MD Emotional Support Animal (ESA) during med school?

[pharmchica15]

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[mehc012]

You're not going to be dismissed. In fact, you CAN'T be dismissed for requesting accomodations.
My bet is the med school itself doesn't handle the dorms, and they don't give a rat's (or a cat's) arse about anything to do with it unless you get yourself on the wrong side of Security/administration.
However, I'd vote that a dorm is a horrible place to try to raise a cat, not just for your sake and your neighbors', but for the animal itself.

Animals are expensive. Part of that cost is appropriate housing. If you're not willing to find a good locale for you and the animal, you shouldn't own an animal.

 

[Moko]

Move to a place that's okay with cats. Oh, and consider adopting from a shelter . I got mine there and she's awesome when she's not drawing blood.

 

[Goro]

Move to a place that's okay with cats. Oh, and consider adopting from a shelter . I got mine there and she's awesome when she's not drawing blood.

Our local Petco has adoptions of fostered cats. My avatar (Eggplant) was a street rescue.

 

[deleted480308]

Please just apply to places that take pets for a lease. Don’t be the jerk that knowingly applies places that don’t take pets, sign the lease without mentioning the pet and then drop the esa pet thing on the landlord. I know a guy who did that and it’s a jerk move

I’d also look carefully into what rules are for ESAs as they are very much not the same as a service animal

 

[nimbus]

OP do you currently have a cat or had one in the past? If not why do you think a cat will help you going forward? And what if the cat you get turns out to be a jerk and is not supportive at all?

 

[nimbus]

Move to a place that's okay with cats. Oh, and consider adopting from a shelter . I got mine there and she's awesome when she's not drawing blood.

Agree. This is what grownups do. Be a grownup.

 

[Terry Toma]

Please just apply to places that take pets for a lease. Don’t be the jerk that knowingly applies places that don’t take pets, sign the lease without mentioning the pet and then drop the esa pet thing on the landlord. I know a guy who did that and it’s a jerk move

Yep. I've had my dog for 10+ years. In that time, I've lived everywhere from small college towns to major cities. I've never had a problem finding housing that allowed my pet without any finagling.

It takes a little bit more effort to find pet-friendly accommodations and you may not be able to live in your absolute first choice of housing, but it's worth it if you actually care about your pet and enjoy having it around. I guarantee that wherever your school is, there are plenty of apartments available that allow cats.

 

[Dr. Rafiki]

Posts like these make me genuinely worried about the current generation's ability to be healers.

Here's a grown-up pro tip: don't expect everyone in life to bend to your will; stop walking through life with your hands out waiting for someone to hold them. Anxiety is no joke and if you truly suffer, then seek medical attention. Either way, stop trying to skirt the rules and go find a pet-rent-friendly apartment.

 

[nimbus]

From an earlier thread on the same topic.

The Confusion About Pets

Why are so many animals now in places where they shouldn’t be?

www.newyorker.com

The thread...

emotional support animal

Hello everyone, I am applying next cycle and I am trying to apply for an emotional support animal. The reason for this is mainly for a larger selection of living availability and I know I could qualify for one using online services because of my anxiety. I do handle it well but I am having a...

forums.studentdoctor.net

 

[samac]

We currently have 3 cats—two are 13 years old (striped calico and gray) and the third (orange) is 6 years old. All three were rescues, and I wouldn’t trade any of them for the world—not even the last one who prefers to sleep under the couch/bed 75% of the time.

I’ve recently been volunteering at our local humane society and have interacted with many of the rescues there, so that is where I would be adopting an adult cat if I were to get one.

Thanks for all your advice on how it would look to the medical school itself. Now I just need to decide if I want to deal with the ridicule and doubt about my ability to: live in a decent apartment, which kind of cat I’m going to get, and my maturity level despite not knowing that other financial (aid) requirements take precedence and require me to live on campus—none of which related to the question I asked. And before people question my ability to financially care for a cat, there is quite a big difference between the hundreds to even a thousand or two for emergency vet expenses versus the $7,000+ difference for a different apartment for the year.


Thanks!

Get snippy all ya want but these people are right.
If you pull the ESA move you’re being an dingus if you do not have a legitimate already established need.
You’re welcome to continue to volunteer at local shelters for your cat fix, but don’t be apart of the abuse to the system.

