The University of Arizona this school year approved 58 support animals to live in dorms.
Riley Brown For the Arizona Daily Star Almost every morning when Jennalee Wilson wakes up, she is forced out of bed by her furry alarm clock, Cleo the calico cat.
The number of emotional support animals living in University of Arizona student housing increased from 17 in 2019 to 58 currently. During 2021 there was an all-time high of 73 animals, at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Once the center has all the required paperwork they conduct an interview over Zoom, asking questions about why they feel they need an emotional support animal and about the animal’s behavior.
The process for classroom approval is similar. Approval depends on the class setting, for example an animal would likely not be approved for a chemistry lab due to the danger of chemicals and materials being used. “We want oxytocin, which is that human bonding hormone, to kind of rise because it is good for them and it is good for the dog and we want to see cortisol which is a stress hormone to fall, if it does that speaks a lot to why you would want to argue the fact that it is good to grow up with a dog or it is good to have a dog around,” Carranza said.