By BREANNA BOLLE/Staff Writer
Through the University Center doors enters a young woman alongside a black and white poodle. As the woman and her dog walk past the Welcome Desk, the dog catches the attention of the students. One student walks up to the dog, sees its vest and then steps back.
UT Tyler freshman student Nicole Keffeler travels around campus with her service dog, Aspen.
Since Aspen was a puppy, she has been with Keffeler. The service animal is now almost 2.5 years old.
“The main benefits of having a service animal would be the tasks that they provide to mitigate an individual’s disability and of course companionship,” Keffeler said.
Keffeler struggles with anxiety and PTSD. Aspen “tasks” for this.
“Her tasks include deep pressure therapy, which is her laying over my lap to calm my heart rate and regulate my breathing, and interruptions,” Keffeler said. “She will interrupt scratches, leg-bouncing and irregular breathing.”
These behaviors, in addition to less noticeable tasks such as blocking, are related to Keffeler’s anxiety and by performing these tasks, Aspen is able to alert her.
Aspen’s alerts help Keffeler navigate what action is necessary, whether that be leaving the situation or sitting to do deep-pressure therapy. Aspen also does forward momentum-pull, which can help lead Keffeler out of crowds if necessary.
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CHECK OUT THESE VIDEOS TO SEE SERVICE-DOG ASPEN IN ACTION
Aspen- Scratching Interruption
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There are two main routes for getting a service animal. These include going through a program that trains a dog based on necessary tasks and needs before it is sold to the owner, or the owner acquiring a dog and personally training them.
The price for program-trained dogs generally ranges from $30,000 to $40,000.
Aspen goes through public access training – teaching her how to be obedient in public – and task training. It takes about 2 years to train a service dog, Keffeler said.
When in public, Keffeler works to avoid any confrontation.
“Interactions with the public are one of the most challenging things about having a service animal I just try and get out of the situation if we encounter a fake service dog.”
Nicole Keffeler
People often do not understand service dog etiquette – some distract Aspen by ignoring her clear signs as a service dog and others bring their own ‘fake service dogs’ into non-pet-friendly places.
“These animals pose a challenge as service dogs can become distracted, or if the fake service dog acts in aggression, the service dog could be negatively affected,” Keffeler said.
While people can pose threats and she has had bad experiences, Keffler usually has positive experiences with Aspen and their interactions on campus.
“I’ve had some questions about, like, ‘how do you get a service animal on campus?’ or ‘what is it?’” Keffeler said. “It’s mainly just a good opportunity to inform people that it’s not weird to have a dog for a disability. … It’s been nothing but positive. Everyone’s been super respectful of her space, and me. It’s more inquisitive than anything.”
People who are interested in getting a service dog often go to the internet for help.
Keffeler mentioned the importance of sites online that could be scamming people for money.
“With service animals, there is no such thing as a certification; there are a lot of fraudulent sites online that will try to get you to buy them just so they can make money, but it’s not even recognized under the law,” Keffeler said. “And some people see that as a way to just bring their pets with them if they go about it wrong.”
Keffeler said that service dogs are not required to have vests or markings. If an animal is in a non-pet-friendly establishment, the employees can ask two questions regarding if the animal is a service dog and what tasks he or she performs.
“I have to advocate for myself and her, as well as other people that are disabled in the community,” Keffeler said.
The use of vests is mostly helpful in establishing that Aspen is a service animal. Furthermore, Aspen knows she is working when wearing her vests.
Keffeler’s favorite trait of Aspen’s is her goofiness and how she can make a bad day feel better with her “sense of humor.”
“She’s very funny. I think she has her own sense of humor,” Keffeler said. “Because even when she’s working, she’ll do little things and get excited about certain things that make me laugh and it just brightens my day a little bit, even if it’s a bad health day for me.”
Emotional Support Animals (ESA)
Emotional support animals are more common in on-campus housing than service animals. Hannah Knowles, a freshman at UT Tyler, has a cat named Sharpie as an emotional support animal (ESA).
ESAs are different from service animals, as their name implies. They are animals that help their owners emotionally with their presence. They are not trained to perform specific tasks to aid in an owner’s disability.
“For me, Sharpie keeps me accountable to everything and he gives me something to come home to and something I have to wake up for and take care of,” Knowles said. “He’s kept me safe through a lot of things too.”
Sharpie has helped Knowles in a variety of ways. In high school, Knowles was admitted to a hospital due to their health.
“He was there for me through the whole thing,” Knowles said. “Even when I felt lonely, I always knew that I had him and that was a motivation for me to stay on track with my recovery.”
Similar to those with service animals, Knowles has received negative comments, including remarks doubting the legitimacy of ESAs.
“I’ve actually dealt with people not believing in ESAs a lot before,” Knowles said. “Even with my past therapist saying that it is just a dependency and is a ‘loophole’ and that ‘you can’t just be dependent on this animal.’”
It is not an easy process to have an animal registered as an ESA with the university.
“You can’t just certify them online, you have to go through a therapist in a lengthy process of actually getting a note for the school. … There is no real certification, Knowles said. “There are online websites to certify them, but those aren’t real, that’s not how it actually works.”
Some wrongly believe that anybody can register an animal as an ESA. It isn’t about registering your animal as an ESA just because you want it to live with you, it’s registering it so you can stay on track with your progress and feel safer, Knowles said.
UT Tyler’s Residence Life animal policy requires that ESAs be registered and approved by the Student Accessibility and Resources (SAR) office before they are brought on campus.
Registration with SAR includes a form that must be filled out by the student’s medical or mental health provider.
The student must submit a lengthy application for their ESA in addition to the application for approval.
“ESAs provide comfort for the owner. They are not allowed in any building on campus other than the owner’s personal residence,” the Residence Life department said.
For more details regarding the requirements of ESA and Service Animals as outlined by the department of Residence Life, please refer here.
Knowles enjoys coming home to see Sharpie, to take care of him and be in his presence, especially on bad days.
“I think my favorite thing about having an emotional support animal is just getting to come home to this little living thing that makes me so happy and is just there for me all the time,” Knowles said. “Like, even when I’m just stressed and doing my exams, he just kind of knows, so he’ll lay on my lap.”
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LOOK HOW CUTE SHARPIE THE EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMAL IS
Sharpie Running Around/Playing
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ESAs help people in different ways – mostly those with mental illnesses. Ultimately, the main way ESAs help is by increasing the release of oxytocin.
Emotional support animals are beneficial as they release oxytocin, which is known as the “cuddle hormone.” This helps people who struggle with depression and other mental illnesses.
During the peak of COVID, many people were getting pets because there was a lack of human interaction thus lowering oxytocin levels. These pets helped increase these levels and helped emotionally during the difficult time, Knowles said.
“Sharpie has been through everything that I have; he is always here for me. He was there when no one else was,” Knowles said. “Knowing I have that support and being able to come home to him is very helpful. My big thing is that Sharpie saved my life.”
An Outside Perspective
Chase Brown, a freshman, does not have much experience with service animals or ESAs.
“I know that service animals are trained to assist people in different situations,” Brown said. “I also know that emotional support animals are specifically trained to help with anxiety in their owners.
ESAs and service animals both show positive effects for their owners, Brown said. He also believes they are helpful and he is happy that they are allowed on campus.
“I hope to see more support for them universally,” Brown said.
Knowles and Keffeler hope to spread more awareness of these animals to other students and continue de-stigmatizing their presence.
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