ESA Weekly News Report End of May: Increase in ESA Campus Housing Requests!
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In this week’s ESA news report, we bring you two emotional support animal stories. The first looks at the increase in campus housing requests for ESAs in recent years. We also look at a heartwarming story of ESAs getting their own page in the yearbook of a Florida school.
Table of Contents
- Colleges Break All-Time Records of ESA Campus Housing Requests
- ESAs Who Joined Florida School After Shooting Acknowledged with Their Own Page in the Yearbook
- CertaPet’s Thoughts on This Week’s News
Colleges Break All-Time Records of ESA Campus Housing Requests
Last week, Washington State University (WSU) revealed that they received 70 requests for ESAs to live in their dorms in 2018. This comes as a shock to the university. After all, according to Meredyth Goodwin, director of the WSU Access Center, in 2011 the number of requests was 2 or 3.
Goodwin says the university is having trouble handling this surge in requests. On the one hand, they want to accommodate their students. On the other, WSU gets a lot of illegitimate requests and fake emotional support animal letters every year.
According to Inside Higher Ed, this is a reality in colleges all over the United States. Ohio State University faces this same problem. L. Scott Lissner, the university’s Americans With Disabilities coordinator, says they see dozens of fake letters every semester. In fact, the university can tell fake letters from valid ones in a glimpse, as they follow the same template.
The solution seems hard to find. Some colleges have adapted and opened pet-friendly dorms, for ESAs and pets alike. But most colleges seem to be going down a different route. They’re becoming more rigorous when it comes to approving ESA campus housing requests.
Source: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/05/21/colleges-see-rise-popularity-emotional-support-animal
ESAs Who Joined Florida School After Shooting Acknowledged with Their Own Page in the Yearbook
After a tragic and traumatic school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida, many students were left traumatized.
On Valentine’s Day, 17 staff members and students were killed in the massacre. To help the students and staff heal, the school decided to bring comfort dogs into the school’s courtyard. The emotional support these dogs have given everyone since the massacre has been profound.
The school’s yearbook advisor, Sarah Lerner, made sure these dogs were acknowledged by giving them their own page in the school’s yearbook.”They are such an integral part of school here, and life here now,” she told Good Morning America.
She also added that “They provide comfort, they provide relaxation, they help the students manage their stress and anxiety, trauma,”.
Source: https://www.wbrz.com/news/dogs-who-helped-students-heal-after-school-shooting-get-their-own-yearbook-page
CertaPet’s Thoughts on This Week’s News
Here at CertaPet, we are all for stricter control of ESAs. These animals should only be owned by people who really need them. We do not support fake emotional support animal letters or fake registries. It hurts the people who really need the presence of these animals for their mental health. Thus, CertaPet stands 100% with the American Universities’ decision to be more strict with ESA letters.
We are also elated that ESAs are finding their way into schools to do their important job of providing comfort. We know just how important animals are for fighting mental health problems.
If you have a mental health illness, CertaPet can help you. Getting an emotional support animal will have a very beneficial impact on your life.
To start the process of getting a real, legitimate ESA letter, take our free 5-minute pre-screening test. If you qualify as an ESA owner, you will be holding your four-legged friend in a matter of days!
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