Colleges are struggling to deal with increasing student demand for "comfort animals"

Everyone needs a mental health animal.

I was not willing to give up my dog so I lived off campus.

Problem solved.

"I ain't pickin' up yo dawgs sheeit, girl."

Make the students pay for an special insurance against attacks, bites. Also a tax to compensate the additional cleaning costs to the college. Make some dorms pet free and others pet friendly. Make the students with pets have some certificate saying they are conscientious pet owners. Then it all shouldn't be such a big deal. Also no pets in the classroom, student centre, etc. If the student can't go to class without a pet, (because of PTSD or whatever, not because of blindness) then the student can't manage a college education.

More millennial nonsense, vows the NY Times. More, more!

People and institutions seem to have lost the ability to say no.

Student: Can I bring my dog?

School: NO.

Student: But I'm depressed and anxious.

School: Come back when you can handle going to school without a living blankie.

R4 is an idiot. You are making generalizations based on anecdotal evidence because you are looking for any excuse to bash millennials

Probably 99.9999% of students do not have any kind of animal. Get some statistics to back up your arguments

College tuition has risen exponentially, and students who are paying more expect greater considerations. I like the accommodations R3 has suggested.

And when it's time to go to work or rent an apartment? They'll want the same.

Soon they'll have doctor's notes saying mommy has to come with them everywhere including the exam room to comfort them.

I have a spirit animal. Does that count?

I feel much less depressed and anxious when I have a cock in my mouth. Do I qualify for this program?

If I was forced to remove my wig, then these bitches don't get a kitty in their backpack!!!

Accommodating these special snowflakes means not accommodating the other special snowflakes who are allergic to animals.

If a student is too fragile to attend university without a "comfort animal" then that student needs to stay home with Mum and Dad and take day classes a local college.

Yes on that point there should be a glory hole room in some dorms, to keep the young men calm, otherwise they'll get scratchy.

LMAO...this article is bullshit. Move off campus if you want a dog. I remember living in the doors and would've gone apeshit if I had to listen to barking dogs all day.

Everyone has a disorder today. Were people different when I was younger?

Is this rampant overduagnosis or is it the effects of growing up in a connected world -- perhaps an overconnected world?

*Overdiagnosis

Horses and especially Trigger-like ones trigger me.

For that reason I was unable to attend Miss Porter's. I demand reparations. I never made much of my life having been denied Miss Porter's.

are you being triggered?

Well... I am getting a little itchy

No one has a *right* to live in campus housing. Tell the students the school is fine with it, but they have to live off campus. Problem solved.

My husband is highly allergic to dogs

[quote]If a student is too fragile to attend university without a "comfort animal" then that student needs to stay home with Mum and Dad and take day classes a local college.

r12 is spot on.

The only animal for which they ought to make an accommodation is a seeing eye dog for a blind person or other service dog used by handicapped people.

Americans always bring their dogs everywhere with them, even to work. They're just spoiled, narcissistic brats.

I have a cat; nasty hilarious punk of a cat. I call him my discomfort animal.

Comfort animals are the biggest fucking grift since mood rings.

In Michigan you can have comfort wolverines. It's the law. Look it up.

Who cares R25? It's Michigan.

r26

Sounds pretty racist to me.

When you said "comfort animals," I thought you were talking about sheep and goats.

Baaaaaad Idea . . . . .🐏 🐑 🐐

[quote] Everyone has a disorder today. Were people different when I was younger?

No, but society was.

The loons were locked up in state mental hospitals.

Now they're running education and the media.

My snowflake needs her little Snowflake!!!!

I miss my cat who died last week. She was so pretty. She came to us fully adult and had been well cared for by someone who obviously told her repeatedly that she was a very pretty girl. It took a while for her to convey this to us, but when we finally caught on and told her what a pretty girl she was many times per day and night, we were richly rewarded with her approval.

She was The Queen, she was Princess Pretty Paws, she was HoosDatPrettyKitty, she was Beauty Boots, she was Yes, Fur Majesty.

Will I ever find another cat who demands such adoration and soaks it up so heartily?

I want my comfort animal back.

I need to bring my heard of alpacas to work because I'm anxious otherwise.

herd ^^

I want to go to college so Bootsy Gumdrops and I can bring greater understanding to humanity. She's a rescue and her name is Bootsy Gum Drop. We want to major in fashion. Bootsy Gumsdrops wants to too. She is a rescue.

Just write your term paper.

PLEASE Tell me this is from the "Onion" or something. If this is real, I weep for humanity.

If you can't handle the real world without taking your fucking "comfort" animal with you every fucking where, then stay the fuck home with Mommy.

