MENTALHEALTH
10
Aubrey Vogel
Mr. Whiskers has been a registered emotional support animal for three years for Millie Mayo since the junior moved to College Station from Colorado to attend Texas A&M.
The ins and outs of emotional support animals As number of registered support pets increases, get to know the rules By Brady Stone Big, glossy green eyes gaze up at animal science junior Millie Mayo as she works to complete her homework for the week. Resting one hand on her cat’s coarse coat of hair, Mayo uses the other to type on her laptop. “You get used to all the hair floating
around,” Mayo said. For 13 years, Mr. Whiskers has been in the Mayo family — for the last three he has lived with Millie Mayo as an emotional support animal. After moving away from her family in Colorado, Mayo had Whiskers declared an emotional support animal in 2019 when she enrolled at Texas A&M. Like Mayo, other college students register pets as emotional support animals. The often-furry friends help combat loneliness and other fears commonly associated with big life transitions, according
to Inside Higher Ed. Pets provide a sense of comfort for students without their typical support system, said Mary Covey, the director of Counseling and Psychological Services at A&M. “For many people, it is just the comfort of unconditional love,” Covey said. “And you feel that every time you’re around whatever that animal is to you.” Kristie Orr, A&M’s director of Disability Resources, said emotional support animals aren’t super common on campus, but she has seen an increase in the number of registered
animals since COVID-19 emerged in College Station in 2020. “I think there was a time during the pandemic where people were at home alone with their animals and found comfort,” Orr said. “Now, we’re seeing a lot of people who are experiencing more levels of stress and mental illness, so having an animal with them can be a comfort, and we are seeing an increase in requests.” It’s essential students discern the difference between emotional support and service animals, Orr said. Trained service animals
