Emotional Support Animals
sniffing out the facts
Nadia and Stitch
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One of Isla Vista’s most beloved residents isn’t a frat star, a pro surfer, or the president of student government; it’s a pudgy Cocker Spaniel mix named Stitch.
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Stitch can often be found strutting down Sueno Road with what looks like a smile on his face, sometimes in trendy canine apparel (including a yellow raincoat and boots on rainy days), accompanied by his owner Nadia Raymundo. The hair atop his head is dyed blue and he even has his own Instagram account.
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But unlike most dogs in Isla Vista, Stitch has a secret. He was brought to Isla Vista by Nadia from her family home in LA before her third year in college to help her cope with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
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Nadia was diagnosed with PTSD after an undisclosed event during college. After the occurrence, she frequently traveled home to be with family and receive psychiatric treatment. She was put on medication to manage her symptoms, but quickly learned that the side effects did more harm than good.
She found that one of the most comforting things about her visits home was her dog, Stitch. He helped alleviate some of the tension and anxiety she experienced when undergoing treatment.
So Nadia decided to talk to her psychiatrist about prescribing Stitch as an emotional support animal. This way, she could bring him to Santa Barbara
and he could function as her main source of comfort and emotional assistance when coping with symptoms.
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“I personally like him better than taking medicine,” she says. “Having him around to take my mind off things and give me love is so much more helpful.”
Simply the need to take care of Stitch helps Nadia work through difficult moments.
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“Having to walk him, feed him, and give him attention—it keeps me active and my mind busy,” she says. “It’s good having something to take care of.”
And Stitch reciprocates.
“I get a lot of triggers sometimes, and it gets really overwhelming in the moment,” says Nadia. “To have him there with me… it’s like somehow he knows I’m sad or something and he’ll just sit next to me. It’s amazing to have that extra company so that I don’t feel so alone on my journey.”
While Nadia’s five housemates welcomed Stitch with open arms, her landlords had a different reaction. They charged her
$1,000 in fees and required her to get pet liability insurance for another $100. They also required her roommates to sign a special pet agreement.
“I thought I was supposed to just turn in the letter from my psychiatrist and it would’ve been okay,” says Nadia. “But they kept asking for all these things and made it really complicated.”
Nadia complied with the landlords’ requests but still felt skeptical. She conducted research online and found that the Fair Housing Act protects her from having to pay any pet-related fees so long as she has a letter from her psychiatrist—which she did.
So she consulted an attorney at UCSB’s Associated Students Legal Resource Center. The attorney supported Nadia when confronting her landlords to get the fees waived, and provided her with more information about the legal rights of ESA owners.
Despite having to go through this process, Nadia is grateful for to have Stitch living with her as she struggles to overcome her PTSD.
Their relationship is symbiotic. Nadia finds happiness having him by her side, holding him during difficult moments, taking him out on walks, and capturing his happiest (and cutest) moments to share on his Instagram page. And Stitch sure looks like he finds equal joy in being the center of attention. But, for him, Nadia always come first.