Key Qualities To Look For When Choosing An Emotional Support Animal

If you’re still stressing over the question:

“How do I choose the right ESA?”

Never fear!

After considering the various personal elements that impact what would make a good ESA for you, it’s handy to know some popular ESA characteristics that are common to most emotional support pets.

• Friendly – to you, the people you know, and (importantly) strangers.
• Even-tempered and consistent – Your ESA needs to have all its good traits all the time, so they’re there when you need them.
• Gentle – outgoing, rough-and-tumble animals make fantastic pets, but not ideal ESAs. Generally speaking, “calm” and “gentle” are more suitable emotional support animal qualities.
• Reliable in unusual environments – this is really important for people suffering anxiety or panic attacks, since the last thing you need in a stressful social situation is for your ESA to become stressed too.
• Attentive – your ESA should be alert to your needs but not intrusive.
• Cuddly – this one may be subjective, but for many people, having a companion you can snuggle up to is paramount!

Before getting an ESA to help you, think very carefully about the characteristics you want it to have, and the practical considerations of any animal. ESAs can be one of the most helpful tools in your fight against conditions such as anxiety and depression, and making sure you get the right one for you is key!