Service Animal Policies

At Loyola College in Maryland, it is the partner/handler’s responsibility to ensure the safety of a service animal. While legal access rights are afforded users of assistance animals, with that comes the responsibility of ensuring that the animal behaves and responds appropriately at all times in public and that the partner/handler, as a team, adhere to the same socially accepted standards as any individual in the College community.

I.          Background Terminology:

Terms unique to service animals are used in these guidelines. To assist readers unfamiliar with these terms, these terms and meanings have been defined at the start of this document.

Companion animal: These animals are prescribed for some disabilities for their calming influence, affection, stability or feeling of security. They are not trained and not afforded the legal protection of service animals. Extremely extenuating circumstances in the student’s documentation would be necessary to permit a companion dog on campus.

A dog in training: A dog being trained. However, it has the same rights as a fully trained dog when accompanied by a trainer and is identified as such.

Guide dog: A dog that is carefully trained that serves as a travel tool by individuals who are blind or have low vision. The term “dog guide” is interchangeable with guide dog.

Hearing dog: A dog that has been trained to alert a person with a significant hearing loss or who is deaf when a sound occurs (e.g. a knock on the door, a fire alarm, the phone ringing).

Partner/handler: A person with a service or therapy animal. A person with a disability is called a partner; a person without a disability is called a handler.

Seeing Eye dog: A guide dog trained by The Seeing Eye school in Morristown, N.J. Only guide dogs trained by this agency can be called Seeing Eye dogs.

Seizure response dog: A dog trained to assist a person with a seizure disorder. The method in which the dog serves the person depends on the individual’s needs. Some dogs have learned to predict a seizure and warn the person in advance.

Service Animal: Any animal individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability. Service animals are usually dogs but other animals have been used as service animals.

Service dog (assistance dog):  A dog that has been trained to assist a person who has a mobility or health impairment. Types of duties the dog may perform include carrying, fetching, opening doors, ringing doorbells, activating elevator buttons, steadying a person while walking, assisting a person to get up after a fall, etc. Service dogs are sometimes referred to as assistance dogs.

Sig dog: A dog trained to assist a person with autism. The dog alerts the partner to distracting repetitive movements common among those with autism, allowing the person to stop the movement, such as hand flapping. A person with autism may have deficits in sensory input and may need the same support services from a dog that one might provide for a person who is blind or deaf.

Team:  A person with a disability, or a handler, and his or her service animal. The two work as a team in accomplishing the tasks of every day living.

Therapy animal: A therapy animal does not assist an individual with a disability in the activities of daily living. Therefore, they are not protected by laws for service animals.

II.         Documentation requirements:

The handler/partner of the service animal must show proof that the animal has met the following regulations:

Licensing: If the animal is residing on campus, it must meet the City of Baltimore’s licensing requirements and wear the tags designated by the City. For students who are not residents of the City of Baltimore, tags from their home state or county may be accepted in lieu of the City of Baltimore’s tags as long as similar requirements are met. Records are to be maintained by the Disability Support Services Office.

Health records: The animal must have a health statement, including vaccinations from a licensed veterinarian dated within the past year. Proof of good health must be provided on an annual basis. The animal must be well groomed, and measures should be taken at all times for flea and odor control. Consideration of others must be taken into account when providing maintenance and hygiene of assistance animals. Note that the animal must have current inoculations and evidence of such on an annual basis. Records are to be maintained by the Disability Support Services Office.

Minimum Training Standards: Verification that the animal meets minimum training requirements as prescribed by Assistance Dogs International (or any other recognized service animal training organization).

Identification: The service animal should wear some type of commonly recognized identification symbol designating it as a service animal.

III.        Control Requirements:

The animal must be harnessed at all times and the handler/partner must be in full control of the animal when it is working.

The animal must be as unobtrusive as possible.

If the student resides on campus, the animal may be off leash in the student’s residence room when it is not working.

IV.        Public Behavior of the Animal:

The animal must not be allowed to sniff people, store shelves, dining tables or the personal belongings of others.   

The animal must not initiate contact with someone without the partner/handler’s direct permission.

The animal must not display any behaviors or noises that are disruptive to others, such as barking, whining, growling or rubbing against people while waiting in lines. This includes aggressive behaviors.

The animal must avoid personal grooming in public settings such as excessive scratching or licking its genital areas.

The animal must not block an aisle or passageway.

The animal must never be more than 12 inches from the partner's leg or side of the chair.

The animal must be trained to not be attracted to food that may be sitting around. 

Relief areas for service animals are designated throughout the campus, to which the handler or partner should lead and clean up after the animal. Locations of relief areas are included in the mobility and orientation of new students, staff and faculty to the campus.

It is the student, staff or faculty member’s responsibility to be aware of the dog's needs to relieve itself and respond accordingly. In the event that the partner/handler does not get the animal to the designated relief area, it is the partner/handler’s responsibility to remove and properly dispose of any waste

The partner/handler is responsible for taking preventative measures for flea and odor control. The team should be sensitive to the residential community where other people may be impacted by the presence of a service animal. The partner/handler must see that the service animal is bathed on a regular basis.  Residence hall bathrooms may be used for this purpose.  The Resident Advisor of that floor should notify Environmental Services on days the service animal has been washed to ensure that any remaining dirt or animal hair gets cleaned up in a timely manner.

