Guidelines regarding service animals on campus
As service animals and emotional support animals become more common in public venues, a few guidelines will be helpful to promote positive experiences for students, faculty and staff within the George Fox community. These guidelines are intended to protect the rights and safety of all community members.
- No one should interact with a service animal or emotional support animal unless given permission by the handler.
- In situations where it is not obvious that the dog is a service animal, employees may ask two specific 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? - Staff are not allowed to request any documentation for the dog, require that the dog demonstrate its task, or inquire about the nature of the person’s disability (see ADA guidelines here).
- If a dog is not trained to perform work or a task, an employee may ask the handler not to bring the animal into the room or building. Emotional support animals that provide comfort but do not perform a task are not service animals.
More information about service animals and emotional support animals is available at this link.
If you have questions related to a service animal or emotional support animal on campus, please contact Rick Muthiah, director of Learning Support Services, at rmuthiah@georgefox.edu.