Homesickness, worry, and helplessness are all feelings experienced by college students when they leave their homes for college. Service animals and emotional support animals can help students bridge that gap and thrive in college.
Victoria, a seven-year-old Corgi, is the emotional support animal for Susannah Knepper-Quijano, a sophomore. Knepper-Quijano is from Cocoa Beach, FL, which is a nine-hour drive away from Samford. Knepper-Quijano is very close with her family and wanted to bring a piece of home with her to Samford.
“She’s great at reading emotions. She knows if you’re feeling stressed or anxious. She’ll just come and sit by you and lean on you. It’s been made the experience just feel a lot less stressful and a lot more like, okay, this is a place that I can really make my home,” Knepper-Quijano said.
Knepper-Quijano urges anyone struggling with homesickness to request the help they need.
“I think it’s okay to miss your family or miss your home, and it’s okay to think, ‘I need something here,’ you know, and reach out for help,” Knepper-Quijano said.
While some students have emotional needs, others’ are physical.
Goose, a one-year-old Golden Retriever, is freshman Mackenzie Robertson’s service dog.
Robertson, who plays mallet instruments in Samford’s marching band front ensemble, was diagnosed with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (known as POTS) and Functional Neurological Disorder (known as FND) in her sophomore year of high school. Robertson finds power in sharing her story.
“I’m very open about what I deal with because I see it as something, and it’s taken awhile to get here, but I’ve seen it as something that God has given me in order to relate to other people and help them through that,” Robertson said.
Goose is trained to perform deep pressure therapy and can fetch dropped items; he is currently being trained to give cardiac alerts and open automatic doors.
When he’s not working, Goose can be found running around on Boren Courtyard and befriending students. “He definitely gets a lot more attention here, especially when he’s off duty and walking around campus and lots of people say hello,” said Robertson.
Goose has his own Instagram account, @sillygoose_service dog, where Robertson shares their life together at Samford. He has 473 followers.
Arts & Life Editor
Want the Crimson delivered to your inbox each week? Subscribe below!
