To clarify: I'm not talking about if pets in general can give emotional support to their owners, of course they can.
I mean should the concept of Emotional Support Animals get treated with the same level of respect and seriousness as that of regular Service Animals for the physically disabled.
Not speaking to whether there are people who benefit from a service animal (no doubt there are many), but just pointing out there's basically no regulation or oversight. It's just, you can go online and pay some scammy company $60 for an orange vest and a paper that says your dog is a service animal.
Airlines on the other hand require a note from a doctor validating your need for a service animal. Hence why you rarely see service animals on planes.
You don't have to pay the scam company anything. You literally just need a doctor's note and as far as i'm aware no one can legally ask to see the note.
Anyone can legally ask practically anything they want. There's just nothing compelling you to show them anything in 99% of circumstances.
Pretty sure you can just say, "no, sorry, you can't bring an ESA in here" though. Because they're not service animals.