dogs

The Reality of the Emotional Support Animal System

Noah DeFranceschi has hay and chewed-up cardboard under his dorm bed. When he buys items, he leaves the boxes on the floor if they do not have too much tape or ink on them. This habitat below his bed is for his emotional support animal (ESA), Chai, a brown and white bunny who loves to chew.

DeFranceschi adopted Chai in July 2018 to help with his mental health: he has been diagnosed with depression, anxiety, and PTSD.

“If I feel like really like out of it and I don’t feel like getting out of bed, I have to push myself,” DeFranceschi said and continued, “Then I’ll get up and feed him, and then I’ll end up eating too. So it makes me feel responsible for someone else, and then I end up being more responsible for myself.”

Chai helps DeFranceschi’s depression by also making him feel less lonely and sad. When he is feeling anxious or having flashbacks that are associated with his PTSD, he pets the rabbit slowly as a way of calming himself and grounding himself in the moment.

Photo Courtesy of Noah Defranceschi. Chai, Noah Defranceschi’s emotional support animal, lays in his bed in Defranceschi’s dorm room.

Photo Courtesy of Noah Defranceschi. Chai, Noah Defranceschi’s emotional support animal, lays in his bed in Defranceschi’s dorm room.

According to Rebecca Stone, a licensed mental health counselor in Florida who trains other professionals on how to use ESAs as treatment, the number of people with ESAs has increased significantly recently.

Along with this increase, comes attention — and abuse. On June 4, 2017, the large dog sitting next to Marlin Jackson on a Delta flight lunged at his face, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Jackson required 28 stitches and has visible scars. The dog’s owner said the Labrador mix was an emotional support dog, according to the Washington Post.

The exact number of ESAs is unknown; no entity keeps track of these animals, which has caused confusion. According to a Jan. 19 statement, Delta made its requirements for ESAs stricter because it is a “disservice to customers who have real and documented needs” to allow people to take advantage of loose regulations.

These new regulations were a long time coming. The airlines recently announced that it flew 150 percent more ESAs in 2017 than in 2015. Since 2016, Delta has had an “84 percent increase in reported animal incidents,” including urination, defecation, and biting.

This increase in incidents related to ESAs is not limited to Delta. In January 2018, a woman tried to board a United Airlines flight with a peacock she claimed was an ESA, but the airline refused because of the bird’s size, prompting the creation of a stricter policy to avoid case-by-case decisions in the future, according to the New York Times.

The lack of regulation regarding ESAs is in stark contrast to service animals. According to the Americans with Disabilities Act, a service animal is a dog who is trained to perform tasks that benefit someone with a disability, including pulling a wheelchair or pressing an elevator button. The key differences between these systems are the intense and strict training that service animals receive and the tighter regulations and requirements that leave less area for interpretation.

Stone explained that this abuse of the ESA system is in part because the system still exists in a “gray area.” She said that determining whether someone qualifies for an ESA is subjective and is decided on an individual basis according to their mental health professional’s judgment.

Although no strict set of criteria exists, Stone said that mental health professionals follow three steps in order to recommend an ESA: identify that the person has a diagnosis, confirm that “symptoms or effects of the diagnosis significantly impact the person’s daily life, and agree that the animal will alleviate at least one of these symptoms.

This “gray area” is what people take advantage of to abuse the system. Oftentimes, people try to have their pet fly for free or allow the animal to live in no-pet or pet-restricted housing, according to Stone, because these are rights afforded to ESAs by the law.

“A cottage industry sprung up in service of low-level fraud,” wrote New York Times Op-Ed Columnist David Leonhardt. “For $30 on Amazon, you can buy a bright-red dog vest that reads, EMOTIONAL SUPPORT. With a quick web search, you can find a therapist to diagnose you long-distance.”

Megan Jeter, 19, lives with her ESA Pheobe, a grey cat that Jeter adopted recently to help with her anxiety and depression. She supports stricter requirements and advocates for one central regulation system so that she and others with ESAs do not have to feel “invalidated” or have to explain themselves.

DeFranceschi,19, feels that many people assume that everyone with an ESA is exploiting the system for their own benefit because this is all that they have experienced, which “makes it so much harder to have them take you seriously.”