Jesus fucking Christ! We're turning into a nation of pussies! Trigger warnings. Comfort animals. Super politically correct because WE DO NOT WANT TO HURT SOMEONE'S WIDDLE FEEWINGS!

These delicate snowflakes need to be hit in the face with a dodge ball. This is the future of your country, 'Merca!

My husband is highly allergic to dogs. He refuses to get shots because he attended a college with an attached medical center. One of the students was getting allergy shots and was given a shot 100 times what she was supposed to get and she died. So no allergy shots for him.

It would have been hilarious for him to be in a dorm with dogs. He is the loudest sneezer on our planet earth. Maybe in the universe. You would have students cowering in their dorm corners with him sneezing all night long.

I just heard a herd of alpacas in the break room headbutting the coke machine.

They said some words

They left some turds

Then off they went

To chase some birds

Then they paused to eat

Some whey and curds

While sipping stolen Cokes

Those silly nerds!

It's not a joke,

It's not a hoax

Everyone knows...."Things go better with Coke."

Oh. these? These are my comfort tarantulas. I MUST have them with me AT ALL TIMES! I suffer from ADD, ADHD, PTSD, MDD, FDS, STP, PDQ, ZYZ,WD40, FTD,ASAP and fibromylagia. If I cannot have my comfort tarantulas with me, I will call my mom to come to the collage and whine to the dean about how I'm such a precious, unique and special snowflake who NEEDS emotional support AT ALL TIMES to bolster my self esteem.

they get longer time to write exams, too

I am addicted to drugs and have been declared disabled by the state. I need my drug dealer living with me at school. I need to have access to him at all times. What if I wake up in the middle of the night, going through withdrawal and my cell phone doesn't get a signal? Or if he is too far away to get me a fix in a reasonable period of time? I could die while withdrawing from narcotics and/or benzodiazepines.

It's not my fault I am addicted. I hurt my back in gym class in 8th grade. I successfully sued the school when I was 15 and was caught with OxyContin that was not prescribed for me. It was the school's fault for not giving me free physical and mental rehabilitation throughout my school years.

It is my goal to run for president of the United States when I graduate.

R39 You forgot to mention PMS

My dog died when I left for college. It never occurred to me to bring him to live in my dorm. I wonder what would have happened if I'd been allowed.

University campus, 2015

I thought a comfort pet was their cell phone.

The problem is most colleges require freshmen to live on campus their first year so living with your pet in off campus housing isn't an option.

one of the requested support animals

Well, Harry Potter had one, so now they all want one.

In my day, THIS was the only pet we could bring to school!

I could have cried when I learned that my comfort animal, Andy, would be with me in the dorm. He loves to roam the hallways and when he returns he sticks his tongue at me mischievously and finds a corner curl up in.

Yes, you're right..it HAS gone all quiet. It's usually a menagerie around here.

The name? OH! 'Andy' is my anaconda. I thought you knew?

The school can designate one building or one floor within a building to be "animal-friendly" one, so all the mentals can comfort each other and share their animals together.

Are there going to be animal bathrooms? Or will they use the women's washroom?

I fucking love you, R38.

The New York Times has been doing this behind-the-scenes feature and the author of the article described an overwhelming backlash to the story. People like animals, but comfort animals were seen as a little too much.

The idea of comfort animals everywhere delights me.

Of course, I can't wait for my chanceto wear cologne again.

Klonopin doesn't poo and it doesn't die. There. Problem solved. You're welcome.

How do think the animals feel?

This must be so triggering.

I wonder if these are students with documented mental disorders that make them handicapped? If you can be declared handicapped for a psych disorder, then you can get an SSI check every month and demand "handicapped accommodations." People with wheelchairs demand ramps and elevators and get them. People who are unhinged say, "We're disabled too. We need our pets with us at all time."

[quote]I thought a comfort pet was their cell phone.

No, their cell is their absolute bestest friend forever.

I don't see how anyone could object to a fluffy dog. They are so cute.

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

R29 Yeah that's why most dataloungers aren't locked up, uh-huh.

This country has lost its damn mind.

My friend who works at the New School told me a student has a comfort snake and her roommate objected. So the school had to find the roommate another room and snake gal got a single (at a double price). Frankly when I first heard this story, I thought it was embellished. I now believe it.

I don't think this is a good idea for the animals, taking care of a pet is a lot of work. They need a lot of love and attention, I don't see how the students could dedicate enough time to taking care of a pet. Most college students can barely take care of themselves.

This whole idea seems very selfish to me.

Bernie sanders wants to provide a therapy pet for every American: including housing, grooming, 2 meals and a snack.

They will have their own tumblr in the 2.0 version

These kids should stay at home and be commuters if they can't deal with the real world.

Well it is a non issue now, as colleges are shuttered and students dispersed back to their families. Who knows when colleges will open their campuses.