The official definition of a service animal is any animal individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability, whether physical, sensory, psychiatric, or intellectual. The official definition of an emotional support animal (ESA) is a companion animal that a medical professional has determined provides a benefit to an individual with a disability, such as improving at least one symptom of the disability.

There are differences between the two according to state law. A service animal is classified for disabilities both visible and invisible. Emotional support animals are considered a support to the person, but they do not have the same parameters as “regular service animals”.

Shannon lives in the dorms with her ESA Star, a German Shepard. Shannon suffers from depression and anxiety, many stemming from her childhood experiences. She uses Star as a way to help cope. Shannon has raised Star from a puppy and has her trained extremely well. The problem she is facing is that Star is not registered as a service dog, so Shannon  cannot take her anywhere on campus except her own dorm room or outside. This means that if she needs emotional support while on any other part of the campus, she does not have it. I asked her what having Star with her while in class would do. Shannon replied that it would help her focus and help her calm down. I asked about the issue with Star’s large size. Shannon said she feels having a large dog is more beneficial because even though Star looks like she could cause problems, she knows how to handle situations that involve many people, like walking through the UC, better than a smaller animal. Shannon thinks that ESA animals should have the same privileges as other service animals because mental disabilities should be cared for as physical disabilities are because they are as much of a problem, and deserve to be treated properly.

I talked to a former student named Daniel, an Army veteran with a PTSD service dog named Maggie, a pitbull/lab mix. I asked him what having Maggie with him meant, and he replied that it meant comfort and feeling like the world wasn’t collapsing around him. I asked about the stigma around PTSD, and Daniel told me it was unlike anything that anyone knew. It felt like a constant war zone and Maggie was the only thing that helped on some days. Daniel said there are so many invisible disabilities that should be the same category as visible ones. “You can’t see my PTSD, but that doesn’t mean it’s not there. Same for depression and other mental illnesses.”