Section Seven- Service and Emotional Support Animals

Service Animals

This Guideline is to help clarify federal, state and local laws regarding access for service animals that assist students with barriers at the University of North Georgia (UNG). Please, refer to the Animals on Campus Policy set by the university for more information. This guideline pertains to clarification and does not set policies or laws. 

Service Animal

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a Service Animal is defined as a dog or miniature pony that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities. Examples of work or tasks include, but are not limited to, assisting individuals who are blind or have low vision with navigation and other tasks; alerting individuals, who are deaf or hard of hearing to the presence of people or sounds; providing non- violent protection or rescue work; pulling a wheelchair; assisting an individual during a seizure; alerting individuals to the presence of allergens; retrieving items such as medicine or the telephone; providing physical support with balance and stability to individuals with mobility disabilities, and helping persons with psychiatric and neurological disabilities by preventing or interrupting impulsive or destructive behaviors. The crime deterrent effects of an animal’s presence and the provision of emotional support, well-being, comfort, or companionship do not constitute work or tasks for the purposes of this definition. Service Animals are working animals, not pets. The work or task a dog has been trained to provide must be directly related to the person’s disability.

In addition to the provisions about service dogs, ADA regulations have a separate provision about miniature horses that have been individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities. The regulations set out four assessment factors to assist entities in determining whether miniature horses can be accommodated in their facility. The assessment factors are (1) whether the miniature horse is housebroken; (2) whether the miniature horse is under the owner’s control; (3) whether the facility can accommodate the Miniature horse’s type, size, and weight; and (4) whether the miniature horse’s presence will not compromise legitimate safety requirements necessary for safe operation of the facility.

Service Animals are not required to register with Student Accessibility Services, since it is a civil right.

Rights and Responsibilities

The following information is derived from the U.S. Department of Justice memo 1 Civil Rights Division, Disability Rights Section covering the updated revision of the 2010 Americans with Disabilities Act:

  • Once a Service Animal has been identified, only limited inquiries are allowed. Staff/Faculty may ask two questions:
    1. Is the dog a Service Animal required because of a disability?
    2. What work or task has the dog been trained to perform?

Faculty/Staff cannot ask about the person’s disability, require medical documentation, require a special identification card or training documentation for the dog, or ask that the dog demonstrate its ability to perform the work or task.

  • Allergies and fear of the Service Animal are not valid reasons for denying access or refusing service to people using service animals. When a person who is allergic to a service animal’s dander and a person who uses a Service Animal must spend time in the same room or facility, such as a college classroom, they both should be accommodated by assigning them, if possible, to different locations within the room or different rooms in the facility.
  • A person with a disability cannot be asked to remove his Service Animal from the premises unless:
    1. the Service Animal is out of control and the handler does not take effective action to control it
    2. or the Service Animal is not housebroken.
  • When there is a legitimate reason to ask that a Service Animal be removed, staff must offer the person with the disability the opportunity to obtain services without the animal’s presence.
  • People with disabilities who use Service Animals cannot be isolated from others, treated less favorably than others, or charged fees that are not charged to others without animals.
  • The university or the staff/faculty is not required to provide care or food for a Service Animal.
  • Under the ADA, Service Animals must be harnessed, leashed, or tethered, unless these devices interfere with the Service Animal’s work or the individual’s disability prevents using these devices. In that case, the individual must maintain control of the animal through voice, signal, or other effective controls.

Service Animals in Training

Georgia law (§30-4-2), provides that individuals accompanying dogs being trained to be Service Animals are to be given the same degree of access that is entitled under federal law for a person with a disability who is assisted by a Service Animal, subject to certain identification and other requirements. This guideline pertains to visitors to and students of UNG.

Definitions

Service Animal in Training

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a Service Animal is defined as a dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities. While the dog is being trained, it is a Service Animal in Training.

Notification

Individuals training the animal must meet with Student Accessibility Services to register the Service Animal in Training.

Responsibilities of Individuals Training the Animal

Failure to adhere to the responsibilities to follow may be grounds for removal of the Service Animal in Training from university facilities

  • Individuals training the animal are required to keep their Service Animal in Training under their direct physical control at all times by means of appropriate leash or other lead of a type and length that enables the Partner to maintain close and direct physical control of the Service Animal in Training.
  • Individuals training the animal should not transfer the control to another person. Any person seeking to reside in the university housing should obtain permission, as from the Director of Residence Life to house the Service Animal in Training on campus.
  • Individuals training the animal are required to remove a Service Animal in Training that is unruly or disruptive (e.g. Biting or attempting to bite, barking, running around, jumping at or up on people or other excessive physical activity that goes beyond repositioning itself on the down stay). The Individuals training the animal may be directed to do so by a university faculty or staff member or by any member of the university public safety department. In determining whether a service animal in training is being unruly or disruptive within the meaning of this paragraph, all facts and circumstances may be considered. In the event of such behavior by a Service Animal in Training, it may be denied access to the university facilities until the Partner can demonstrate that he or she has taken sufficient steps to correct or control the unacceptable behavior of the Service Animal in Training.
  • Individuals training the animal should not bring a Service Animal in Training that is ill to university facilities and must remove the Service Animal in Training from the university facilities immediately if it becomes ill. An individual with a Service Animal in Training that appears to be ill may be asked to remove the animal from university facilities by a member of public safety, other university faculty, or staff.
  • Individuals training the animal must ensure that their Service Animals in Training are kept clean and well groomed. Unhygienic service animals in training (such as animals that are flea-infested, foul-smelling, or inadequately groomed) should be asked to leave the university facilities or activities until such conditions are corrected.
  • Service Animals in Training will be excluded from university facilities if they are not housebroken. In the event of an isolated incident of a Service Animal in Training failing to control its bodily eliminations due to illness or accident, the individual training the animal is responsible for immediately and properly cleaning up and disposing of any bodily fluids or solid waste from the Service Animal in Training, whether indoors or outdoors.
  • Proper clean-up will depend on the specific circumstance but includes at a minimum physical removal of any liquid and solid wastes, and disposal of the same and the cleaning materials used securely in a plastic bag which is to be deposited in an outdoor waste container. To this end, individuals training the animal should have in their possession at all times when accompanied by their Service Animal in Training appropriate and sufficient cleaning materials and disposal bags.
  • After the clean-up action required above, the individual training the animal should notify an appropriate university employee in the affected building or area of the incident, such as those persons performing custodial functions, so that further deodorization and disinfection procedures can be performed as needed by appropriate university personnel. Where such university personnel are not readily available, the individual training the animal must contact the university custodial services (if inside a building) or the university grounds department (if outside the building).
  • In all cases of damage to university facilities by a Service Animal in Training failing to control its bodily eliminations due to illness or accident, or in any other manner, the person training the service animal can be liable for any and all costs resulting when the animal causes damage to the university facilities or injury to person.
  • In the case of any incident involving injury to a person by a Service Animal in Training, the individual training the animal should make an immediate report to university public safety so that the incident can be properly investigated and documented. The Partner shall also fully comply with any state or local law or regulation requiring additional reports to other government agencies that may be required due to the physical injury caused by the Service Animal in Training.

