Americans adopted millions of pets during the pandemic. They took in pets to improve their emotional stability and not feel depressed or sad. People with mental health disorders took notice and applied for an ESA Pet Letter for Housing registration. It was a good reason not to feel loneliness.
In 2021, one in five households adopted a cat or a dog during the first year of COVID-19, according to the ASPCA.
However, after two years of the pandemic, people have returned to in-person work, and due to inflation, they see a rising cost of living. For that reason, some people can no longer afford to care for their pets.
Unfortunately, more and more shelters are filling up fast. For example, a shelter in Utah that had only one or two pets for a while now has 22. Shelters cannot find homes for animals fast enough.
Why is it important to adopt from a shelter?
Pets have feelings too. They experience separation anxiety when taken from the home they know and placed in a kennel with barking dogs.
The feeling is similar to what humans experience when they get a divorce, leave a job, or move to a new city or state.
But adopting a pet can reduce that stress. Scientists tell us that interacting with pets could decrease cortisol levels. Cortisol is a stress-related hormone.
Even if you work in person, you understand that meeting and communicating with different people all day can be stressful. When you return home, your furry friend helps you feel social, provides support, and boosts your mood.
Adopting a shelter animal helps you experience fewer negative feelings.
Helping shelter animals
If you rent an apartment and think you can’t adopt a pet, this story is for you.
Amelia worked in a large wholesale shop. She had 9 to 5 working hours and many responsibilities. She also experienced stress, and after her anxiety and depression increased, Amelia decided to become a shelter volunteer.
She soon discovered a shelter full of animals that wanted to be loved. So, she started contacting newcomers and convinced them to adopt a pet.
In two months, she helped 15 animals find new homes. People who adopted pets created a discussion group and shared their happiness with having new four-legged friends. They shared tips and tricks for reducing separation anxiety when leaving their pets at home.
People started sharing their emotions and how they felt happiness in the house with a new four-legged friend. They created a discussion on how to leave a dog alone at home and shared tips and tricks for reducing separation anxiety when the pet stays at home.
One suggestion was to adopt two pets: a cat and a dog. And they recommended the shelter where Amelia volunteered to do that.
Using an ESA pet letter
Amelia was inspired and decided to adopt a shelter animal herself.
Unfortunately, her apartment was not pet-friendly.
She considered getting an ESA pet letter for housing from her psychotherapist. But he was located outside the U.S. and could not help.
So, she learned about emotional support dog registration rules on an emotionalsupport.pet website.
Amelia got her ESA pet letter online and brought a shelter dog home.
She decided to take in a cat a few weeks later and got another ESA pet letter.
Now she enjoys returning home and knowing that two lovely pets are waiting for her.
Providing unconditional love
Animals teach people to love unconditionally. If more people learned that lesson, the world would have fewer rude and unhappy people.
Getting an ESA pet letter for housing can help people live with their pets in otherwise non-pet-friendly locations.
If you need help, talk to your doctor or therapist to get an ESA pet letter for housing. The health professional must include why you need an emotional support pet. Those reasons include depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and other mental health diseases.
Adopting a pet can be the antidote to anxiety and loneliness. Science shows that pet owners can have fewer signs of stress than people without four-legged friends.
Shawn Mack is a content writer who offers ghostwriting, copywriting, and blogging services. His educational background in the business and technical field has given him a broad base to approach many topics. He is also fond of writing engaging articles on technology & digital marketing-related topics.