Emotional Support Parrots

[EAI]

I just realized that, I'm sorry its 6:20 am here, and I've been up the whole night, please excuse my ditziness, really sorry

 

[EAI]

Okay, I'll be asking my mom tonight to see a therapist.
I really want to be able to get through these days so I won't start falling behind in school. If it comes down to it, I will request for an animal but I don't think I should be adding another life right now.

I'm sorry, I realized how confusing and how unclear it sounds now, I made this when I was having my "breaking point" where I pretty much say everything all at once.

 

[Phlox]

I think you are making the right choice. Your school probably also has resources.

 

[EAI]

I think you are making the right choice. Your school probably also has resources.

My resources at school aren't really good LOL. In all honesty, the counselors don't know what they're doing.

 

[RavensGryf]

I agree with the above posts. Parrots, although they can be "tame" and loving, are actually wild prey animals with strong instincts that will drive them outside of 'trained' behavior at times. Panicked hysteria, biting, etc. could happen no matter how well a bird is trained since you can only 'alter' the nature of a wild animal so far. Then the BIRD would be the one needing a little emotional support! Not good...
A domestic mammal (really, meaning a dog) is the reliable choice.

Like was mentioned above though, therapy right now sounds like your most ideal solution, as another animal of any type at this time doesn't sound like a good idea.

Keep dreams of your future bird in your mind as something fun to look forward to in the future. Best of luck, I'm very sorry to hear about your grandmother, I can tell it was an exceptionally special relationship.

 

[4dugnlee]

I'm very sorry for your loss. I know it is very difficult to lose someone you love so much. I lost my dad 4 years ago and still miss him every day. At the time I thought I would never be able to cope with it, but I know he would want me to move on with the memories. I bet your grandma would want you to move on also. It's hard, but you have to live on.

As far as a companion parrot, I agree that I don't think that would be the best option. What about your budgies though? Maybe you could devote your time and love to them and they would in turn make you feel better. I know when I had budgies they made me laugh all the time watching them and trying to teach them to talk/sing/whistle.

The pain is still fresh and new. I won't tell you that it will go away because it won't, but it does get better with time. I wish you all the best and again, I'm very sorry for your loss!

 

[RavensGryf]

Well said post from 4dugnlee .

I agree about turning your attention for a pet towards your current birds. Your Budgies or Lovebird. I'm sure you love the little guys, right? Why not get even closer to them, or at least one of them and work on training or further taming, and bonding with you.

I know what it's like to 'have another in mind that I want' in fact many people here do, but in reality, I have 4 special birds that I absolutely love, and that's all I'm focusing on right now. They're plenty! They're all equals too! I LOVE my Budgie Twigs. I don't see him as "less" of a bird than my favorite old Red Bellied Parrot, or my rare Ruppell's parrot, or my "bigger" bird the Pionus. I think your little guys would love it if you focused on spoiling them right now Budgies are such great little birds.

 

[SilverSage]

I know everyone else has covered the "should you get one" aspect, so I will just say - you cannot get a certified therapy animal without a reason given by a professional (that would be a therapist), and they are typically rather expensive, not given by organizations. I am sorry for your loss, I just figured I would answer the rest of your question. Also, Parrots are not a good fit for this type of jobs. Usually dogs and cats are seen in this role, with the occasional pot-bellied pig or miniature pony.

 

[BillsBirds]

Just to clear things up, parrots CAN be certified as Emotional Support Animals. I know of 2. One is with a Veteran who suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. The other is with an epileptic. They sense when their companion human is about to go off, have seizures, or whatever. And act a certain way, (one bites his owners ears) warning them of coming attacks. It takes a Doctor's & Psychiatrist's cooperation. But, it IS done. BTW, one is an African Grey, the other is a Jenday Conure. It is difficult to get done, but is possible. Also, portraying any animal as an ESA, or Service Animal of any kind, if not truly one, is against the law.

 

[Peepers]

Im on disability, I will ask.

 

[witchbaby]

Parrots can be registered as emotional support animals for people with anxiety and depression. I believe you have to purchase the parrot yourself. There aren't any organizations that provide one for you, as far as I know. A doctor/psychiatrist is the only person who can approve this. ESAs have a right to housing and can be taken on airplanes without additional costs. They are not considered service animals and cannot be taken into restaurants and businesses, etc, the way that service animals can.

 

[SilverSage]

Re: Emotional Support Animals

As states, ESAs are not the same as service animals. Most of the rights listed were for service animals, it seems the mention of the ESA is more to clarify that a business CAN require proof for that, but NOT require proof for a service animal.

Most of the rights of people who have ESAs are focused on housing and travel, not entering normal businesses.

As someone who is currently in the process of registering my dog as an ESA, I personally hate it when people try to get away with rule breaking by claiming they have a disability and need the animal, when in reality, even if they love the animal, they are suffering not from a disability but from really bad choices.

I agree that reasonable accommodation probably doesn't include a screaming macaw driving away neighbors. A person with an ESA can be forced to remove the animal if it is destroying property or being a neighborhood problem.

I know this is an old thread but a Google search brought it up in my research for Ranger.

 

[Aquila]

Re: Emotional Support Animals

I worked as a dog trainer for about five years, and was registered to perform the Canine good citizen test through the AKC. There were a lot of people looking to have their dogs certified as either a therapy dog or an emotional support animal. I always stressed the importance of being respectful, to others and the establishment that you might be going to.

