Requests for an emotional support animal (ESA) is considered a housing accommodation that follows the same procedure. Upon approval of an ESA, students must sign an agreement, provide emergency contacts, and comply with the following expectations:
- Provide your Emotional Support Animal (ESA) with water daily, food at regular periods, and appropriate exercise.
- Properly harness, leash, or tether your approved ESA animal when outside the residence hall room. The animal must be on a leash of reasonable length and under control when exercised outside of the residence hall room.
- Confine, pen, or crate your ESA when you are not at home in your residence hall room to ensure that the animal is safe and does not escape if a college employee or an emergency worker needs to enter your room.
- Not be permitted to bring your ESA into the common areas of your residence hall, or academic buildings, or kitchens.
- Not infringe on the rights of the other occupants of the residence hall to be comfortable in their living areas as a result of the ESA barking, howling, squealing, or otherwise causing a disturbance.
- Understand the need for your ESA to be evacuated from your room by the fire department and/or safety officers in your absence in the event of a fire or fire alarm.
- Properly clean up after your ESA by yourself, whether indoors or outdoors, with all waste deposited in baggies and then put directly into the proper trash dumpster.
- Carefully monitor the animal's health. The animal's documentation needs to be in compliance with all state and local vaccination, health, and licensing requirements. In the event of illness and/or the need for constant care, the college would expect you to quickly arrange for your animal to be brought home or to the vet, or to be housed at a kennel, until the health problem is fully resolved.
- Ensure that your animal does not damage college property. You will be held responsible for any damages or injury caused to others.
- Understand that permission to have a support animal in CIA housing does not extend to other campus facilities or campus grounds at large.
- ESAs will not be permitted to continue to live in the residence halls if the ESA becomes a nuisance due to noise, hygiene, or aggressiveness.
- If the ESA agreement is violated in any way, the assistance animal will not be allowed to continue living in the residence halls.