The partner/handler will be responsible for providing appropriate bedding for the service animal. This will allow the service animal to have a comfortable place of its own when not on duty, and reduces the risks of infestation in other areas. 

V.         Consequences for behavior:

If an assistance animal is determined to be in violation of any of the above behaviors, the infraction will be treated on an individual basis through the Disabilities Support Services Office, Student Life and/or Human Resources. If the animal poses a threat to the safety of others, Public Safety will be part of the collaborative team to determine the outcome of the behavior. Consequences may include, but are not limited to, mandating a refresher training for the animal and its partner, or excluding the animal from college facilities. 

VI.        Exclusion for behavior:

A service animal may be excluded from the campus when that animal's behavior poses a direct threat to the health and safety of others. Although the institution may exclude any service animal that is out of control, it should generally give the individual with a disability who uses the service animal the option of staying without the service animal.

VII.       Student and Employee Etiquette for Partner/Handlers and their Service Animals:   

Service animals are working companions and are not considered pets.  Do not touch a service animal when it is harnessed or without the permission of the partner/handler.  It distracts them from the task at hand.   

Do not feed a service animal when it is harnessed.

Do not deliberately startle a service animal when it is harnessed or off leash.  Animals react differently to noise and humans, even with the level of training that service animals receive.

Do not separate or attempt to separate a partner/handler from his/her service animal.

Do not hesitate to ask the partner/handler if he/she would like assistance if the team seems confused about a direction to turn or unable to locate and entrance or elevator.

VIII.      Emergency Situations:

In the event of an emergency, emergency responders (i.e., Loyola College Public Safety Officers, Baltimore City Police, and Baltimore City Fire Department) who respond should be trained to recognize service animals and to be aware that the animal may be trying to communicate the need for help. During emergencies the animal may become disoriented or agitated from the smell or smoke in a fire, from sirens or wind noise, or from shaking and moving ground. The partner/handler and/or animal may be confused by the stress of a particular situation. The emergency responder should be aware that the animal is trying to be protective of its partner/handler and may react defensively. The emergency responder should make every reasonable effort to keep the animal with its partner. However, the emergency responder’s first effort should be toward the partner/handler and this may necessitate leaving an animal behind in certain emergency evacuation situations.

IX.        Conflicting Disabilities: 

It is likely that persons at the College may have a disability that precipitates an allergic reaction to animals. Persons who have asthma/allergy/medical issue with the animal are to be directed to make their complaint to the Disability Support Services Office. The person making the complaint must provide verifiable medical documentation to support their claim.  Action will be taken to consider the needs of both persons to resolve the problem as efficiently and effectively as possible.

X.         Residence Halls: 

The guidelines for conflicting disabilities may apply in the residence halls. If there is an allergy/animal conflict within a residence hall that cannot be resolved agreeably, then the Office of Student Life and the Disability Support Services Office will collaborate on a solution. The Fair Housing Act (1988), which prohibits housing discrimination on the basis of a disability, must be considered.

XI.        First-person rights:

It should be noted that if the first person that has been permitted into the residence hall uses a service animal and another person with severe allergies then arrives, the first person cannot be removed to accommodate the second person.

XII.       Areas of Safety:

There are certain instances when it may be considered unsafe for animals such as medical facilities, laboratories, mechanical rooms or any other place where the safety of the animal or partner/handler may be threatened. Each place should be assessed for its safety potential by a team of individuals, such as the laboratory director, faculty, and Director of Environmental Health and Safety. If an area is determined unsafe for the team, reasonable accommodations should be provided to assure the student equal access to the activity.

XIII.      Visitors with Service Animals: 

All visitors to campus with service animals must adhere to the same service animal control, behavior and safety guidelines as students attending the university.

XIV.     Access:

A service animal is used by individuals with disabilities to facilitate access. In the absence of case law, the following guidelines, until proven otherwise discriminatory, should be used when a student with a service animal does not identify themselves to the DSS office.

If a student is consistently seen on campus with an animal that is identified by a jacket or some other symbol that it is a service animal, that student should be encouraged to meet with the DSS office. Safety and Security should report any incidents involving service animals to DSS.

If there is any complaint regarding the animal and its behavior, Public Safety or the Dean of Students, should contact the student and, in collaboration with the Director of Disability Support Services, inform the student of the policies regarding service animals.

If the student fails to act in accordance with the above, then student conduct actions may be taken.

XV.      References:

“Animals in the Residence Halls.” Disability Access Information and Support. 2007. http://www.daisweb.com/node/61

“Commonly Asked Questions about Service Animals in Places of Business,” Disability Rights Division, U.S. Department of Justice, January 3, 2007. http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/archive/qasrvc.htm

Hill, Joanne. “Section 11. Service Animals.” The Policy Book: Guidance for Disability Service Providers. LRP Publications: Horsham, 2000. 11:1-11:3.

“Policy on Service Animals.” Seton Hall University. March, 2006. http://studentaffairs.shu.edu/dss/policies/pol_serviceanimals.htm

Campbell, Melissa D. “Putting Miracles in Motion: How Seeing Eye Dogs are Trained.” The Seeing Eye Inc.: Morristown, 2004. pp.1-23.