We hear about emotional support dogs and cats quite often. However, rabbits are no less popular among those who need psychological endorsement. These charming creatures can be wonderful companions for their owners.
Animal Helpers
Helper animals are special animals that aid people to overcome the symptoms of different physical or psychological disorders. It could be service animals or emotional support animals. Service animals are specially trained to fulfill various assignments from their handlers to make their life physically easier. They are taught to do work and meet the disability-related demands of their handlers.
Emotional support animals do not require any special training. Their main function is to be partners and companions to rely on in crisis situations. ESA is a psychological prop for its owner. With an emotional support animal, people become more sociable and easy-going because they feel safe with their companions.
Somehow or other, the main function of helper animals is to provide assistance to their owners. An animal builds a strong connection with a person on a mental level. This connection, in turn, helps a person to more easily tolerate the symptoms of various diseases and get rid of them faster.
Who May Have a Service Animal?
A service animal is a specialized animal that helps people with disabilities. It can perform many different functions that may not be available to a person due to his disability. The animal ensures that the basic daily needs of its owner are met. For example, guide dogs replace their owners’ eyes and help them safely reach their destination. And hearing dogs give signals to their owners in case of extraneous sounds and can even save their lives, for example, in the event of a fire.
In addition, service animals can greatly simplify a person’s life. These pets can be trained to bring items, open and close windows and doors, press the elevator button, and do many other functions. Service animals are extremely disciplined and easy to train even at home. Therefore, their owners can train their pets to perform specific tasks necessary for this particular person and situation.
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The Purpose of Emotional Support Animals
Unlike service animals, emotional support animals don’t need any specific training. They are not supposed to perform any particular tasks. Emotional support animals are primarily companions and friends. They help a person not to feel lonely. Their owners feel important and needed since the animal also requires care and attention.
All ESAs are very loving and friendly, but at the same time, they will not let their handler be offended. If they feel the threat to their owner, ESA is ready to protect him or her both physically and mentally. Besides, people often talk to their pets. It helps them open up, talk and articulate their problems, accept them and work on their recovery. Walking with an emotional support animal is a great way to get out of a stressful situation.
In addition, during a walk, a person can clear his mind and look at the situation from a new angle. Animals are also known to help humans meet and make friends. These creatures often provoke the beginning of a dialogue between their handler and other people and often become the topic of the first conversation.
Mental Health Problems That Can Be Cured By ESA
An emotional support animal will be helpful for those who suffer from depression, anxiety, PTSD, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. The animal helps to change the usual way of life, and also makes adjustments to the daily routine of its owner. Such changes are the most important step toward getting rid of mental maladies.
Moreover, an emotional support animal helps to gradually dispose of panic attacks. At first, these attacks become less frequent and easier to tolerate. And over time, a person ceases to suffer from panic attacks altogether. Equally important, ESA protects its owner during a panic attack in a public place and can even help you get home or to find a shelter safely.
Emotional support animals also succor people with social and antisocial frustrations. A person no longer feels lonely, ESA adds to its owner a sense of security and self-confidence. Because of this, the owners of the ESA become more sociable and companionable, it is easier for them to initiate a conversation and make friends.
It is also essential that an emotional support animal aids the owner to overcome fears and phobias. It can even wake its owner during nightmares, feeling the acceleration of the heart rate and rapid breathing.
ESAs’ Disciplining
Since the ESA does not have to perform any specific functions other than being a companion to its owner, it does not need additional training. However, handlers of emotional support animals often use positive reinforcement training methods to teach the animal to follow certain commands. All emotional support animals are very intelligent and easy to tame, so you can train them yourself at home.
Nevertheless, in order to be in society, an emotional support animal must be trained in good behavior. These creatures should not be aggressive and hot-tempered, they should not bark, growl or bite people and other animals. In addition, the animal must be accustomed to meeting its physical needs in specially designated places, as well as to have a clear feeding and walking regime.
Legally, ESA has the right to accompany its owner to public places and live with him at no additional cost, but in fact, these rights may be limited on an individual basis due to inappropriate animal behavior. This basic education lets ESAs owners avoid will help to avoid conflict situations with others, and will also allow you to enjoy all the benefits that the official status of an emotional support animal provides.
