Service Animal Policy
According to the Americans with Disabilities Act, a service animal is defined as
“any guide dog, signal dog, or other animal individually trained to do work or
perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability.” This
includes, but is not limited to, guiding individuals with vision impairments;
alerting people with hearing impairments to sounds in their environment; and
pulling a wheelchair or picking up dropped items for persons who have mobility
impairments. The service animal must be trained to actively perform specific
tasks that the person with a disability is unable to do for himself. A service
animal is not a pet. If there is any uncertainty about whether an animal
qualifies as a service animal, a determination will be made by the director of
Disabilities Support Services and the Student Judicial Officer in consultation
with each other.
Service animals are permitted in all buildings on campus and may attend any
class, meeting, or other event both on and off campus that is college-related,
such as an internship, a field trip, or volunteer service. There may be
situations where the environment could be a potential health hazard for the
service animal. The owner and instructor will discuss the potential problem,
with consultation from DSS staff as needed, so that a reasonable course of
action can be implemented.
Students who will be using a service animal on campus must register with the
office of Disabilities Support Services (DSS) and provide documentation of their
disability as well as some form of documentation of the training that the animal
has completed. Students may want to discuss any additional accommodations that
may be needed as a result of the disability with a staff member of DSS.
Requirements of service animals and their owners include:
- Animals must be licensed and vaccinated in accordance with county or city
regulations. Tags must be worn by the animal if regulations require this.
- Animals must be in good health.
- Animals must be on a leash at all times.
- The owner must be in full control of the animal at all times.
- The owner must provide documentation of how the animal provides a service to
the person because of the disability.
Reasonable behavior is expected from service animals while on campus. If an
animal exhibits unacceptable behavior, the owner is expected to employ the
proper training techniques to correct the situation. The owner of an aggressive
or disruptive service animal may be asked to remove the animal from campus. If
the improper behavior happens repeatedly, the owner may be required to take
significant steps to mitigate the behavior before the animal is allowed back on
campus. The mitigation may include muzzling or refresher training for the animal
and its owner.
Cleanliness of the service animal is mandatory. Daily grooming and occasional
baths should keep animal odor to a minimum. Flea control is essential and
adequate preventative measures should be taken. If a flea problem develops, it
must be dealt with immediately and in an effective manner.
Consideration of others must be taken into account when providing maintenance
and hygiene of service animals. Owners are responsible for cleaning up any
animal waste and properly disposing of it in outdoor trash receptacles.
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