A rapidly-growing Change.org petition is campaigning for a University of Kent lecturer to be allowed to bring his emotional support dog on campus.
More than 1,200 people have signed the petition, which is calling for the university to revoke its recent ban on criminology lecturer Simon Gellar’s dog Wolf. Gellar has a degenerative spine condition, and says his German Shepherd helps calm his anxiety and manage pain. The university claimed that Wolf poses a “serious” health and safety risk and must be left at home.
Maddie Sanderson, a student who started the petition, says, “Wolf has been a constant presence at Simon’s side on campus in the past year without any detrimental impact on students or staff. Wolf is not just a pet, he provides Simon with emotional support.
“Unfortunately, Wolf’s presence on campus is currently being disputed. Health and Safety at Kent are claiming that Wolf is unsafe, that his fur could potentially harm or even kill people. They also claim that Simon’s condition does not warrant a dog on campus.”
One of the signatories, Rebekah McGrane, commented, “This is wrong! I live with chronic pain that prevents me from working. If having his dog with him enables him to continue working, without having to resort to painkillers that affect his ability to do his job properly, then it should be allowed. If he was blind then he would be allowed a guide dog, this is essentially no different.”
This has long been an point of contention in the current law on assistance dogs, as emotional support animals who do not fall within the ‘prescribed disability’ categories are excluded from this definition. As a result, these animals and their owners do not have the same legal rights as assistance dogs, despite numerous studies highlighting the mental health benefits they provide.
