Maddie Jones lives in Shaw Hall with Copernicus, a five-month-old golden retriever puppy and Jones’ service dog.

Copernicus has been in training since May, when he was only eight weeks old, said Jones, a freshman bioengineering major. The service dog alerts her to migraine caused by a 2017 injury. He can also bring her medicine and help with instability and dizziness caused by her migraine.

“He’s honestly the reason why I’m able to go to college,” she said. “He’s made me super independent.”

Syracuse University is required by law to allow students to have service animals in university housing, whether on Main or South Campus, as they are covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act. The requirement does not extend to emotional support animals.

SU’s Assistance Animal Policy describes a service animal as providing “active” support, while an emotional support animal provides “passive” support. Students looking to bring an assistance animal to SU have to follow different procedures, depending on which category their animal falls into.

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Paula Possenti-Perez, director of the Office of Disability Services, said service animals do not have to register through the office. If it is “readily apparent that the animal is a service animal,” no further information is required, according to the policy.

In other cases, the owner may have to give advance notice to ODS or Housing, Meal Plan, and I.D. Card Services. They may also have to explain the task the animal performs, but the animal will not have to demonstrate the task.

At SU, emotional support animals are most often treated as a housing accommodation, Possenti-Perez said. The office usually speaks with both a therapist and the student regarding the request she said. ODS has a specific request form which a student’s therapist can fill out.

“It’s the same way we approve any other accommodation,” she said. “We’re looking at the nexus between the disability and the environmental impact.”

A housing committee within ODS then discusses the information and approves or denies the request. This process is the same for Main and South Campus housing. Possenti-Perez said it’s an “individualized process.”

Jones said she had to sign a housing addendum and alert her assigned ODS counselor when she brought Copernicus to campus.

“It wasn’t difficult to get him in the dorm as a service animal,” she said.

Stephen Kuusisto, director of Interdisciplinary Programs and Outreach at SU’s Burton Blatt Institute, poses with his seeing-eye dog. Courtesy of Stephen Kuusisto

While a service dog may go anywhere without fees or restrictions, an emotional support animal is not legally considered a service animal, said Stephen Kuusisto, director of Interdisciplinary Programs and Outreach at SU’s Burton Blatt Institute. The institute advocates for people with disabilities.

Emotional support animals are meant to help owners who struggle with anxiety-related issues, but their lack of training may get in the way of that, Kuusisto said. He has a seeing-eye dog who assists him on a daily basis.

“There’s plenty of studies now that show that having animals does reduce stress,” he said. “(The) problem is most emotional support animals are ill-mannered and act in ways trained service animals would never.”

Kuusisto previously worked as director of student services with Guiding Eyes for the Blind, one of the nation’s premier guide dog training schools. The organization trained both dogs and the owners on how to work with their animals.

Possenti-Perez’s office received 16 requests for emotional support animals this year, with seven approvals, seven pending approvals, one withdrawal and one rejection. Once an emotional support animal is approved, a student does not have to submit a request every year, she said.

The most common emotional support animal requests the office receives are for dogs, cats or rabbits, Possenti-Perez said. She added that more exotic pets may be rejected, such as if they are illegal to own. All animals must be up-to-date on necessary shots and not pose any harm to another student.

Jones said the only challenge she’s had with her service dog on campus is asking other students not to pet him.

“It’s hard to explain to them that’s he’s working and not able to be distracted at certain points in time,” she said.

Published on September 10, 2019 at 11:09 pm

Contact Sarah: scalessa@syr.edu | @sarahalessan