If I am interpreting your post correctly, you have psychiatric disabilities which are alleviated by the presence of your dog. This is certainly my story! Like you, I have a dog which was a pet, then due to her dilligence in loving and allerting me of my anxiety, depression, etc. I have trained her to become a psychiatric service dog.

Rather than an emotional support dog, you may wish to consider training your dog to become a service dog which will protect you from housing discrimination due to your disability. Service dogs are not pets, they are "medically necessary" and part of a treatment plan.

I'm not sure where in California you are located. In some areas it is difficult to find a psychiatrist due to lack of supply. I drive an hour each way to my psychiatrist. I've had him since 1998. Although it is a long drive when I see him, I appreciate the fact he has known me for so long and can read where I am in my head when I walk in the door.

One of the big responsibilities of having a service dog for an "unseen" disability is educating the people we come in contact with. Normally I would recommend shopping around for a psychiatrist and finding one who has experience with patients with service dogs. However, if you are in an area where there are not many choices, you may not find one with this experience. The Psychiatric Service Dog Society (google it) on its home page has a brochure for medical providers introducing psychiatric service dogs (PSD's) to them and the benefits they can have for patients.

I researched PSD's for 18 months before I got a letter from my psychiatrist and began training my pet Polar to become a PSD. During that time, I had discussed the idea with my therapist (who suggested using Polar - duh!). When I went to my Pdoc's office to request a letter he was very difficult...his concern being I would bring a dog into his office where he treated people with allergies to dogs as well as people who had major fear of dogs. I backed way off and told him it was okay, I'd get a letter from my therapist instead. At the same time I handed him the flier off of the PSDS homepage. He kept looking at it and continuing on the the medication review, then looking at it again. I told him we had worked together for years to try to bring some joy into my life. A service dog would help do that for me. It was a tool we could use, but if he didn't want anything to do with it, I would understand. Anyway, by the end of the session (20 minutes) he had totally changed his mind, copied the prepared letter I had brought (also copied from the PSDS website) onto his letterhead and told me to bring the dog into the office with me next time I visited.

If a psychiatrist does not sign a letter, you may find a psychologist or MFT who will. Letters from and MD will carry more weight than a MFT, but the MFT letter should suffice.

I have a friend who uses a herding dog for a PSD and it is a great match. I suggest doing some research on the internet about PSD's. It is a big committment, but since you already own a dog you are familiar with the responsibilities.

This is a longer message than I intended. Long story short, if you can get a letter from a local mental health professional that your dog is part of your treatment plan, you are on your way to becoming protected by the ADA in your housing situation. Check your motives...make sure you really want a PSD before your pursue it. There are many people in public who will resent your "freedom" to take your dog everywhere you go!

Best of luck,
Dawn & Polar