Write up: Pets are not Allowed on Campus…

Photo provided by Valerianne Hinkley.

September 19, 2023

Valerianne Hinkley of UMF’s Journalism Club

Despite pets not being allowed on campus, lots of students have what would be considered pets. This year students are seeing more animals across campus and different varieties. All of them are either Emotional Support Animals (ESAs) or Service Animals/Service Animals in Training, they are all hard workers here to help their human companions. There is a process to go through to get an animal on campus and there are precautions to protect the safety of the animal as well as other students.

Contrary to popular belief, students are not allowed to have pets on campus. The only animals that are allowed on campus are ESAs or Service Animals, with the exception of being a fish-friendly campus where students can have pet fish with a maximum tank size of 10 gallons. This year people are seeing or hearing about a lot of animals on campus and a lot of concerns and questions have been circling around UMF.

“It is a process to get an ESA,” Director of Disability Services, Patrick Kelley said.

He stressed that before students bring an animal on campus they should do the proper paperwork that is needed to have an ESA or Service Animal so that students don’t face an animal eviction.

“If an animal is misbehaving or the resident with the animal isn’t taking care of it, in both of those situations, the animal is removed,”  Kelley said. 

There are responsibilities that owners have to follow to keep everyone safe. According to the Responsibility of an Individual with an ESA In University Housing document, “ the university may require the individual to remove the animal from housing if: 1. the animal poses a direct threat to the health or safety of others.”

Jessica Gervais is one of many students that has an Emotional Support cat in a residence hall.

“I don’t think it’s hard [to have him in such a small space]. There’s lots of places for him to climb and to hide and he likes that,” Gervais said.

She made it clear that her concern was not with keeping a cat in the small area of a dorm room, but with the university's expectations when she has to step out of her room.

According to the document above “the Owner is responsible for ensuring that the ESA is contained (caged or crated) as appropriate, when the Owner is not present during the day while attending classes or other activities.” Gervais said on average she is out of her room four to five hours a day, but on certain days she can be out for at least seven hours and her cat is expected to be contained during this long duration of time.

Purina’s Finding A Cat article says “There is no definite rule for how much room cats need to feel comfortable. In general, an area of about 20 square feet scattered throughout the various rooms in the house can be considered an absolute minimum amount of space for a cat.” A majority of the dorms in the residence halls on campus do not have this much space which could impact the ESAs behavior and health. Animals that are changing environments need to be kept on close watch for signs of distress over long periods of time. After a few weeks, the animal should be adjusted to the new environment of campus life.

Students and staff have made reports that there are animals on campus that are not registered through the Learning Assistance Center. Kelley stressed that it is important to get animals approved through the proper channels before bringing them to campus in case of an emergency and to ensure everyone’s safety, including the animals. 

If a student or someone else has a concern about an animal on campus they can contact the Learning Assistance Center at lac-umf@maine.edu or they can contact UMF Housing through the umfhousing@maine.edu email. 

Students can contact the Learning Assistance Center at lac-umf@maine.edu to receive an application and paperwork about having an animal on campus. The university also has the right to deny or evict an animal if they find it necessary.