Types of Animals
Traditionally, cats and dogs are chosen as emotional support animals. These animals have long been known as pets. They are friendly, loving, and playful. Dogs and cats often become full family members and form a strong bond with their owners. It is because of these qualities that these creatures are the most popular emotional support animals.
In addition, the breed of the dog is usually not even important. Before now, Golden Retrievers and Labradors were most often chosen because they were considered to be the most friendly and trainable breeds. Now it is practically not important what breed the dog has, the main thing is that it brings joy and peace to its owner.
However, other pets are now increasingly being chosen as ESAs. Some of the more unusual emotional support animals include birds and reptiles such as snakes and lizards. Moreover, nowadays floppy-eared rabbits are also often used as ESA. An emotional support rabbit has some care features and also distinctive character traits that attract its owners.
Emotional Support Rabbits
An ESA rabbit quite often becomes a pet for people suffering from mental frustrations today. They are quite playful and loving animals. At the same time, they do not burden the owner with their presence in any way and do not bring any inconvenience.
These soft and fluffy creatures are practically not prone to any manifestations of aggression. They build a strong bond with the handler, bring pleasant emotions, peace, and happiness to their owners. In addition, rabbits have a variety of traits of character that distinguish them from any other emotional support animal.
An emotional support rabbit can also be disciplined with positive reinforcement training. For example, you can teach your pet to use a litter box or other light commands that the pet will be able to do.
It is also noteworthy that rabbits live longer than most other pets. If the average life span of a dog or cat is 8-9 years, then rabbits will be with their owner for more than 10 years. But only with proper care of the animal.
Traits Of the Character Of a Bunny
Despite their small size, these adorable creatures have big hearts. An emotional support rabbit is an extremely loving and gentle animal. These personality traits make rabbits ideal four-legged companions and friends for their owners. Over time, rabbits begin to recognize their owner by voice and can even come to his or her call.
Emotional support rabbits are very social animals. They love to play with people, to be in their arms, and are always placed as close to a person as possible. In addition, they build a strong bond with their owner, which also contributes to the speedy recovery of the person.
Rabbits are very quiet, unlike other animals. They do not make loud noises, so you do not need to worry about the animal disturbing or annoying you with unnecessary noise. This trait is especially important for people who suffer from fears and phobias, such as a fear of loud, unexpected sounds.
The main feature of the emotional support rabbit is that this animal can cheer up and give strength when a person is experiencing burnout or depression. Also, petting your bunny helps relieve stress and tension. And even one of their cute and charming looks can instantly calm and pacify the owner.
You Can Register an Emotional Support Animal, including your rabbit with the MyServiceAnimal registrar.
Bunnies’ Care
First and perhaps one of the most important things about rabbits is that they do not need much space. If you live in an apartment or house where there is not enough room for a large animal, an emotional support rabbit is a great solution for you.
At the same time, experts do not recommend locking the animal in a cage, as this can have negative consequences for both the bunny and its owner. In this case, it will not be possible to build that strong bond between the pet and the handler, and the influence of the rabbit as an emotional support animal will be less noticeable. It is best to use separate feeders and provide a litter box for the animal.
Furthermore, rabbits do not need to be walked like dogs. Moreover, the emotional support rabbit feels safer inside next to its owner. In this case, it is important to ensure that the animal is active, play with it at least a few hours a day so that the rabbit can stretch its muscles.
Feeding is pretty simple. You can purchase special rabbit food at pet stores. Also, for the execution of commands, you can pamper your pet with a carrot or an apple during training.
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The Law and ESAs
Like any ESA, emotional support rabbits can live with their owner at no additional cost, provided that the animal does not spoil the property of the landlord. A landlord cannot prohibit living with an emotional support animal or evict his tenants without objective reasons.
In all other matters, we recommend that you study the rules of specific institutions on an individual basis. Since ESAs are not considered to be assistance animals, their rights may be limited in some areas of life. You can also choose pet-friendly establishments or airlines.
