Service animals allowed on campus

October 30, 2012

Cornerstone

Individuals with disabilities have the right to be accompanied by their trained ADA service animal in all UAF facilities and areas where the public is normally allowed to go.

What is a service animal?

• A service animal is a dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for a person with a disability.


• Some examples of the work or tasks of a service dog include:
  
  
  
  • guiding people who are blind,
  
  
  • alerting people who are deaf,
  
  
  • pulling a wheelchair,
  
  
  • alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure,
  
  
  • reminding a person with mental illness to take medications, and/or
  
  
  • calming a person with PTSD during an anxiety attack.
  
  
  
  


• Dogs whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support do not qualify as service animals.

Can I verify that the dog is a service animal?

• When it is not obvious what service an animal provides, university staff may only ask the following:
  
  
  
  • Is the dog a service animal required because of a disability?
  
  
  • What work or task has the dog been trained to perform?
  
  
  
  


• University staff cannot ask for:
  
  
  
  • information regarding the person’s disability,
  
  
  • medical documentation,
  
  
  • special identification card or training documentation for the dog, nor
  
  
  • a demonstration of the dog’s ability to perform the work or task.
  
  
  
  

When can I ask that the service animal be removed from the premises?

• You may only ask that the dog be removed when:
  
  
  
  • the dog is out of control,
  
  
  • the handler does not take effective action to control the dog, or
  
  
  • the dog is not housebroken.
  
  
  
  

For questions or assistance, call the Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity at 474-7599.