U.S. sues university for banning dog from student housing

[lickety_split]

The University of Nebraska won't allow a student suffering from anxiety and depression to keep her therapy dog in student housing.

Comments

[roseofjuly]

Hell to the fuck yeah. A lot of people with disabilities train their own service dogs.

"In essence, anyone can have their doctor say they are anxious and need to have their dog, cat, snake, or monkey, etc.," Horn wrote Cheryl Bressington, the campus affirmative action coordinator, according to the complaint.

FIRE THIS PERSON. What kind of affirmative action coordinator would say that? Do they think that people are really on a mission to get their physicians to lie for them? Snakes are not trained to become therapy animals; monkeys are often illegal for private persons to own and are also not trained to become therapy animals. A documented medical history is not 'their doctor saying that they are anxious.'

GAH.

And shit, I wish my school let me have a dog. I'm a graduate housing director at my university but we live in the halls with the students and we're not allowed pets either, other than fish. I would like a doggie :(

Bressington rejected Hamilton's request to accommodate Butch, saying the school was not required to

[roseofjuly]

No, not at all! I felt like people were just trying to bring it to everyone's attention that there were different kinds of helper animals, and it just makes me squee. People get help, animals get jobs and homes and everybody's happy!

[chaya]

service snakes are the new tree surgery

[roseofjuly]

When we get more tags that should be a tag :D

[chaya]

Tag editing cannot come soon enough

[roseofjuly]

I KNOW I KNOW I KNOW

[elialshadowpine]

Seriously. We're actually looking into procedure to get my housemate's cat certified as a service animal. This cat reminds him to take his medicine, has woken him up because he was ill and needed to tend to himself, has come and gotten other people in the house because my housemate was being stubborn and not listening, has actually dragged his container of medicines across the bed so he can reach them... yeah, not a service animal my ass.

GRR.

(should probably add clarification here that we have been told cats "can't be service animals".... orly?)

[roseofjuly]

Smart kitty!

[elialshadowpine]

He is very smart! Not related to the service aspect, but if my housemate calls and Ash is nearby, he will hear him over the phone and come running to meow into the phone and say hi too. (Either hi or "take your damn meds already", since my housemate is really bad about going out and having them wear off mid shopping trip... I'm not sure which!)

[roseofjuly]

Probably both, lol. "Meow, take your damn meds!!"

[roseofjuly]

I knew that there were cats that served as service animals in addition to dogs, but this thread has opened me up to a whole new world of service animals including monkeys, ponies and snakes. :D

[elialshadowpine]

I know! I was actually going to comment about the service snakes but someone beat me to it, but the monkeys, I did not know about. It is awesome how many animals are capable of such amazing things.