Housing policy accommodates comfort pets

Morgan Benoit / Contributing Writer

Sofia Alberto, a freshman majoring in recreational therapy, attends FIU with her 6-month-old dog named Charlie. Charlie serves as Alberto’s emotional support animal, or comfort animal, and  lives with Alberto in her dorm at Lakeview Hall South.

Alberto is a survivor of  Ewing’s sarcoma, a form of cancer, and has recently been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. All of this, combined with her hesitation in taking a medicated route for her condition, revealed her vital need for Charlie as her comfort animal.

He brings Alberto relief and is trained to calm her anxiety attacks.

“He seems like a normal dog, but to me he’s the best medicine I’ve ever received,” Alberto said..

FIU’s strict housing policy regarding animals in the residence halls has undergone some adjustments to accommodate students like Alberto who are in need of emotional support animals.

According to Andrew Naylor, associate director of housing, approximately 15 students have emotional support or service animals residing in on-campus housing.

“If the student has a need for an emotional support animal and has roommates, there are some negotiations that have to go on,” said Naylor.

The course of action would be centered on the medical conditions of the animal owner’s potential roommates. Housing’s goal is to assure that medical arrangements are made pertaining to particular situations such as allergies.

There is also the question of how an individual can be approved for an emotional support animal.

“I think the first thing is making sure that the student that has identified that they have a need for an emotional support animal, that all their documentation is legitimate,” said Naylor.

Naylor reassured that FIU strives to hold higher standards pertaining to the legitimacy of the student’s emotional need.

“We make sure that it is a legit therapy or mental health situation,” said Andrew. The housing department works in partnership with the Disability Resource Center in the process of verification.

Stephen Loynaz, access consultant manager, says “The DRC works with various entities on campus to implement accommodations. As for authenticating letters, we typically call the therapist or doctor’s office that wrote the letter.”

The goal is to investigate each emotional disability case, seeking evidence of a sound and solid relationship between the student and therapist. The task of Housing and the DRC can become complicated due to what Naylor mentioned as the latest alternative, an online therapist.

Websites such as thedogtoronline.com, claiming to be America’s number one online emotional support animal approval site, make it possible for anyone to obtain the proper documentation to acquire an emotional support or service animal -whether they need the animal or not.

These websites require an online medical exam and provide the option of selecting between three different payment plans, one of which does not require re-evaluation.

Once the exam is reviewed and approved by medical professionals, it will take approximately 48 hours until the patient receives the prescription letter via email. These alternative can potentially pose as a barrier in terms of discerning who needs a comfort animal who is trying to cheat the system.

Emotional support animals aid patients of various conditions and are utilized for therapeutic methods and counseling. This especially applies to cases like Alberto’s that require a pet in order to prevent the occurrence of emotional turmoil that could disrupt her ability to successfully navigate college.

Charlie is currently undergoing the process of training to become a certified service dog to further ensure Alberto’s safety. Once training has been completed, he will have the ability to open doors, contact help in case of an emergency and serve as protection.

“If it weren’t for him I wouldn’t be able to control my attacks and I would’ve failed out of the semester,” explained Sofia.

[Photo by Morgan Benoit]