Emotional Support Dog Vest: Do I Need To Identify My ESA?

Do I need to get my emotional support dog to wear an emotional support dog vest?

This is the most frequent question asked by emotional support animal owners. ESA owners are often under the impression that they need to have an ESA vest on to identify their pet as a support animal.

The simple answer to this is, no. Emotional support dogs or animals do not need vests.

1. Emotional Support Dog Vests: Required or Not?

Federal laws such as the Fair Housing Act and the Air Carrier Access Act have been made to allow people with emotional and disabilities to keep an emotional support animal. So that these ESAs can help alleviate the owner’s symptoms.

However, no such laws imposing the use of vests have been made where an emotional support animal needs to wear a vest or have an ID card identifying them as a support animal.

Having said that, using vests to identify your dog as an emotional support animal is quite helpful and is highly recommended for the owner’s own convenience, especially when traveling with your dog.

2. Benefits of Emotional Support Dog Vests

The purpose of an ESA dog vest is to distinguish your animal as a support animal and is helpful in public places such as at the airport. Wearing distinguishable vests allows landlords, and others to know that this animal is more than just a pet.

In case someone loses their dog in a public place, people can help look for it. And having the vest on will make it easier to find your furry pal.

In addition to that, it is recommended for an ESA owner to put labels such as “do-not-pet” or a “working dog” tag on their support animals. This ensures that people won’t come up to your dog wanting to pet it; this just avoids any distractions.

Your support animal can only help in keeping you calm and reduce your stress when they are not distracted by random people coming up to them and petting them.

Putting identification vests on your pet to identify them as an ESA is a lot more convenient for you, rather than having to tell everyone yourself.

This is why service animal owners do choose to identify their pets as service dogs. They use service dog vest or a service dog patch. It helps distinguish them as service animals and avoids any confusion and unnecessary hassle.

3. How to Measure your Dog for a Vest?

If you decide on getting a vest for your pet to help identify them as an ESA, the first thing you will need to do is measure them properly. These vests are only used for the cases where an ESA is a dog or a cat; pets such as ducks or rabbits do not need support vests.

The correct way to measure your dog for an emotional support animal vest is:

• Take a flexible measuring tape and make sure that your dog is standing up.
• Next, wrap the tape around his girth (around its body and behind the front legs)
• Do this while making sure to go underneath the widest part of its rib cage.

It is better that you measure your dog more than once to ensure proper measurements. So, that you get the perfect size which is important for a small dog.

4. What Fabric to Choose for an ESA Vest?

There are plenty of shapes and designs you can choose when ordering an identification vest. You can choose any fabric material for your dog, depending upon your preference.

You can use vests made up of high quality mesh if you live in a hot and humid weather. Dogs working in other areas can go for cotton or other materials. Make sure to avoid synthetics as they tend to be uncomfortable.

4.1 What Style to Choose From?

Dog vests come in different styles; the four most popular ones are:

• padded vests,
• backpack vests,
• mesh vests,
• lightweight cotton vests.

Padded vests weigh the same as the weight of your lightweight winter jacket. These are harness vests that come with a handle for outdoor walks.

Backpack vests are useful for people who have a lot of stuff to carry around like a student with books.

Light-weight cotton vests are ideal for wearing throughout the entire year, and they have pockets incorporated to hold id cards.

Mesh vests as the name suggests are made up of mesh and is beneficial in hot places.

These vests are heavy-duty and usually have adjustable straps so that your four-legged is comfortable.

5. Is a Dog Vest All You Need to Travel with your Support Dog?

In addition to an identification vest, you are legally required to obtain an ESA letter from a licensed mental health therapist in order to keep your pet with you at all times.

An ESA Letter is a proof the you need a companion by your side for your emotional assistance. And it enables you to live and travel with your companion without spending extra money.

If you are looking for a legitimate place to get your ESA Letter, then look no further and contact the licensed mental health professionals at RealESALetter.
Were you able to successfully measure your pet for an emotional support dog vest? Which fabric and style do you think fits best for your dog?