISON: Prisons collaborate with animal shelters and animal advocate groups for animal training programs. The prisoners socialize and work with the pups, give them basic training and teach them hand and verbal signals. After this training, they are ready to be adopted from their original shelters and groups. This also helps in improving prisoner’s behavior and makes them of some good use to the society.
5. READING THERAPY DOGS: Kids who feel shy to read anything to humans lack in their reading skills. This is something very common among children with Autism spectrum disorder. Such kids can take their reading therapy dogs to libraries and read to them.
6. WARTIME COMPANIONSHIP: When soldiers are at war, they need someone to cope up with their emotional hardships. These animals are also sometimes trained to carry water and food to the men at front. They can also carry messages and detect poisonous gases.
7. POST WAR COMPANIONSHIP: Combats returning from wars suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder(PTSD). Their emotional support animals not only serve the wounded veterans in a physical way, but also comfort them. They play a monumental role in bringing life to normality. It is very hard to readjust life back home after fighting a war.
8. TRAVEL STRESS AND ANXIETY: People who are afraid to travel by air can take their emotional support animals on flights to travel with them. They should show their ESA letter to the airline 48 hours prior to the time of departure. The PUPS (Pets Un stressing Passengers) ease travelling in variety of ways. Anxious people would rather get busy in looking after their ESA instead of getting nervous or anxious.
9. STUDENT STRESS: After death and taxes, the thing that people fear the most is exams. Students who face such issue can bring their support animals to their college and universities.
10. JUVENILE DETENTION CENTER THERAPY: many teens in juvenile detention centers go through stress and depression. An ESA can be a good companion for them. Such programs help them relieve stress.