This list of animals awarded human credentials includes nonhuman animals who have been submitted as applicants to suspected diploma mills, and have been awarded a diploma. On occasion, they have been admitted and granted a degree, as reported in reliable sources. Animals are often used as a device to clearly demonstrate the lax standards or fraudulent activities of the awarding institutions. In at least one case, a cat's degree helped lead to a successful fraud prosecution against the institution that had issued it. On occasion, accredited institutions award mock degrees to animals for humorous purposes, e.g. UNSW awarded a "" (not doctorate) to a dog; such cases are not included below. Cats Colby Nolan (MBA) Colby Nolan was a housecat who was awarded an MBA in 2004 by Trinity Southern University, a Dallas-based diploma mill, sparking a fraud lawsuit by the Pennsylvania attorney general's office. Colby Nolan lived with a deputy attorney general. In looking to expose Trinity Southern University for fraud, undercover agents had the then-six-year-old feline obtain a bachelor's degree in business administration for $299. On the animal's application, the agents claimed that the cat had previously taken courses at a community college, worked at a fast-food restaurant, babysat, and maintained a newspaper route. In response, the institution informed Colby that, due to the job experience listed on his application, he was eligible for an executive MBA which he could obtain for an additional $100. The transcript submitted by the agents claimed that Colby had a GPA of 3.5. Upon learning that the cat received the degree, Pennsylvania attorney general Jerry Pappert filed a lawsuit against Trinity Southern University. In the lawsuit, Pappert directed the diploma mill, which had used email spam to sell degrees, to provide restitution to anyone who had ordered a degree from them. In December 2004, the Texas attorney general obtained a temporary restraining order under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act against Trinity Southern and its owners, Craig B. and Alton S. Poe. The court also ordered the school's assets frozen. In March 2005, the Poes were assessed penalties of over $100,000 by the court and were ordered not to market or promote fraudulent, substandard degree programs or to represent their university as being accredited or affiliated with legitimate universities. It was reported that the Poes were also associated with Wesleyan International University and Prixo Southern University. Trinity Southern University's website has been