Colleges have increased the acceptance of therapy pets for students with mental health disorders recently to help provide support.
With all the stress that encompasses college, it can be overwhelming for anyone, let alone someone with a mental health disorder. For those students, therapy dogs can make the overall experience more enjoyable by providing support and a sense of safety.
In 2011 a student with a mental health disorder, attending the University of Nebraska at Kearney, requested to bring her therapy dog to live with her while she lived on university property. After discussion a lawsuit was filed against the college because the university did not recognize that therapy dogs help with mental health disorders as well as people with physical disabilities.
This lawsuit attracted a lot of attention and forced laws to be altered in order to comply with the needs of people with mental health disorders.
“My opinion is that it is a topic that a lot of people overlook and many people do not take it seriously,” NHS junior Emma Maki said.
Colleges are among those who recognize the severity of these conditions and are trying to improve the day to day life of their students with therapy pets. As well as bringing your own, colleges also have therapy dogs brought to campuses, so anyone anytime can go spend some time with the dogs and just relax.
“I think colleges offering these services are a really good idea. School is so stressful that anyone, not just people with emotional and social disorders, can benefit from the [emotional support] dogs,” NHS junior Jill Pieretti said.
Studies have been conducted on therapy dogs and an overwhelming majority of the results prove that dogs can distress, provide comfort, and provide joy for the disabled, including persons with mental health disorders.
“I’ve read a lot online about how dogs especially, are extremely soothing to people and that we have some underlying connection with animals that we just don’t get with people,” NHS senior Cal Creedin said.
Many people associate college as one of the most stressful periods of a young person’s life, both planning for it and actually experiencing it.
“Students with mental health disorders going off to college is a lot for them, for anyone . There are so many changes when you become a college student. Changes in routine, navigating temptations. Embarking on this is very difficult, so therapy dogs can be beneficial,” NHS school nurse Karen Powell said.
Something to keep in mind though, is all the responsibility any animal requires. They have many needs that you need to address on a daily basis, which may be inconvenient for certain students.
“I think it is something that would help certain people greatly, but you also have to clean up after them, feed them, make sure they get exercise, keep them from barking or acting up. Plus, what about allergies?” NHS junior Olyvia Shaw said.
Approximately 15% - 30% of all people with allergies are allergic to cats and dogs. With those statistics it is sure that students will be around the source of their allergy. With this to think of, grooming and or the breed of dog has to be taken into consideration.
“As a nurse and a mom I think allergies are the one to be concerned about the most,” Powell said.
Emotional support dogs can benefit so many, but with a lot of other factors weighing, it is less black and white and more like the coat of a Dalmatian. There is the obvious gain, but with every patch of clear white, comes the black spots, or the little complications that make people take a step back and rethink the situation.