the #1 biggest factor in my life was a dog I got that totally turned me around. I can’t express enough how much this animal has changed my life for the better.
I know exactly what you mean. I feel the same way about my dog. I saw a magnet for a car at Petco the other day, and it said "Who saved who?" and I thought that summed it up perfectly. We really did save eachother
Your dog really already is an ESA, assuming you're disabled. What you need, if you need to move to a no-pets or low weight limit apartment or fly, is find a doctor to back you up. When I asked for a letter, I found it helpful to bring something short written up that explain what an ESA is and is not (she kept calling it a service dog, and I had to keep correcting her...pet peeve) and then gave her the link to the example letter at
http://servicedogcentral.org/content/node/304Though no training is required, I suggest taking (and passing) the Canine Good Citizen test with your dog. It adds credibility to your claim that the dog is well-behaved and not a nuisance.
My hopefully-soon-to-be-future-landlord, who allows large dogs anyway, did ask if my dog is housebroken. I kind of giggled to myself and told him yes, he is, and he can do much more (and I was willling to prove it...I'm going to send him my dog's video of color retrieves later just because I know he'll get a kick out of it). I also brought my dog for a meet and greet before I moved to the apartment I am currently in (which is a no-pets apartment). The landlord does not like dogs, but she was impressed with his behavior, and she has been very good to us in the 7 months we've lived here. Her assistant, on the other hand, LOVES dogs and told me I better bring him with me to pay the rent every month
