At Seton Hall University, it is the user/handler’s responsibility to ensure the safety of a service animal. A service animal is any animal individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability. While legal access rights are afforded to users of service animals, that access comes with the responsibility of ensuring that the animal behaves and responds appropriately, at all times, in public and that the user/handler, as a team, must adhere to the same socially accepted standards as any individual in the University community.

Types of Service Dogs:

Guide dog: A dog that is carefully trained that serves as a travel tool for individuals who are blind or have low vision.

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).

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.

Sig (signal) dog: A dog trained to assist a person with autism. The dog alerts the partner to distracting repetitive movements, such as hand flapping, which are common among those with autism. This intervention allows the person to stop the movement. A person with autism may also 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.

Seizure response dog: A dog trained to assist a person with a seizure disorder. The methods by 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.

Documentation requirements:

The user/handler 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 Village of South Orange licensing requirements and wear the tags designated by the Village,. If the animal accompanies a commuter student, employee or other campus visitor and resides in

another locale, the animal must meet the licensing requirements of the user/handler’s resident town and wear the tags designated by that community. Records are to be submitted to and maintained by the Office of Disability Support Services.

Control Requirements:

• The animal must be on a leash at all times. It should never be permitted to wander around off leash except if the animal is working.

• The handler/partner must be in full control of the animal at all times.

• The animal must be as unobtrusive as possible.

• The animal must be well groomed and measures should be taken, at all times, to maintain flea and odor control.

• Consideration of others must be taken into account when providing maintenance and hygiene of assistance animals.

A service animal must be well-behaved and its partner must ensure that the animal does not engage in behavior that would be a direct threat to the health and safety of others.

When a service animal is determined to be out of control, the infraction will be treated on an individual basis through the Office of Disability Support Services and the Office of Community Development 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, muzzling a barking dog, refresher training for the animal and its partner or exclusion from University facilities.

Should the animal be excluded due to being out of control, the University will give the individual who uses the service animal the option of continuing to attend the University without having that service animal on the premises.

Public Etiquette by Students/Staff/Faculty/Administrators on Campus:

Individuals should not:

• Pet a service animal while it is working. Service animals are trained to be protective of their partners and petting distracts them from their responsibilities.

• Feed a working service animal.

• Deliberately startle, tease or taunt a service animal.

• Separate or attempt to separate a partner from his/her handler.

• Hesitate to ask a student if he/she would like assistance if the team seems confused about a direction in which to turn, an accessible entrance, the location of an elevator, etc.

• Feed a service animal alcoholic beverages on or off campus. To do such will result in disciplinary action through the Office of Community Development or Human Resources.

Relief Areas:

Relief areas will be designated on an individual basis with the collaboration of the Office of Disability Support Services and the University grounds personnel. The areas will be included in mobility training and orientation of users/handlers and animals that are new to the campus. It is the user/handler’s responsibility to be aware of the dog’s need to relieve itself and act accordingly.

Areas of Safety:

There are certain instances when it may be considered unsafe for animals in such places as medical facilities, laboratories, mechanical rooms or any other place where the safety of the animal or its partner may be threatened. Each place will be considered as to its safety potential by a team of individuals, including the Office of Disability Support Services, the laboratory director or professor, and the University risk management team. When it is determined unsafe for the team to be in one of these areas, reasonable accommodations will be provided to assure the individual equal access to the activity.

Emergency Situations:

In the event of an emergency, the Crisis Intervention Team (Emergency Response Team) that responds should be trained to recognize service animals and to be aware that the animal may be trying to communicate the need for assistance. The animal may become disoriented from the smell of smoke in a fire or laboratory emergency, from sirens or wind noise or from shaking and moving ground. The partner and/or animal may be confused in a stressful situation. The Team should be aware that the animal is trying to be protective and, in its confusion, is not to be considered harmful. The Team should make every effort to keep the animal with its partner.

Conflicting Disabilities:

It is common for persons to have a disability that precipitates an allergic reaction to animals. Persons who have asthma/allergy/medical issues with the animal are to be directed to make the complaint to the Office of Disability Support Services. 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.

Residence Halls:

The guidelines for conflicting disabilities apply in the residence halls, as well. If there is an allergy/animal conflict within a residence hall that cannot be resolved agreeably, then the Department of Housing and Residence Life and the Office of Disability Support Services will collaborate on a solution. 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 (Disability Compliance for Higher Education, July 1996. Vol. 1, No. 12, p 4 and 5).

Temporary Residents:

All temporary residents on campus with service animals who will be on campus because of conferences, workshops, class work or other such circumstance must adhere to the same guidelines as outlined in this policy.