Know how to properly address situations involving potential ESA, service animal fraud

Occasionally, students deliberately misrepresent their pets as emotional support animals, service dogs, or both. The internet is rife with scam sites that offer ESA letters for a fee, and some students have purchased letters from those sites. Adding to the problem, students living in residence halls with already approved ESA dogs sometimes claim they have trained their dog to be a psychiatric service dog, allowing them to take it to classes and meals. These students may simply show up with their dog in classrooms or campus food services with rehearsed but fraudulent answers to the two approved Department of Justice questions.