And here’s an interesting, informative and humorous recent New Yorker article on the subject: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/10/20/pets-allowed
Nicole S. Ack, MA, SPHR Civil Rights Officer and Equal Opportunity Administrator ICSEW Representative and Wellness Coordinator The Evergreen State College 2700 Evergreen Parkway, NW Olympia, WA 98505 360.867.5371 [email protected] From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Rebecca G. Deardorff Sent: Tuesday, October 28, 2014 2:48 PM To: 'Institutional policy-related discussions' Subject: RE: [acupa-l] Service Animals and Reasonable Accommodations Excellent list and summary, Susan. Also, Nicole, at the University of Washington we needed to address “working animals” (such a bomb-sniffing dog that works with UW Police and is allowed in buildings along with search and rescue animals – depending on the circumstances), and “wildlife.” See our Chapter 478-128 WAC<http://www.washington.edu/admin/rules/policies/WAC/478-128TOC.html>, Animal Control at the University of Washington. Rebecca Rebecca Goodwin Deardorff Director of Rules Coordination Office of the President Box 351210 Seattle, WA 98195 206-543-9219 www.washington.edu/rules<http://www.washington.edu/rules> [http://www.washington.edu/marketing/e-communications/wsignature.gif] From: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Wheeler, Susan - wheel2sl Sent: Tuesday, October 28, 2014 2:34 PM To: Institutional policy-related discussions Subject: RE: [acupa-l] Service Animals and Reasonable Accommodations Here’s the easy breakdown on this topic: Service animals – individual with a disability; accommodation covered under ADA; only dogs and miniature horses; must be trained to perform specific task; cannot be excluded anywhere on campus with owner (with very limited health and safety exceptions). Assistance animals (can be called therapy animals, emotional support animals, comfort animals, etc.) – individual with a disability; accommodation covered under FHA*; any type of animal; need not be trained to perform any task; can be limited to housing for owner (question still open as to extent of what buildings constitute “housing” on campus). Pets – owner need not be an individual with a disability; no therapeutic or need requirements; state and local laws apply to types of animals, licensure, etc.; can be excluded from campus. *Please note that while the Department of Justice and the Department of Housing and Urban Development and a single federal judge in Nebraska have ruled that residence halls on campuses are “dwellings” subject to the Fair Housing Act (and therefore we are all obliged to allow assistance animals in our residence halls with appropriate documentation), the issue has not been adjudicated by a circuit or higher court. Also, if you’re writing a policy about animals on campus, you might want to address these other categories of animals, depending on your school’s needs: Feral Laboratory Mascots Law enforcement Search and rescue Domestic animals for classes & events Veterinary schools Therapy animals in clinic settings Service animals in training Susan L. Wheeler University Counsel James Madison University 91 Alumnae Drive MSC 7614 Harrisonburg, VA 22807 540-568-3727 540-568-5142 fax [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> From: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Nicole Megale Sent: Tuesday, October 28, 2014 4:40 PM To: Institutional policy-related discussions Subject: Re: [acupa-l] Service Animals and Reasonable Accommodations Mr. Kanaby, While that is true, at this time, campus housing falls under FHA. That means that we must acknowledge that (emotional) assistance animals are a reasonable accommodation, with a letter from a physician. Assistance animals may be untrained and do not necessarily have to be a dog. This should be interesting. Nicole Megale Controller Nicole Megale Adrian College Controller (517) 264-3850 Direct (517) 264-3856 Fax [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> On Tue, Oct 28, 2014 at 4:30 PM, Kanaby, Michael <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: One of the most interesting things I found in my research was the following, not a university policy, but relevant information on service animals. A service animal is considered to be a guide dog, signal dog, or other animal individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including, but not limited to, guiding individuals with impaired vision, alerting individuals with impaired hearing to sounds, pulling a wheelchair, or fetching dropped items. “Comforting" or "giving love", although clinically proven to be beneficial for people, is not acknowledged as a trained "task". Michael Kanaby Interim Campus Administrator From: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> [mailto:[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>] On Behalf Of Nicole Megale Sent: Tuesday, October 28, 2014 2:13 PM To: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> Subject: [acupa-l] Service Animals and Reasonable Accommodations Good afternoon. Does anyone have sample policies, that they would be willing to share, regarding service animals (including those for emotional support)? We seem to have more and more students making requests for such animals and I would like to revamp our current policy a bit. Thank you in advance. Nicole Megale Adrian College Controller (517) 264-3850<tel:%28517%29%20264-3850> Direct (517) 264-3856<tel:%28517%29%20264-3856> Fax [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> ATTN: Please be aware that when you respond to an ACUPA-L e-mail, the reply will be distributed to the ENTIRE list of members. If you do NOT want to send an e-mail to everyone, please reply directly to the individual who initiated the query (their e-mail address appears in the "From" line of their original e-mail). If you wish to remove yourself from the ACUPA e-mail list, please go to the following website and complete the form. We will remove you from the list within 24 hours, during normal business hours. http://www.acupa.org/MembershipForm_Discontinue.html If you have questions about the ACUPA e-list, please contact Jamie Parris at [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]?subject=ACUPA%20e-list%20assistance> or 607-255-6837<tel:607-255-6837>. ATTN: Please be aware that when you respond to an ACUPA-L e-mail, the reply will be distributed to the ENTIRE list of members. If you do NOT want to send an e-mail to everyone, please reply directly to the individual who initiated the query (their e-mail address appears in the "From" line of their original e-mail). If you wish to remove yourself from the ACUPA e-mail list, please go to the following website and complete the form. We will remove you from the list within 24 hours, during normal business hours. http://www.acupa.org/MembershipForm_Discontinue.html If you have questions about the ACUPA e-list, please contact Jamie Parris at [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]?subject=ACUPA%20e-list%20assistance> or 607-255-6837<tel:607-255-6837>. ATTN: Please be aware that when you respond to an ACUPA-L e-mail, the reply will be distributed to the ENTIRE list of members. If you do NOT want to send an e-mail to everyone, please reply directly to the individual who initiated the query (their e-mail address appears in the "From" line of their original e-mail). If you wish to remove yourself from the ACUPA e-mail list, please go to the following website and complete the form. We will remove you from the list within 24 hours, during normal business hours. http://www.acupa.org/MembershipForm_Discontinue.html If you have questions about the ACUPA e-list, please contact Jamie Parris at [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]?subject=ACUPA%20e-list%20assistance> or 607-255-6837. ATTN: Please be aware that when you respond to an ACUPA-L e-mail, the reply will be distributed to the ENTIRE list of members. If you do NOT want to send an e-mail to everyone, please reply directly to the individual who initiated the query (their e-mail address appears in the "From" line of their original e-mail). If you wish to remove yourself from the ACUPA e-mail list, please go to the following website and complete the form. We will remove you from the list within 24 hours, during normal business hours. http://www.acupa.org/MembershipForm_Discontinue.html If you have questions about the ACUPA e-list, please contact Jamie Parris at [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]?subject=ACUPA%20e-list%20assistance> or 607-255-6837. ATTN: Please be aware that when you respond to an ACUPA-L e-mail, the reply will be distributed to the ENTIRE list of members. If you do NOT want to send an e-mail to everyone, please reply directly to the individual who initiated the query (their e-mail address appears in the "From" line of their original e-mail). If you wish to remove yourself from the ACUPA e-mail list, please go to the following website and complete the form. We will remove you from the list within 24 hours, during normal business hours. http://www.acupa.org/MembershipForm_Discontinue.html If you have questions about the ACUPA e-list, please contact Jamie Parris at [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]?subject=ACUPA%20e-list%20assistance> or 607-255-6837.
