Therapy can come in many forms. For Maggie Patterson, sophomore in anthropology, therapy is a playful, tail-wagging dog named Pippa.

Pippa is not a pet. The 5-year-old lab-pointer mix is an emotional support animal — one of two types of medical assistance animals that helps reduce an owner’s anxiety.

Patterson lives in Maricopa, a university-owned apartment. While pets are not allowed university housing, emotional support animals can live with students because they provide a medical service to the student.

In order for a student to own an emotional support animal in a campus residence, they must have documentation to prove they have a disability.

The Americans with Disabilities Act, as well as the Fair Housing Act, allow people to keep emotional support animals in their homes as long as they have documentation of a disability and a need for the animal for therapeutic reasons as recommended by a qualified treating professional.

Student Disability Resources uses the documentation to make sure the animal is a need for the student’s health.

Patterson has had depression and anxiety for about seven years. She and her family always had dogs at home, but at college, Patterson didn’t have that constant support system.

“It was getting kind of overwhelming,” Patterson said of her lack of animal and family interaction. “I wasn’t going to class as much as I should have. I wasn’t getting work done that I should have. I knew that if I had an animal here, I’d just be doing better and she’s already proven to help that.”

Emotional support animals are different from service animals. Service animals provide a specifically trained service to a student who, for example, may be blind and needs a certified seeing-eye dog. Service animals are able to go anywhere on campus because the student needs that animal to go about his or her daily life.

Emotional support animals can only live in the student’s residence and aren’t trained. The presence of the animal improves the student’s mental health and quality of life.

“The individual who possesses the animal gets comfort and/or support from the animal’s assistance and/or having to care for the animal,” said Lisa Ludovico, assistant director for the Department of Residence. “[The animal’s] very presence provides some sort of comfort or support for the individual.”

Keith Robinder, assistant dean of students and director of student assistance, said students should know that wanting a pet is different than needing an emotional support animal.

“It really should be a diagnostic recommendation,” Robinder said. “Anxiety, nationally, is one of the biggest mental health issues that college students are facing. Rather than treating anxiety with medication, having an animal is a nonmedical intervention that can really provide a lot of support and therapy. It’s a diagnosis.”

If Student Disability Resources deems the student eligible for a service animal, the student’s request goes to the Department of Residence, where Ludovico makes sure the student’s housing accommodation is met. The student needs to give the Department of Residence a minimum of 30 days to make sure the student has documentation and determine the student’s housing eligibility.

Patterson said the process went smoother than she thought it would.

“It was a lot easier than I was expecting. I was expecting to have to jump through a lot of hoops, but once I got the ball rolling, it moved really quickly,” Patterson said as she patted Pippa’s head.

Pippa has lived in Patterson’s apartment since late September. The two have developed a routine of walks, naps and playtime.

“I haven’t had [Pippa] long, but it’s already been really helpful in getting me up in the morning and definitely a way to help me calm down,” Patterson said. “If I’m ever getting anxious or anything, she gives me someone to take care of, which is good because it keeps me busy so my mind isn’t focusing on bad stuff or overworking itself.”

Pippa is Patterson’s only roommate. The four-legged companion is a great roommate, Patterson said, in that Pippa doesn’t bark too often and hasn’t had any “accidents.”

“She hasn’t broken anything yet, either,” Patterson said as Pippa snuggled into her lap.

Iowa State does not have a specific policy on the use of an emotional support animal. Steve Moats, director of student disability resources, said he has seen an increased amount of students requesting an emotional support animal, so it was time to develop a policy.

Currently, there are 12 students in university housing with an assistance animal. The increase, Moats said, might be a result from both an increase in enrollment and an increase in students with disabilities on campus.

“Up until this point, we haven’t had a specific emotional support animal policy to guide us,” Moats said.

The current policy is an “Animals on Campus” policy, which says “for sanitation and safety reasons…animals are not permitted in university buildings. This prohibition shall not apply to animals that are specially trained for and under the control of an individual with disabilities…”

ISU offices including Student Disability Resources, Department of Residence, human resources, dean of students, dining, health and legal are working to develop the new policy that would better explain the differences between the two assistance animals and the criteria needed for each.

Robinder said creating a policy is a way to make sure students know that they can’t use a disability as a loophole for wanting a pet.

“We are very meticulous about differentiating that. It’s not just that people can say ‘hey, I really want [a pet].’ Ultimately the criteria for [having an animal on] campus is: it’s really a necessary treatment for their health condition,” Robinder said.

There is no set date for when the policy will go into effect, but Robinder and Moats said they hope to see it in place by the end of this academic year.

Patterson has noticed the benefits of living with Pippa and said she plans on keeping her companion around the rest of her college career.

“It’s already helped so much,” she said. “I’ve been going to all my classes and getting all my work done and it’s just having her here helps me get on a schedule and get everything taken care of.”

Patterson adopted Pippa from a rescue shelter in Mason City; however, Patterson said Pippa, whose name was Shasta when she was adopted, has also rescued her.

“She has a mark on her chest and it looks like a P,” Patterson said. “So she’s kind of like a superhero. She has me to take care of her, but I also have her to help take care of me.”