Students turn to emotional support animals to aid mental health challenges
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The past year was challenging for Shelby Justrich, a sophomore biology major at Syracuse University. She was struggling with her mental health, but decided to bring her cat from home to try and turn things around.
“I was realizing that my mental health was plummeting and I was not okay,” Justrich said. “I tried medication and behavioral therapy but something was missing and I thought that having my cat with me would really help me.”
Bringing in her cat, Bimini, as an emotional support animal worked, Justrich said, and enabled her to better her social and academic life. Unlike a service animal, emotional support animals do not need to be specially trained in order to hold the title, she said.
Mental health challenges like Justrich’s are not uncommon across college campuses. Between living away from home, creating a new routine and juggling a rigorous course load, adjusting to college is hard for many students and leaving attachments like pets at home only make it harder.
Just like any medication or form of therapy, having an animal on campus has enabled Justrich to cope with her mental health. She explained her cat can sense when her mood is off or when something is wrong.
“I get really bad panic attacks and she will just lay on me kind of like a weighted stuffed animal or blanket that some people use,” Justrich said. “I just have a pet that is actually there and supporting me.”
For Luke Hasenwinkel, a sophomore majoring in international relations and history, caring for his emotional support dog Goldie also motivated him to care for himself.
“I wanted to get (an emotional support dog) to help that mental health aspect as well as keep myself in a routine,” Hasenwinkel said. “With depression, (my dog) makes me get out of bed in the morning and eat even when I don’t feel like it because I have to take care of her.”
He explained that having Goldie forced him to focus on something other than his mental health, and that he also needed to be there for her like she was there for him — especially as she was transitioning to a life in a dorm room.
“The first few days (Goldie) had some pretty bad anxiety and it actually seemed like I needed to be her emotional support human for that,” Hasenwinkel said.
For students without their own emotional support animals who are looking for a little boost from a furry friend, The Barnes Center at the Arch has partnered with organizations like Go Team Therapy Dogs, PAWS of CNY and Pet Partners of CNY. The groups offer students the opportunity to stop by and interact with different emotional support dogs.
Each week, the center brings in a dog or cat that is a certified emotional support animal. Throughout the experience students have the ability to play, pet and release their stress, providing comfort for those who need it.
Jessica Spinella, owner of a four-year-old Labradoodle named Gram, partnered with PAWS of CNY to volunteer her dog as an emotional support animal. Spinella explained how she noticed a change in the demeanor of those who were in the presence of her dog, and wanted more people to have the chance to spend time with him.
Students, like Justrich, benefit greatly from the joy that animals create, she said. Before bringing her cat to school, Justrich said her deteriorating mental health took away her drive as a student. She never wanted to do anything, whether it was hanging out with friends, doing school work or even something she was passionate about. But having her cat forced her to become more social as people would be excited to play and pet the animal, which pushed her to interact with others.
“Having the cat in the room brings other people here so it is easier to be social when I am not in a great mood and having mental issues,” Justrich said.
Both Hasenwinkel and Justrich said it was simple to certify their pets, and SU’s Center for Disability Resources assisted them throughout the process. Hasenwinkel explained that all he needed to do was complete a few papers, ensure Goldie was healthy and show documentation of his mental health diagnosis.
Justrich said having her pet with her provides a sense of comfort and love — like she has a piece of home here with her.
“It feels like when you are going back to your dorm or room that you’re going home,” said Justrich.