My favorite dog was Scooby, as you'd expect he was a great dane who's a therapy dog, and travels to schools often as a therapy dog, having story time with special needs children.

The most important thing for any kind of service animal is being almost "unseen." Per the ADA, if your animal is causing a disturbance, they do have the right to ask you to leave. And by disturbance, it means without provocation. They don't tolerate unnecessary barking and properly trained animals will have little reaction to things when they're working unless it's a trained behavior.

I'd love to have any kind of service animal for myself, and living in the city I hate seeing people abuse the privilege.

Here's an excellent video of someone with an emotional support bird.
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tpy_kskeCWI"]Emotional Support Animal – This Cockatoo Has Your Back - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Mimsy01]

Re: Emotional Support Animals

I would think noise complaints from fellow tenants would still be valid regardless of the animal being an esa.

I read over this article: I'm a landlord. What are my rights concerning emotional support animals? | Service Dog Central
"The landlord may be able to have an emotional support animal removed if it poses a direct threat to others or disrupts the ability of other tenants to enjoy their dwelling"

"If the tenant has not yet gotten an emotional support animal, the landlord may be entitled to place restrictions on the size and breed of the animal."

I would imagine in a tenant is dead set on a bird, a landlord can probably say..you may only have one finch.

On the subject of an apartment being too small for a macaw, I disagree..the same rules of caging apply as a house. I saw a guy who had one in one of those tiny houses, it was like a 500 sq foot place. he had a cage built in loft style that was really nice and plenty huge and had a skylight above it. Not that I ever saw the bird in the cage..but it was there and more than suitable.

 

[Amanda_Bennett]

Re: Emotional Support Animals

As a landlord this is a bone of contention with me, and one of the things that really "sets me off" I know there are people who do really need companion or emotional support animals. My little Brother would be completely lost without his cat. She isn't trained to "do" anything special, she's just a cat, but she does calm him down, she seems to know when he "needs" her and she just appears and he pets her and talks to her for a while and then she goes off to her sleeping place. He is diagnosed with Autism/Asperger Syndrome and his Dr. would write him a letter, but my Mom has just always paid the deposits and the pet rent.

Then there are the people who just want a "pet" but don't want to pay the pet deposit or pet rent, so they go to their Dr. and he writes them a letter for an emotional support or companion animal and they go get whatever kind of critter they want, and as a landlord I can't put restrictions on what kind of animal, how big or small. The Dr. only has to put in the letter "cat, dog, snake, bird, or whatever kind of animal the person is telling him they want" and then they can go get it and bring it home.

People do have to take care of the animal and follow the "rules" for having an animal on the property, like picking up the dog waste, keeping it on a leash, and not allowing it to be aggressive towards other residents or their animals, not allowing it to damage the property (or inside their apartment) and they can and are held liable for any and all damages associated with the animal, and they do get billed those charges after they move out just like anyone else does.

Yes, there are ways for landlords to remove a companion or emotional support animal from the property if it's causing damage or getting complaints from other residents about noise or aggression, but it usually ends up in a court battle, and can take months and cost thousands of dollars.

 

[JerseyWendy]

Re: Emotional Support Animals

IMO too many 'good' folks try and take advantage of the "ESA" title alone. A family friend got his Boxer labeled ESA, and he now believes (regardless of what anyone tells him) he's entitled to 'special' treatment wherever 'they' show up. Yup, he takes him everywhere - at least he tries. He's been evicted from Lowe's & Walmart already since those places ONLY allow "Service Animals". There's a huge difference between the two.

 

[Aquila]

Re: Emotional Support Animals

People also seem to forget common courtesy. People with real ESA's will often ask beforehand if their animal is allowed inside somewhere, or make precautions ahead of time.

 

[StephenAndKyleigh]

Emotional Support Animals

My keyboard is soaking with tears as I write this. I had a manic aggressive "episode" this morning.
Violence in Bipolar Disorder | Psychiatric Times

It started off as being overly anxious in the grocery store, and ended up being aggressive and a bit out of control. Thankfully, the police officers noticed the signs and secured me, but didnt arrest me. They called my wife and parents. Pretty embarrassed. Why am I sharing this? Well, the officer suggested that I get Kyleigh registered as an Emotional Support Animal. He has seen me with Kyleigh before and was a bit shocked at how I was acting, thus leading him to believe something else was wrong.

Thoughts? Please be nice to me. I just want to be able to go grocery shopping and do normal activities.

Yes, I am on medication.

Emotional Support Animals
https://www.nsarco.com/emotional-support-animal.html

 

[Scott]

Re: Emotional Support Animals

Stephen, thank you for having the comfort level with forum participants and trust necessary to share your experience. The officers were perceptive and correctly assessed the situation rather than overreact; for that they deserve commendation.

I would imagine Kyleigh possesses all the requisite attributes to be recognized as an Emotional Support Animal. In my line of work folks may be accompanied by a variety of species - even Pot Bellied Pigs! Don't think it matters whether the companion has four legs, wings, or slithers. Rather it is the ability to emotionally connect and provide support that often saves the day!

 

[Aquila]

Re: Emotional Support Animals

I won't go into detail here, but I understand how difficult things can be, Stephen. I definitely thing it would be worth it for you to get her registered and keep doing what you're doing with her. I think she's not only a benefit to you, but many of the other people you come into contact with her.