Hallie Fried, a first-year in international development and Spanish, and her emotional support dog are preparing to move into a six-person suite. Credit: Akayla Gardner | Lantern Reporter
Bringing an emotional-support animal to campus is a process, one that can involve not just the owner, but potential roommates as well.
Emotional-support animals, also known as therapy animals, are issued by medical professionals to provide comfort to people suffering from a wide range of emotional and mental illnesses.
According to Ohio State policy, individuals who wish to live on campus with an ESA must register with the university’s American Disabilities Act coordinator’s office and provide documentation from a health care provider.
Unlike service animals, emotional-support animals are not trained for a specific purpose, but rather fulfill their job by their presence.
Hallie Fried, a first-year in international studies, has an anxiety and panic disorder, and lives in a single room in Jones Tower with her emotional support dog Ruth. She said the process of getting Ruth approved to live with her was not all that hard.
“Getting her to live on campus was actually very easy, but I know that’s not the case for most people,” Fried said.
Many students with an ESA live in single rooms, but not necessarily because of their animals. Depending on the individual, living alone can be better for people with emotional and mental illnesses.
Ava Wishon, a first-year in speech and hearing sciences, said she moved from a quad to a single room because living with multiple people was triggering her obsessive-compulsive disorder.
“Being around people 24/7 and not being able to control what they are doing causes me severe anxiety and it leads to panic attacks that will sometimes keep me bedridden,” Wishon said. “They are so exhausting that I can’t go to class.”
After moving into a single in Jones Tower, Wishon bought her emotional support dog in October.
“It’s nice that I live in a single and have an ESA because whenever I lived here without her, it got kind of lonely — definitely good company,” Wishon said.
She said her mini goldendoodle motivates her to get out of bed when she gets into “slumps” that would keep her in her room for days.
Next year, Fried said she and Ruth are living in a suite with five other roommates.
“She’s going to have a lot of roommates,” Fried said. “They are all my really good friends and they’ve known her since I had her, and they love her, so we’re all going to be good next year hopefully.”
However, not all roommates welcome sharing their space with an ESA.
Students applying for an ESA midyear can run into conflicts with roommates apprehensive about living with an animal.
Under the federal Fair Housing Act, the university cannot deny qualified students housing because of emotional-support animals, regardless of whether their roommates approve.
Isabella Rizi, a second-year in exercise science, said she moved out of her double in Smith-Steeb Hall to allow her friend to live with a roommate who was willing to live with an ESA.
“I think it’s already hard enough having two grown people in one room and adding a dog that needs space to move and has energy,” Rizi said. “It can definitely cause problems with how small the room is.”
Wishon said she recommends new ESA owners involve their roommates in the process of finding an animal and encourages people to train their ESA well.
Despite the obstacles to getting an ESA, both Fried and Wishon agree that it was worth it.
