LONG BEACH, California

Zeus and Hercules engaged in a friendly spar inside the disabled student services office at Cal State Long Beach on a recent Thursday morning.

The tussle came wore down to a draw, with both panting their way back to their owners, Kamilah Alegre, who takes care of Hercules the Siberian husky, and Lacey Alderman, who cares for Zeus the pitbull and mastiff mix.

The two students bring the dogs to class under a campus program that allows service and emotional support animals to accompany their owners at college and help with disabilities or relieve a variety of stress symptoms, including those related to anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress syndrome.

Rachel Mahgerefteh, coordinator of service and emotional support animals in the Office of Disabled Student Services, said there are 18 such animals on campus.

“We’re seeing more doctors and therapists are prescribing therapy dogs as medication,” Mahgerefteh said.

Emotional support animals are allowed on campus on a case-by-case basis. Students must submit a request and supporting documentation that includes verification from a health care authority that the animal has been recommended to help the student. Such animals also are allowed to live in university housing.

An emotional support animal, which has included a guinea pig brought to campus by a student, does not have the same protections under the Americans with Disabilities Act, but the Fair Housing Act includes therapy, emotional support, and comfort animals, campus officials said.

Campus officials said the animals are not required to wear a vest or tag, but such are recommended, as well as students carrying certification or disability verification, to avoid misunderstandings.

Students are responsible for vaccinations and licenses, and for any damage caused by their animals. The campus can remove an animal for unruly behavior. The animals must be on a leash or harness when serving on campus.

Unlike service animals, professors are not required to allow emotional support animals in class, but by all accounts, the professors have been accommodating. Also unlike service animals, emotional support animals do not need specific training.

Alegre, a junior at CSULB, said she recently has had to juggle work with school, and Hercules has helped bring peace in the middle of a hectic schedule, especially as she trained the 7-month-old dog.

“It helped me therapeutically to see what I could do with him,” Alegre said. “It was my way of meditation.”