ESAs do not have access rights to public stores like Costco but service dogs do. Service dogs are not required to wear vests or be registered. A Costco employee should have asked you two questions: 1. Is the dog a service dog required for a disability? and 2. What work or task has the dog been trained to perform? If you have issues with any Costco member in the future, we suggest speaking to a manager about your situation.

You can have additional emotional support animals as long as your healthcare provider believes they are necessary. Each ESA must be covered by your ESA letter. We wrote an article about having additional ESAs which you can find here: https://esadoctors.com/more-than-one-emotional-support-animal/

You might find this guide helpful: https://esadoctors.com/emotional-support-dog-letter-landlord/

If your ESA letter was from 2015 it is very unlikely to be accepted. If anyone tries to validate your ESA letter, the healthcare professional who wrote it will not be able to stand by it currently if the last evaluation occurred in 2015. Please see this link for more info about what it means for ESA letters to expire: https://esadoctors.com/do-esa-letters-expire-how-to-renew/

ESAs unfortunately do not have rights when it comes to hotels in Texas. They are solely protected by Fair Housing rules which apply to your home. Many hotels however will accommodate ESAs and pets as a courtesy. We suggest checking with your hotel to see what their policies are, and whether they could offer a waiver of any pet fees.