Junior Christina Rose has been struggling with an anxiety disorder for most of her life. It wasn’t a problem until the fall of her sophomore year, when a combination of high stress and bad side effects from her medication led to Rose taking a semester off.
She returned to campus the following fall with better medication and an assistant, a Dachshund named Norman — her emotional support pet.
Choosing support
When she was home, Rose brought up the idea of having an emotional support pet with her psychiatrist after researching them and learning she could qualify for one. Since she had the free time to train a puppy, she knew it was the time to get one.
Shortly after, she drove from New York to Ohio to pick up Norman from a breeder.
“Part of the problem I have is when things get overwhelming, it’s almost like depression symptoms,” Rose said. “You don’t want to get out of bed, and it’s crazy overwhelming. It’s kind of hard to be on a schedule.”
By having Norman, Rose feels a responsibility to continuously care for him and needs to get up in the morning to feed and walk him. If she’s already up for a dog, Rose figures she might as well get started on her day.
“It just kind of gives you motivation to do things,” she said. “It’s nice having someone excited to see you when you get home.”
One of Rose’s greatest issues with her anxiety was being by herself for too long, which made her feel alone and less likely to leave her room. Now, even with a single room, she has constant company.
Other students have brought and emotional support pet to campus to improve their mental health as well.
After a suggestion to adopt an emotional support pet from her counselor at Elon University, junior Shay Hopkins-Paine began her search for a cat.
What she didn’t expect was to find one while in Orlando over Columbus Day weekend. While looking at a shelter, Hopkins-Paine found Cheshire, whose kill date was set for the next day. Hopkins-Paine was not going to leave her, and rescued herself in the process.
Hopkins-Paine has had general anxiety for about six years and will often times get panic attacks when she feels like she can’t escape a situation.
“When I feel trapped or embarrassed, it’s that feeling of going over the edge of a roller coaster and your whole body seizes up and it’s terrifying except there’s no roller coaster and there’s no stop,” she said. “There’s nothing wrong, so there’s no way to fix it but to wait it out.”
Though she can’t bring Cheshire with her in every anxious situation such as classrooms or crowds, Hopkins-Paine said having an emotional support pet is a baseline for her and gives her a positive start.
“If I start the day snuggling a warm kitty, I feel better about going into an anxious situation,” she said.
According to Hopkins-Paine, animals are physically good for humans. Cats will purr at a certain frequency that slows the heart rate down.
“It’s something so different,” Hopkins-Paine said. “You never think of pets at school. It takes you out of the school environment and makes you feel better. It kind of brings you back to yourself.”
For Hopkins-Paine, it’s nice to have some responsibility and a companion to come home to at the end of the day that’s not going to judge her.
Approving pets on campus
Elon has a no pet policy for on-campus housing, so both Rose, who lives in Mill Point, and Hopkins-Paine, who lives in the Oaks Apartments, needed to go through Disabilities Services to get approval.
According to Susan Wise, director of disabilities services, students who have been approved to have an emotional support animal in the residence hall have gone through a process by which they have documented their issues through their physicians, have discussed the presence of their animals with their roommates and have then gotten formal approval.
Residence Life personnel are then notified there is an emotional support animal in their building.
“A student who typically qualifies as a student with disabilities who is working with a mental health professional who recommends an emotional support animal are generally approved,” Wise said.
Wise said there are around a dozen or so students who have been approved to have an emotional support animal.
Hopkins-Paine said the process wasn’t difficult, just time-consuming to fill out the paperwork. After she got Cheshire, she went a step further and registered the cat as a service animal through Emotional Service Registration, which allows her to go in classrooms and on planes with a special ID.
“It’s a long process, but it’s worth it if that’s what you need,” Hopkins-Paine said.
Rose was originally going to get a cat as her emotional support pet, but after finding out one of her roommates were allergic — one of the biggest issues of approving a pet on campus — she decided to go looking for a dog instead.
Lending a helping paw
Though having an emotional support pet can be comforting and helpful, it does not replace the aid a counselor or medication can provide.
“Having an emotional support animal is not like taking medicine,” Hopkins-Paine said. “It’s not going to fix any problems that you have, but having an emotional support animal is for a few things. They’re great in general for support as you are becoming healthier yourself.”
Specifically, the tactile feel of animals is very comforting. They also help encourage positivity and get the day going.
For Hopkins-Paine, Cheshire encourages her to go outside and play. The cat also likes to snuggle and will sleep in bed with Hopkins-Paine every night, making her feel safer in her own home.
“If I have a place to decompress and something to decompress with, that’s very helpful to maintain anxiety,” she said.
Having Norman has been a tremendous help on Rose’s mental health, but it was difficult at first to adjust to having a pet in college, especially one so young.
“Because I did spend all day every day with him when he was a puppy, he became super attached to me,” Rose said. “When I left for class — last semester I had 8 a.m.s every day — he would get upset and cry when I left, and it would keep people up.”
This semester she specifically picked later classes that started after everyone was up.
Additionally, since getting on a schedule things have been easier. Rose plans times to walk Norman — usually before and after class, after dinner and before bed — which helps her keep her day going.
“I recommend getting a dog for any person who has time for it, especially if you adopt a dog that’s already been trained so it’s less work,” Rose said. “A lot of people don’t know they qualify for it or that it’s something that’s possible.”
Hopkins-Paine agrees that if she were suffering from depression, she would have gotten a dog because they are so uplifting and are always excited to see people. She believes cats are more laid- back and low-maintenance compared to dogs.
The only concern Hopkins-Paine has with having a pet in college is when there is a fire drill and she’s not home, she is unable to make sure someone is able to bring the cat outside. Otherwise, all she needs to do is clean the litter box and feed her.
Hopkins-Paine sees an emotional support pet as a great option for anyone who is struggling.
“It’s nice to have a companion that’s not going to talk to you, so that’s great for anxiety,” Hopkins-Paine said. “They’re not going to judge you — it’s a very calming experience to have that unconditional love from a pet.”