 

[Premed2295]

Choose a place that allows pets and rescue.
Rescued 2 puppies during MS1 and they are napping on me now. (I’m at the end of MS1 now)

 

[ciestar]

I have two cats. Many of my classmates have cats and others also have dogs. Just find a place that allows them. Please don’t be “that guy” when cats especially are so easy to accommodate most places you choose to live.

 

[percyeye]

You have three cats already and now you're looking to get another cat?
Either you are bending rules in order to save money so that you can have your cats on campus, or you are saying that you are so emotionally unstable that you need 4 cats in your life in order to function. Either way is not a good mind set for a future medical professional imho.

 

[fldoctorgirl]

Choose a place that allows pets and rescue.
Rescued 2 puppies during MS1 and they are napping on me now. (I’m at the end of MS1 now)

You can PM me if you don't wanna derail this thread, but can you talk about how that experience was? I want to get a dog after this summer when M2 starts and would love to hear how juggling life works!

 

[Chibucks15]

You can PM me if you don't wanna derail this thread, but can you talk about how that experience was? I want to get a dog after this summer when M2 starts and would love to hear how juggling life works!

My friends got one before M1 and the only reason it wasn’t an issue was because he could study at home and take care of the dog.

With rotations you won’t know your schedule and can’t realistically run home to let the dog out so you’ll have to be ready to pay for day care and things like that. Dogs require a lot more time than cats.

My fiancée and I debated getting one but realized it isn’t fair to the dog in our situation to be either constantly locked up or at a daycare

 

[fldoctorgirl]

My friends got one before M1 and the only reason it wasn’t an issue was because he could study at home and take care of the dog.

With rotations you won’t know your schedule and can’t realistically run home to let the dog out so you’ll have to be ready to pay for day care and things like that. Dogs require a lot more time than cats.

My fiancée and I debated getting one but realized it isn’t fair to the dog in our situation to be either constantly locked up or at a daycare

I study from home now that we've transitioned to our M2 curriculum so that's why we decided to wait till M2. During M1 I had to be at school for long periods at a time pretty much every day because of anatomy lab etc. My SO is also in school but his schedule is pretty predictable and pretty much 9-5. Rotations are a concern for me, although since I have my SO who would always be home at a predictable time it doesn't seem much different to me than having a dog as an adult with a job. Thank you for sharing!

 

[nimbus]

For those considering dogs while in medical school, remember they live 10-15 years and residency will start before you know it. Be sure to have your ducks lined up. It helps to have a spouse or significant other with an undemanding career.

 

[nimbus]

People Are Taking Emotional Support Animals Everywhere. States Are Cracking Down. (Published 2019)

More Americans are saying they need a variety of animals — dogs, ducks, even insects — for their mental health. But critics say many are really just pets that do not merit special status.

www.google.com

 

[OraclePL]

Always enjoy when someone posts a question, gets answers to their question along with entertaining/peripherally related comments/criticisms, and then takes offense. I'm continually surprised at how many people are new to the Internet in 2019.

To answer the question: the med school won't care

My peripherally related tangent: obviously pets provide comfort. Everyone who's ever had one knows this. But to make that leap to "ESA" is being overused and abused by a significant number of Americans nowadays. Ridiculous how many doctors are signing letters stating patients need to take their healing duck with them on a plane, with no regard for others on the same flight. It de-legitimizes those with PTSD and serious mental health issues who truly need their ESA. If the NYT article is any indication, public perception is swinging back the other way.

 

[Smurfette]

Always enjoy when someone posts a question, gets answers to their question along with entertaining/peripherally related comments/criticisms, and then takes offense. I'm continually surprised at how many people are new to the Internet in 2019.

To answer the question: the med school won't care

My peripherally related tangent: obviously pets provide comfort. Everyone who's ever had one knows this. But to make that leap to "ESA" is being overused and abused by a significant number of Americans nowadays. Ridiculous how many doctors are signing letters stating patients need to take their healing duck with them on a plane, with no regard for others on the same flight. It de-legitimizes those with PTSD and serious mental health issues who truly need their ESA. If the NYT article is any indication, public perception is swinging back the other way.

I don't think the problem is tons of doctors signing letters. It's that patients can go on the internet, pay a small fee, and get a letter stating the need for an ESA so that they can bring their pets to inappropriate places.