Wayde Sims’ love for adored dog Buddha has inspired a $100000 campaign – The Advocate

LSU and the parents of slain Tigers basketball player Wayde Sims have launched a campaign to raise at least $100,000 to help students defray the costs of emotional support dogs like Sims’ beloved dog Buddha.

The effort stems in part from a Thanksgiving week conversation between Sim’s mom, Fay, and Tracy Evans, senior director of development for the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine.

Wayde Sims, who was killed in September, had an emotional support dog registered at LSU, one of 51 such animals on campus and part of a growing trend at LSU and colleges nationwide.



To all of the wonderful people who have shown love and support to us after the death of our son, Wayde Sims:


Fay and Sims’ dad Wayne first thought of making a donation to the cause.

“She said this means a lot to Wayde, it means a lot to us,” Evans recalled. “She just felt in her heart that Wayde probably would have lived under an overpass before he gave up his dog.”

What that chat morphed into is the Wayde Forever 44 Emotional Support Dog Fund, which will be used to help students with the often hidden costs of owning an emotional support dog, including vet fees, deposits at apartments, boarding when students travel and other expenses.

Evans and the School of Veterinary Medicine are handling the fundraising part of it.

The LSU Office of Disability Services and others will set the criteria for students seeking financial help. Organizers hope that, at least by the fall of 2019, the program will be up and running.

“We hope this fund can help assist students that could benefit from having an emotional support dog but may not be in a position to afford one,” Fay Sims said in an email.

“We also hope this fund can bring awareness for students to know that it’s ok to admit they are experiencing anxiety,” she said.

Sims, then 20, was shot and killed in September after stepping into a fistfight to defend a friend outside a fraternity party near the campus of Southern University.

A 20-year-old has been arrested in connection with the shooting.

The campaign was announced on Sims’ 21st birthday.

He was a graduate of University High and wore No. 44.

Emotional support animals – usually dogs – help people with a variety of emotional conditions, including anxiety, depression, mood disorders and panic attacks.

They are different from specially trained service dogs, like former President George H. W. Bush’s dog, Sully, a yellow lab who works with veterans and is said to be able to perform a list of commands that covered two pages.

Experts say an emotional support dog, who can sense anxiety in their owner, is better than taking a pill to ease the condition.

“Basically they are a consistent, daily form of treatment for a person,” said Prairie Conlon, clinical manager for CertaPet, which connects clients with mental health professionals familiar with emotional support animals. “An emotional support animal is a very natural form of therapy,” she said.

Buddha was a high school graduation gift.

“Wayde didn’t realize then how Buddha would become such an important source of comfort and support for him,” the LSU Vet School said in announcing the campaign.

Said Fay Sims, “Buddha provided unconditional love, he provided help with the stress of juggling his academics & athletic responsibilities and Wayde’s overall adjustments to college life.”

The dog is a two-year-old pit bull whose easy going temperament belies the image of his breed. He never barks.

“Even before Wayde passed away we always said that Buddha had Wayde’s personality,” Fay Sims said.

But getting an emotional support dog or other animal registered on campus is no easy matter.

Students have to first win the written permission of a doctor or other health care professional to say the dog will help with whatever condition they have. In the case of student athletes there is another step – spending significant time with professionals to ensure that any anxiety they suffer from can be helped with an animal, said LaKeitha Poole, director of sports psychology and counseling for LSU Athletics.

Students then apply to the LSU Office of Disability Services, where they are required to show that the animal has had the required shots and other documentation. They also have to fill out a form that says the dog or other animal will not interfere with routine activities at LSU and that they are financially responsible for any injuries caused by the animal.

Those living on campus have to get the written permission of roommates, and the roommate has to pledge not to distract, borrow or even pet the dog without permission.


The animals are generally limited to residence halls and other living quarters, not classrooms and dining halls.

Until recently emotional support animals were unheard of at LSU. Now the lineup of 51 includes dogs, cats, gerbils and hamsters.

“That number has grown significantly this year,” said Benjamin J. Cornwell, associate dean of students and director of disability services. “I expect it to grow next year.”

Cornwell, Evans and others will hammer out the rules for students seeking funds raised by the campaign.

Donations can be made at www.lsufoundation.org/wayde

The money could help pay for deposits to live off campus, boarding when students travel for school activities or even to go home for the holidays.

Whether the fund would help defray the costs for buying an emotional support animal is unclear. “There is a lot for us to talk through to work out the logistics,” Cornwell said.

The campaign raised $5,000 in its first week.

Fay and Wayne Sims, a former LSU basketball player himself, were the first donors.

While $100,000 is the initial goal the hope is the campaign will raise more.

“They want it to be something that will last a lifetime,” Evans said of the Sims family.

“I have absolutely admired this family to be able to put their grief aside and do something to help others,” she said in an interview.

As for Buddha he is living with Fay and Wayne Sims, and already forging emotional attachments.

Fay Sims said she felt Buddha’s absence when they were apart for a few days.

“He has now become my emotional support dog,” she said.

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