Harboring an animal in any apartment, residence hall room or house owned or leased by Elon University is strictly forbidden. Yet there are currently 12 documented students living with a pet on Elon’s campus under the request of an emotional support animal.
MarQuita Barker, associate director of Residence Life, said the reason some students are allowed to get around the no pets policy is because of the Fair Housing Act.
“Legally, we have to allow a student with a documented need and a request to have an emotional support animal,” she said.
Senior Jillian Kronemer has recently been through the politics of getting her three-pound Maltese toy-poodle mix, Freddie, to live with her in her Oaks apartment.
After deciding with her psychiatrist that having an animal for emotional support would be beneficial, Kronemer began the long process of filling out paperwork and registering her dog. She was required to validate having a qualifying mental health issue, writing a note to her doctor on why she felt it was necessary and eventually submitting a request with Disability Services to have the proper documentation approved.
To Kronemer, having the dog live with her was essential to her mental health because it would give her a greater sense of purpose, self-worth and responsibility. But she says she definitely had to make those needs very clear when going about the process.
There is a misconception that it is somehow easy to obtain the right to have a pet live with a student because of the emotional support option, but Kronemer clarified that she had to have explicit documentation from her doctor as well.
The idea of emotional support pets is not unique to Elon.
“Most college campuses have a policy supporting students with a documented disability,” Barker said.
Once the paperwork is approved, students may bring their pet to live with them. Kronemer just brought her dog to campus in January.
“I don’t think people realize what a time commitment it is,” she said of both the process of getting her dog and caring for her dog. “It’s a 24-hour job.”
Kronemer would encourage anyone thinking of going through the process of obtaining an emotional support animal on campus to consider their personal need for the animal as well as the financial costs.
For her, going through the process was well worth it, but she remains frustrated with the stigma surrounded with getting documented permission to have a pet on campus. Kronemer plans to take her dog with her when she moves to Charlotte after graduation.
Any student without the proper documentation of need for an animal on campus faces a $150 fine and judicial action along with damage repercussions outlined in the Elon Housing Agreement.