At Miami University, some students have a different kind of roommate:  one that has a wet nose, a wagging tail and is always happy to see you.

Miami does not allow pets in residence halls, but some students this year are sharing their dorm rooms with an Emotional Support Animal, or ESA.

An ESA is an animal that helps to alleviate or lessen symptoms for a student with a mental or psychiatric disability, like anxiety or depression, as determined by a doctor or other medical professional.

Miami’s policy for admitting ESAs to residence halls states that the animals will be approved if “the student-owner clearly demonstrates the ESA is necessary to provide the student with an equal opportunity to use and enjoy the residence hall.”

According to Director of Student Disability Services Andrew Zeisler, there are currently eight ESAs living in Miami’s residence halls, including dogs, cats and a bearded dragon.

First-year Vivien Fierberg lives with her ESA, Cleo, to help with anxiety.  Cleo is a bearded dragon — a medium-sized lizard whose throat puffs out when it feels threatened, giving it its “beard.”

“I grew up on a farm, so I’ve always been around animals,” Fierberg said.  “When I decided to come here, it was important to me that I would be able to go back after school and still have an animal to hang out with.”

For Cleo to be permitted in the residence hall, Fierberg had to follow the process laid out by Student Disability Services.  A student who wants to register an ESA must provide written documentation from a healthcare professional, stating the student has a need for treatment of a mental or psychiatric disability and establishing the connection between that disability and the support the animal provides.

The student also has to provide a registration form and veterinary records for the animal.  After that, the student signs a policy that states they will pay for any damages or pest infestations the animal causes.

REST OF ARTICLE AT: http://miamistudent.net/?p=17012041