By Jeannie Kim — Most people are familiar with service animals, as they accompany people to schools, malls, airports, and essentially all public places. What people are less accustomed to, however, are emotional support animals (ESAs). ESAs can range from dogs to any other type of animal, as long as they receive certification. While people often overlook ESAs and find them unimportant in comparison to service animals, ESAs actually serve a very critical purpose to people with various conditions—usually mental health conditions such as depression or PTSD. Even in trauma therapy, animals play an irreplaceable role in treatment and care for patients. They are an incredibly valuable source of healing and support to people with mental health conditions or psychiatric disabilities. Delving deeper into the complex legal issues surrounding ESAs provides an opportunity to expand governmental and legal support for those with mental health conditions. I argue that the first step in accomplishing this is expanding the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to include protection for ESAs.