This semester, policies and guidelines regarding emotional support and service animals are being reiterated in Colorado State University’s campus community.
“The policy (regarding assistance animals) is a combination of several different policy statements that were already in place, and provides more explanation and guidance for the campus community,” said Dr. Susan MacQuiddy, Director of Counseling Services at CSU Health Network. “The rules around service animals and emotional support animals come from federal and state laws, and are not unique to CSU.”
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MacQuiddy mentioned that one new policy addresses the issue of misrepresentation by individuals claiming to need assistance animals when they really do not.
“There is a new state law that goes into effect on January 1, 2017,” MacQuiddy said. “(The law) makes it illegal for individuals to intentionally misrepresent themselves as entitled to an assistance animal.”
Additionally, CSU plans to introduce a more detailed policy for emotional support animals next semester. While the policy is anticipated to remain the same, MacQuiddy said that the update will clarify confusion and better guide students on emotional support animals.
Dr. MacQuiddy stressed the importance of knowing classifications for assistance animals.
“An emotional support animal is an animal that alleviates identified symptoms or effects of a person’s documented disability,” MacQuiddy said.
According to Rose Kreston, Director of Resources for Disabled Students at CSU, emotional support animals are usually for long term conditions diagnosed by a qualified health professional as part of a treatment plan.
“Home sickness is not a significant mental health condition while chronic depression is,” Kreston said. “One is short lived while the other is long term and usually is accompanied by support from a therapist.”
Requests for emotional support animals in University housing must be approved as an appropriate accommodation by Resources for Disabled Students. Appropriate documentation from the student’s healthcare provider must be provided. The health care provider must describe the relation of the emotional support animal to a student’s health.
“In other words, how does the animal fit in the context of a treatment plan?” Kreston said. “Online certificates are not valid, in fact, they are a scam.”
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Sophia Friskey, sophomore at CSU, owns a Chilean rose hair tarantula named Florence as a registered emotional support animal.
“I had to get approval from my medical doctor and psychologist,” Friskey said.
Friskey said that initially people had a hard time understanding that an emotional support animal could be something other than the “fluffy golden retriever type” in order to be emotionally supportive, but after time, more people understood why Friskey likes having Florence around.
“Because anxiety, depression, or other mental disabilities are things people have a hard time understanding, a lot of people don’t think emotional support animals are necessary,” Friskey said. “It’s not like you have a wheelchair or physical sign that you are facing struggles in your daily life.”
An emotional support animal stays in an individual’s home and does not accompany the individual to classes or where animals are not allowed. In contrast, service animals accompany their handlers in public and everywhere they go.
“An emotional support animal can be any domesticated animal,” said Kreston. “But, there are only two types of service animals: dogs or miniature horses.”
Kreston said that to date, no miniature horses have been registered as service animals at CSU. She also stressed the importance of knowing that while service animals are working, they are not to be considered pets.
“Service animals have been trained to perform a specific task for a person with a disability,” said Kreston. “For example, a guide dog for someone who is blind, a hearing dog for someone who is deaf, a seizure alert dog for someone with epilepsy.”
Kreston said that bad behavior by a dog brought to campus, including service dogs, could be considered a violation of student conduct since the owner of the dog is ultimately responsible for the actions of their dog.
“Students who bring their dogs to campus are a risk to legitimate service dogs,” said Kreston. “If one should show aggressive behavior toward the service dog, it can ruin the service dog’s training and therefore take a vital accommodation away from a person.”
There is no requirement that a service dog be marked as such, but RDS does encourage students to have an outside signifier to help others identify that the dog is a working service dog.
“Training a service dog for a specific task can be expensive, up to $30,000 for a guide dog, for example,” Kreston said. “Dogs are trained not only in obedience and performing tasks, but to not be distracted by other dogs, and they are not to be petted while working as that can distract them from their duties.”
Kreston said that she believes those who are bringing their dogs to campus aren’t thinking about the risk and what it may mean for a person who has a service dog.
“At the present time, it appears that there is a lot of confusion regarding the differences between a service dog and an emotional support animal,” Kreston said. “That leaves it wide open for abuse, which we see frequently.”
CSU’s specific policies regarding service animals and emotional support animals can be found in the Colorado State University Policy Library under Policy ID #8-8002-001.
For more information on Colorado’s current law regarding misrepresentation of entitlement to a service animal, please see Colorado HB16-1426.
Reporter Jessie Trudell can be reached at news@collegian.com or on Twitter @JessieTrudell.
ky21 • Dec 16, 2016 at 6:19 pm
There is a guy who claims his dogs a greeter on campus who uses a flexi. He has no control over the dog allowing it to go up to anyone. The dog had completely had all the line out coming my way. Told my dog down and put myself between my dog and his as it approached us. In a loud voice said NO. His reply smiling was to say his dogs a greeter and pulled his dog away from us and carried on like nothing happed. On his way with the dog pulling. The college here has last count has 5 poorly trained SD or there fake that I seen. There are 2 sharing a guide dog that gets distracted when it sees or smells my dog. They wrote an front page article about SDs poorly written. When I talk to someone I say its like reading the National Enquirer. The school needs to Educate the employees about SDs. Last sad thing is a teacher telling me she had a student in her class with a SD that was aggressive and barked. The teacher had everyone sit away from then. Spring semester starts in a few weeks and nothing going to change. As always I carry a camera to keep records of the dogs. Abuse the system and one day someones dogs is going to be attacked.
ky21 • Oct 17, 2016 at 10:38 am
wonder if they’re going to bother checking for Fakes who bought a Fake Dr note
Groovbaby • Oct 17, 2016 at 10:40 pm
Are you Ok with your work checking your doctors note if you call in sick to work?
