About Us

It started in 2016

SupportPet.org opened its doors in 2016 in Maine. The idea was simple, and it came out of a problem that had already gotten out of hand on the internet: people who genuinely needed an emotional support animal were getting routed into "registries" that were not real, charged for "certifications" that did not exist, and handed glossy ID cards that no landlord or airline was ever going to accept.

We wanted to do it the right way. So we built a small operation around something that actually mattered: a licensed physician on staff who could conduct a real assessment, and if appropriate, write the kind of documentation that fair-housing and travel rules actually recognize. No registry numbers. No badges. Just paperwork that holds up because it is signed by someone with a license.

Meet the mascot trio

From the beginning, three dogs have been the face of SupportPet.org. They are the reason the lights stay on, the reason there is always fur on the office floor, and the reason we know firsthand what an animal can do for a person who is having a hard week.

The mascots are not props. They are the daily reminder of what a support animal actually is, and what it is not.

What we believed then, and still believe now

If you scroll back through our old posts, you will find the same message we are still telling people almost a decade later:

• There is no real ESA registry. We were saying this in 2017, when "registration" sites were already everywhere. We still say it. HUD does not maintain a list. There is no government ID card. Anyone selling one is selling a souvenir.
• A letter from a real clinician is the only thing that counts. Not a vest. Not a certificate. Not a QR code. A signed recommendation from a licensed mental-health professional who has actually evaluated you is the document landlords and airlines look at.
• Pet interviews and pet fees are not allowed for assistance animals. A landlord cannot require your dog to audition. They cannot charge pet rent on top of an approved accommodation. We were saying this in our earliest posts and we are still saying it.
• Veterans deserve a special kind of patience. A lot of our earliest work was with veterans living with PTSD, TBI, and depression who were running into housing trouble. That has never stopped being a priority.

How we worked, in the early years

In our first chapter, the service was hands-on. Someone would call our Maine number, talk to our staff, and book a real appointment with the licensed physician on our team. If the clinician determined an emotional support animal was clinically appropriate, we would assemble a proper packet of documentation — typically within 48 hours of the initial appointment — that the client could bring to their landlord, condo association, or airline.

The reason it worked was not flair. It was that everything in the packet was real: a signed letter from a licensed M.D., the patient's own consultation, and only the information a housing provider or airline is legally allowed to ask for. Nothing fabricated. No registry decoration.

Where we are today

Over the years, the law and the industry around emotional support animals shifted. The Department of Transportation changed how ESAs are treated on airplanes in 2021. HUD's housing guidance got sharper. And the volume of bad information online got worse, not better — every search for "ESA letter" turns up another storefront selling speed, not care.

So we changed too. SupportPet.org is no longer a letter-issuing service. Today it is a plain-language educational resource. We explain what an emotional support animal actually is, who qualifies, what the Fair Housing Act protects, what DOT changed about flying, what an ESA letter looks like when it is real, and how to spot the registry scams that take advantage of people in vulnerable moments.

The mission has not changed. The format has. We are still pointing people toward the only thing that has ever worked: a real conversation with a licensed clinician who knows your history.

What we are not

We want to be very clear about this, because the internet is full of sites that pretend to be something they are not:

• We are not a clinic. We do not diagnose anyone.
• We are not a law firm. We do not represent people in housing or travel disputes.
• We do not sell ESA letters, ID cards, vests, registry listings, or "certifications."
• We do not run a mailing list, a contact form, or a paywall.

If a site you are looking at promises any of the above for a fee, close the tab.