{"id":1023,"date":"2023-07-07T19:00:32","date_gmt":"2023-07-07T19:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/sas\/?page_id=1023"},"modified":"2026-06-04T19:43:21","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T19:43:21","slug":"emotional-support-animals","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/sas\/emotional-support-animals\/","title":{"rendered":"Emotional Support Animals"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Emotional Support Animals (ESA)<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Tarleton State University is aware of its responsibility to provide safe living environment to all students who wish to live on campus.\u00a0 In keeping with this obligation, emotional support animals will be permitted in housing facilities provided that established requirements are met, including determination of the need for the animal by\u00a0the Office of Student Accessibility Services\u00a0<\/strong><\/a>and Department of Residence Life.\u00a0The animal\u00a0is\u00a0not allowed in other areas of campus such as but not limited to: all university buildings with exception of residence halls, classrooms, classroom labs, community\/shared bathrooms, lounges, dining halls, dining rooms, indoor recreational rooms, computer labs, and study rooms.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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FAQ<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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What is an Emotional Support Animal (ESA)?<\/h2><\/div>
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The main purpose of an emotional support animal (ESA) is to provide emotional support, well-being, comfort, or companionship to their owners.  An ESA must be domesticated, and well-behaved. Their presence is generally limited to residential facilities including their common areas.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Do I have to notify anyone if I bring my ESA on campus?<\/h2><\/div>
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Yes, if you plan to bring an Emotional Support Animal (ESA) on campus, especially into campus housing or university facilities, you generally must notify the appropriate office and obtain approval first.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Is an ESA considered a service animal?<\/h2><\/div>
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No. An emotional support animal is not a service animal and not afforded access to all public places. Requests to possess an ESA in a residential facilities including their common areas must be approved by the\u00a0Office of Student Accessibility Services\u00a0and Residence Life. Students must present a letter from a qualified professional licensed in Texas stating details about the patient\u2019s needs, treatment, and how the animal is a vital part of that treatment. The ESA must also have all their immunizations records from their veterinarian. ESA registration from an outside organization is not recognized.
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ESA Request Process<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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1<\/span><\/div><\/div>

Request for Accommodations<\/h2><\/div>\n

Complete the Office of Student Accessibility Services\u2019 Request for Accommodations AIM Application Form Link<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

2<\/span><\/div><\/div>

Discuss ESA Process with Staff<\/h2><\/div>\n

Meet with the Office of Student Accessibility Services staff to discuss ESA process<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

3<\/span><\/div><\/div>

Supply Requested Documents<\/h2><\/div>\n

A. Letter from therapeutic provider<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Submit the provider letter to the Office of Student Accessibility Services studentaccessibilityservices@tarleton.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Animal must be bona fide, and its need must be documented in a letter from a provider. For non-observable disabilities, documentation must be signed, dated, and presented on professional letterhead from a reliable and qualified professional. The letter provided by the therapeutic provider should contain:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Whether the patient has a physical or mental impairment<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Whether the patient\u2019s impairment(s) substantially limit at least one major life activity or major bodily function<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Whether the patient needs the animal(s) (because it does work, provides assistance, or performs at least one task that benefits the patient because of his or her disability, or because it provides therapeutic support to alleviate a symptom or effect of the disability of the patient, and merely as a pet)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. A relationship or connection between the disability and the need for the assistance animal<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. Whether the health care professional has personal knowledge of the patient and a professional relationship with the patient\/client involving the provision of health care or disability related services<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    B. Animal Health and Public Health\/Safety<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Submit all Animal Health Information to The Department of Residence Life to Adrianna Rousseau at arousseau@tarleton.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    1. Proof of Vaccinations:<\/strong> Species specific vaccination and vet records to show proof of absence of fleas, ticks, or other parasites<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    2. Proof of Ongoing Preventative:<\/strong> Species specific heartworm, flea, and tick preventative<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    3. Proof of spay\/neuter<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
    4. Color photo of the animal<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      Note: The Department of Residence Life will follow up with the animal’s veterinarian to verify the animal does not exhibit aggressive or protective behaviors and if the animal is housebroken.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      C. Completion of ESA Documents<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Submit ESA Guidelines and Documentation, Animal Owner Responsibilities, Animal Owner Responsibilities in Campus Housing Confirmation of Understanding Form, and Roommate Acknowledgement Form to The Department of Residence Life to Adrianna Rousseau at arousseau@tarleton.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \n
      1. Review of ESA Guidelines and Animal Owner Responsibilities<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      2. Animal Owner Responsibilities in Campus Housing Confirmation<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      3. Roommate Agreement<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      4. Animal Registration Form<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
        4<\/span><\/div><\/div>

        ESA Committe Review<\/h2><\/div>\n

        Once all information from Step 3 has been submitted, the ESA Committee comprised of staff members of the Office of Student Accessibility Services and Department of Residence Life will review ESA applications. The ESA Committee reviews ESA applications on a weekly basis. The ESA application will be approved or declined by the ESA Committee. The student will be notified via TSU email of the ESA Committee\u2019s decision. If an ESA application is declined, the email will include suggestions made by the ESA Committee.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        Emotional Support Animals (ESA) Tarleton State University is aware of its responsibility to provide safe living environment to all students who wish to live on campus.\u00a0 In keeping with this …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":468,"featured_media":580,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"template-fullwidth.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","_wds_title":"","_wds_metadesc":"","_wds_focus-keywords":"","_wds_meta-robots-adv":"","_wds_meta-robots-noindex":false,"_wds_meta-robots-nofollow":false,"_wds_meta-robots-index":false,"_wds_meta-robots-follow":false,"_wds_autolinks-exclude":false,"_wds_canonical":"","_wds_redirect":"","_wds_opengraph":[],"_wds_twitter":[],"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1023","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"coauthors":[],"author_meta":{"author_link":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/sas\/author\/egorman\/","display_name":"egorman"},"relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 3 years ago","modified":"Updated 2 weeks ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on July 7, 2023","modified":"Updated on June 4, 2026"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on July 7, 2023 7:00 pm","modified":"Updated on June 4, 2026 7:43 pm"},"featured_img_caption":"","featured_img":false,"series_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/sas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1023","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/sas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/sas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/sas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/468"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/sas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1023"}],"version-history":[{"count":23,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/sas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1023\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1564,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/sas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1023\/revisions\/1564"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/sas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1023"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}