Responsibilities of the University

Exceptions to any provision of this guideline, including restrictions placed by university offices on access to specific areas or other aspects of university facilities, will be considered on a case-by-case basis. The written request for exception is submitted to the director of Student Accessibility Services not less than five business days prior to the effective date of such exception.

The director of Accessibility Services will consult with other appropriate members of the university community in an interactive process, taking into account all of the relevant facts and circumstances.

Comfort or Emotional Support Animals

The University of North Georgia (UNG) provides reasonable accommodations to students living on campus with a documented disability. The Fair Housing Act (FHA) does not limit the rights of a person with a disability to the ADA definition of a Service Animal, but instead identifies Comfort or Emotional Support Animals as an accommodation. The Department of Justice considers residence halls to be dwellings under the definitions of the FHA, and so this guideline applies to students with disabilities living in UNG residence halls.

Definition of Comfort or Emotional Support Animal

Under the federal Fair Housing Act (FHA), a Comfort or Emotional Support Animal is viewed as a reasonable accommodation in a housing unit that has a "no pets" rule for its residents. A Comfort or Emotional Support Animal is an animal (typically a dog or cat) that provides a therapeutic benefit to its owner by alleviating or mitigating some of the symptoms of the disability (companionship alone does not satisfy this requirement).

See the university's policy of Animals on Campus for further definitions.

A Comfort or Emotional Support Animal should not be considered as only a pet. The person wishing to have a comfort or emotional support animal in the residence halls must have a verifiable disability and a related need. Unlike a Service Animal, the Comfort or Emotional Support Animal is usually not used outside of the residential setting (e.g. Classroom).

Notification

Students are required to register the Comfort or Emotional Support Animal with Student Accessibility Services.

Rights and Responsibilities

For a Comfort or Emotional Support Animal to be permitted to reside on campus, the person that is applying to bring the animal to campus and the Comfort or Emotional Support Animal must register with Student Accessibility Services. The student will provide documentation verifying:

  1. the student has a disability,
  2. the animal is necessary to afford the person with a disability an equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling; and
  3. there is an identifiable relationship between the disability and the emotional support the animal provides.

To qualify for this accommodation, a student must meet the federal definition of disability and must provide supporting documentation, such as a letter, from a physician or other medical professional, stating that the student has a disability and that the Comfort or Emotional Support Animal provides a benefit for the individual with the disability.

The student will identify and obtain the signature of another individual who will provide care and maintenance for the Comfort or Emotional Support Animal if the student becomes incapacitated or is unable to care for the animal. The student will give the university permission to contact their animal’s veterinarian and the student will submit additional documentation if needed.

The student is responsible at all times for the actions of his or her animal. If the student violates any provision of this guideline, he or she may be required to immediately remove the animal from university housing.

The Student

  • Is responsible for the upkeep and necessary care of the animal
  • Is responsible for any odors, noise, damage, bodily injury, or other conduct of his or her animal that disturbs others or causes damage
  • Is responsible for all costs of returning the residence hall unit to the condition it was in at move-in. Property damage such as pet odors, stains, or dander may require cleaning or replacement of furniture, carpet, blinds, etc.
  • Must have the Comfort or Emotional Support Animal only in common indoor areas, as needed to enter or exit the building
  • Must keep the Comfort or Emotional Support Animal on a leash/lead when the animal is in the common areas of the residence hall
  • Must insure that the Comfort or Emotional Support Animal does not interfere with the routine of the residence hall or cause difficulties for students who reside in the unit
  • Must show sensitivity to residents with allergies and to those who fear animals, as this is important to ensure a positive residential community
  • Must inform others about appropriate interactions with the animal and set clear expectations

Residence Life

  • Will notify roommates about the Comfort or Emotional Support Animal, to include the type and size. (Roommates may request a room change from Residential Life if they desire to do so.)
  • May exclude an Comfort or Emotional Support Animal from housing if it:
    1. poses a direct threat to the health or safety of others,
    2. would cause substantial physical damage to the property of others,
    3. would pose an undue financial and administrative burden, or
    4. would result in a fundamental alternation of the university’s program(s)

The University

  • Cannot require an additional room deposit for an Comfort or Emotional Support Animal
  • Will not be responsible for the upkeep and care of an Comfort or Emotional Support Animal
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