Kimber Kenobi • Oct 18, 2016 at 1:10 pm
If I bought that note online I expect they would. Just like airlines check on ESA’s and PSD’s.
Groovbaby • Oct 18, 2016 at 1:31 pm
I’ve got a legit service dog and I’m not sure that it’s legal to do that. ..or if it would be an invasion to do that or if even the doctors offices would be interested in doing that. But I’d be all for anything that minimizes fake service dogs. They hurt us all
Kimber Kenobi • Oct 18, 2016 at 3:15 pm
Colleges aren’t necessarily places of public accommodation. It is widely accepted that dorms fall under HUD but college classes aren’t open to the public so they don’t fall under Title III of the ADA. They fall under the same title as employee. So it’s an accommodation which must be requested.
Groovbaby • Oct 18, 2016 at 4:11 pm
The latest legal ruling is actually the opposite. Service dogs must be accommodated in this circumstance but emotional
Support animals have no such rights. Service animals are not employees, they are medical equipment and are always classified as such. There are times that access can be denied. ..this isn’t one
Kimber Kenobi • Oct 18, 2016 at 8:40 pm
Colleges, being institutions of education, have taken the stance for themselves. I was going to but Google “emotional support animals in college dorms” https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/0dad759b035b5784389fcc43d4d5f953a467fa843f08b32858fddd0ea49d4ea9.png
Groovbaby • Oct 18, 2016 at 8:49 pm
Ahhh gotcha. Sadly the law says otherwise. The dorms have slightly more power… but not much. The university or college must accommodate them same as people in wheelchairs. You simply can’t deny a disabled person. I do hate all the fakes though. They really do hurt us all.
Kimber Kenobi • Oct 18, 2016 at 9:48 pm
But you saw my comment regarding classes… For that you can be asked to provide info supporting that you need the accommodation of having your SD in class.
Groovbaby • Oct 18, 2016 at 9:51 pm
Only for an emotional support animal. A service animal is trained to do a job that you can’t do for yourself and by law must always be accommodated. It’s like saying that you can’t have your wheelchair in class.
ky21 • Oct 21, 2016 at 3:16 pm
The college where I’m at did a bad job explaining SD in their school paper. I am a aid for 2 students and training on campus SSit. Having to deal with dogs on campus who start barking and pulling on there leash with no corrections is a pain. Watching some hurry to leave area. My thoughts in need of more training or fake. The last dog did not bark but was focused on my dog. Pulling when walking and when it was stopped.. The owner did nothing to correct the dog. The o sh#t kicked in when he thought it would be great to go out if his way to walk near us. Again pull with his dog pulling in my direction with out any corrections. Once out of sight we left the area heading to the car. Surprised to find him walking behind us. Someone stopped to talk with his giving us time to get into the car. I heard the that person say there’s a lot of SD on campus this year. Wounding if the person with the Guide Dog has had any problems yet.
Groovbaby • Oct 30, 2016 at 10:18 pm
Wow. It sounds like those dogs are either still in training or, as you said, not legit. They hurt us all.
Sophie • Dec 16, 2016 at 5:25 pm
Responsible Dog owners/trainers/guardians/handlers do not use a Flexi leash, period. These put the dog in danger as well as leaving the handler with no control. They frequently break, and I’ve noted on innumerable occasions that the people who use them are the same ones who have never bothered to give their dog even the minimum training. They’re the ones who fail to pick up their dog’s poop and are also frequently on a cellphone while the dog is running at other leashed dogs and people, straining at the very end of the full length of the blasted thing while the owner ignores all this completely. And woe to anyone who says anything to this selfish bunch; at best you’ll get the stink eye, at worst they’ll tear you a new one and even threaten you and follow you home.
While it’s a good thing that they may be cracking down on these self centered fakes, I fear it’s only going to open the door to more abuse and discrimination for those of us who have already been dealing with that all our lives. Thanks a lot, jerks.
ky21 • Dec 16, 2016 at 6:22 pm
PS. My dog just had a checkup and update on shots.
ky21 • Oct 21, 2016 at 3:53 pm
No. Again no one’s business why you have a SD. They can ask if it’s a SD and what tasks but nothing more. If you want to reg your dog with the school thatl is your choice. That might help dealing with problems. I was going to reg with the school but the way the school newspaper was written it sounds like anyone can bring there pet.
Groovbaby • Oct 30, 2016 at 10:20 pm
They can only legally ask if it’s a service dog and what service it performs. That’s it. They have no more right to our medical information than they do for a quadriplegics. Now an emotional support animal has no such protection. They can be asked to provide a letter asking to accommodate.