Doggie fall fashion on display at city dog park

Charlie clad in his iconic red and black plaid scarf . Photo courtesy of Instagram

Charlie, better known as @Charlienycwheaten on Instagram strutted into Stuyvesant Square Dog Park  and paraded around in his signature red and black plaid scarf. Charlie was not the only fashion icon in the dog park.

Owners pulled out all the stops for their pups recently at this trendy dog park runway. Puppy-sized jean jackets over stylish heather-grey t-shirts, loose fitting sweaters and flannels, and even shoes or booties were sported by almost every dog in the dog park from Chihuahua to Doberman. It’s fall in New York City and the season’s dog fashions were on full display.

“They just look so cute,” said dog enthusiast Joan Mukogosi. “It’s like fashion week, but fluffier.”

Charlie’s Instagram following is consistently growing as his owner have turned his profile into a fashion blog for dogs of sorts. This wheaten terrier’s iconic look is the plaid scarves he wears.

“We get a lot of ideas for new dog trends coming to dog parks,” said  Charlie’s owner, AlyssaPham.

The snazzy outfits didn’t stop the dogs from running, jumping, and playing. Packs ran together in search of a squirrel to chase or just shuffled and sniffed around. Others raced in laps around their owners or towards the balls and toys they tossed.

But even the most stylish outfits were not without utility.

Rocky, a French bulldog sported a denim vest over a stylish grey t-shirt with black booties. Rocky chased Charlie and Buck, a well-dressed pit bull. Buck was clad in an ombre red sweater that covered his front paws and draped over most of his back. The three dogs made a strong case for fashion forward, comfortable dog apparel.

Minnie, a shiba inu, was one of the few dogs in the park not sporting any fall apparel.

“I didn’t know dogs could still play like that when they’re dressed up,” said new dog owner, Kelsey Minnery.

But fashion forward dog owners want their dogs to be as stylish and comfortable as they are.

“I usually choose outfits for Buck based off what I want to wear,” said owner, Greg Adcock. “But his comfort is always the deciding factor, if he can’t run around and have fun it’s not worth it.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

From kill shelter to Manhattan penthouse

Carter, the rescue dog, lives a luxurious life in Manhattan. He is a regular at the Washington Square Dog Park. Photo by Natalie Parker

Carter is your average successful Manhattan native. He wakes up every morning at 7 a.m. and heads out for a morning run to start his day. He spends his down time at Washington Square Park and often transitions between his vacation home in Hermosa Beach, California to his brownstone on Beacon Street in Boston throughout the year.

Carter, a 3-year-old terrier, leads a comfortable life.

But Carter has not always had three homes. He was once homeless and living on the streets in Queens. Like many of the rescue dogs in Manhattan, Carter’s family saved him from a kill shelter when he was a puppy.

“It’s becoming cooler to have rescue dogs,” Carter’s owner, Chris Perez said. “Shopping for dogs definitely carries a stigma.”

Despite Carter’s neglected life on the streets, Perez said Carter has grown to become a very friendly dog. He visits Washington Square’s Dog Park daily, greeting the various dog owners with affectionate licks and runs around with the other canines until he tires out.

“He loves to play with the other dogs,” Perez said. “All of the dogs in this park are always super friendly and playful.”

Carter was not the only recuse dog at the park. Eleven, out of the 13 dogs in Washington Square’s Dog park yesterday afternoon were rescues. Four out of the 13 were pit bull mixes. Although pit bulls have some say an unfair reputation for being aggressive dogs.  New York City’s recent dog culture might be trying to change that.

Dog owner, Briana Stamatis, said that rescuing dogs is starting to become the new cultural norm.

“Buying dogs from a breeder is not a thing that people want to own up to anymore.” Stamatis said. “Adopt, don’t shop.”

In  affluent areas like Greenwich Village, dogs are being rescued from shelters and taken into high income homes where their quality of life is exponentially increasing.

Manhattan resident and dog owner, Rony Atkin, said she comes to Washington Square Dog Park with her dog every week and sees new rescue dogs every week.

“I’ve met very few dog owners who bought their dogs from a breeder,” Atkin said. “In the city the dogs are all rescued. So many of them are pitties too, and they’re all so sweet.”

A  recent study by Animal Care Shelters shows that 93% of dogs and cats are being rescued from shelters.

Some dogs, like Carter, end up living a life of luxury.

“I don’t think Carter even remembers his old life,” Perez said. “He’s too busy enjoying his penthouse apartment to stress about it.”