Service dogs on campus

Most students on Muhlenberg’s campus have probably seen a student or faculty member with a service dog walking alongside them in the hallways of a building or down the sidewalk. Service dogs are perhaps the most well-known and visible kind of support animal for people with mental illnesses or disabilities—however, they’re not the only one.

Students with documented disabilities, where symptoms may be improved with the support of an ESA (emotional support animal), are permitted to have an animal live with them in college housing.

Emotional support animals are a little different than service animals, both in the tasks they perform and where they can and cannot be taken on campus. Service animals are trained to perform specific tasks for their handlers, such as opening doors and responding to seizures. They are permitted in most, if not all, areas on campus, and stay with their handler at all times.

Emotional support animals, however, are not necessarily trained to perform tasks, and cannot be taken everywhere with their handler, to classes or to get meals, for example. For some students, having an ESA available to them in their dorm may help reduce the symptoms of their mental illness or disability that impact their ability to live in college housing.

ESAs are approved on an individual basis by the Office of Disability Services. Students and the healthcare provider treating their illness or disability must submit an application and documentation of the student’s illness or disability. Students must also make sure their animal is in compliance with Pennsylvania and Allentown animal licensing, vaccination, and health regulations.

If you believe you have a mental illness or disability that may be aided by an ESA or service animal, please contact the Office of Disability Services to discuss the application process.

More information on service animals, emotional support animals, and accommodations for students with disabilities can be found on the Muhlenberg Office of Disability Services website, http://www.muhlenberg.edu/ main/aboutus/disabilities/.