Animal Policy & Guidance

It is the policy of Arkansas State University-Beebe that service animals are generally welcome on all campuses, facilities and programs, when the animal is accompanied by an individual with a disability who indicates the service animal is trained, and provides a specific service to them that is directly related to their disability. Students with disabilities who wish to bring a service animal to ASUB are covered by the ADA, and thus may bring their service animal anywhere at ASUB that the student goes (with a few safety exceptions, handled on a case-by-case basis).

What is the definition of a 'service animal'?

A service animal (as defined by the ADA) means any dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability. 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 and assistance 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 provision of emotional support, well-being, comfort, or companionship of an animal's presence do not constitute work or tasks for the purposes of this definition.

Examples of animals that fit the ADA’s definition of service animal, who have been specifically trained to perform a task for the disabled person:

• Guide Dog or Seeing Eye® Dog is a carefully trained dog that serves as a travel tool for persons who have severe visual impairments or are blind.
• Hearing or Signal Dog is a dog that has been trained to alert a person who has a significant hearing loss or is deaf when a sound occurs, such as a knock on the door.
• Psychiatric Service Dog is a dog that has been trained to perform tasks that assist individuals with disabilities to detect the onset of psychiatric episodes and lessen their effects. Tasks performed by psychiatric service animals may include reminding the handler to take medicine, providing safety checks or room searches, or turning on lights for persons with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, interrupting self-mutilation by persons with dissociative identity disorders, and keeping disoriented individuals from danger.
• SSigDOG (sensory signal dogs or social signal dog) is a dog trained to assist a person with autism. The dog alerts the handler to distracting repetitive movements common among those with autism, allowing the person to stop the movement (e.g., hand flapping).
• Seizure Response Dog is a dog trained to assist a person with a seizure disorder. How the dog serves the person depends on the person’s needs. The dog may stand guard over the person during a seizure or the dog may go for help. A few dogs have learned to predict a seizure and warn the person in advance to sit down or move to a safe place.

Under the ADA, service animals are limited to dogs. However, entities must make reasonable modifications in policies to allow individuals with disabilities to use miniature horses if they have been individually trained to do work or perform tasks for individuals with disabilities.

1. The service animal must be vaccinated and licensed as required by state law and/or local ordinance
2. Service animal must be restrained on a leash at all times, unless for specific circumstances, at which time must be responsive to voice commands
3. The service animal should be under the full control of the student, and always in close proximity to the student
4. To the extent possible, the service animal should be unobtrusive to other students and the learning environment; uncontrolled barking, jumping on other people, or running away from the handler are examples of unacceptable behavior for a service animal
5. Student must manage the animal’s need to urinate and defecate by taking the animal to an appropriate area; feces must be cleaned immediately and disposed of properly (not the responsibility of ASU-Beebe)

Failure to meet these responsibilities may result in the handler and animal being asked to leave class and/or event. Student must meet with staff in the Office of Disability Services before returning to class.

College personnel may ask an individual with a disability to remove a service animal from the premises if:

• The animal is out of control and the animal’s handler does not take effective action to control;
• The animal is not housebroken.

A service animal shall be under the control of its handler. The service animal should not lick or kiss others. A service animal shall have a harness, leash, or other tether, unless either the handler is unable because of a disability to use a harness, leash or other tether, or the use of a harness, leash, or other tether would interfere with the service animal’s safe control, effective performance of work or tasks, in which case the service animal must be otherwise under the handler’s control. For example, voice control, signals, or other effective means. College staff and employees are not responsible for any aspects of caring for a service animal.

Staff may ask if the animal is required because of a disability and what work or task the animal has been trained to perform. To the contrary, staff will not make these inquiries about a service animal when it is apparent that an animal is trained to do work or perform tasks for an individual with a disability. For example, when the dog is observed guiding an individual who is blind or who has low vision. Any student with a disability who is planning extended use of a service animal in Residence Life (campus housing) should contact Office of Disability Services.

While Emotional Support Animals (sometimes called Comfort Animals or Therapy Animals) are often used as part of a medical treatment plan as therapy animals, they are not considered service animals under the ADA and are not allowed on the ASUB campuses. These ESAs provide companionship, relieve loneliness, and sometimes help with depression, anxiety, and certain phobias, but do not have special training to perform tasks that assist people with disabilities. ESAs provide people with therapeutic contact, usually in a clinical setting, to improve their physical, social, emotional, and/or cognitive functioning.

ESAs are not service animals under the ADA. Other species of animals, whether wild or domestic, trained or untrained, are not considered service animals either. The work or tasks performed by a service animal must be directly related to the individual’s disability. It does not matter if a student has a note from a doctor that states that the person has a disability and needs to have the animal for emotional support. A doctor’s letter does not turn an ESA into a service animal.

ESAs that do not qualify as service animals under the ADA may nevertheless qualify as reasonable accommodations under the Fair Housing Act. Students who would like to request an ESA in the college residence halls must go through the accommodation process with the Office of Disability Services. Students may not bring an ESA into the Residence Halls until approval has been issued through the Office of Disability Services. Each ESA request will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis as outlined in this policy, considering the individual request and the rules of the College Community.

A person qualifies for a reasonable accommodation if:

1. The person has a documented disability and is registered with ASU-Beebe;
2. The animal is necessary to afford the person with a disability an equal opportunity to use and enjoy the residence halls; and
3. There is an identifiable relationship between the disability and the assistance the animal provides.
   
   

Emotional Support Animals that have been approved as a reasonable accommodation through the Office of Disability Services must be aware of their rights and responsibilities to their accommodation use of ESA.

ASU-Beebe will not permit emotional support animals if they would pose a direct threat to the health or safety of others, would cause substantial physical damage to the property of others, would pose an undue financial and administrative burden, or would fundamentally alter the nature of the provider’s operations. For example, if a roommate has asthma, allergies or fear of the animal, it is not reasonable for the animal to live in that particular room. Efforts would be made to find an alternative housing arrangement for the owner of the emotional support animal, but it would be dependent on the time of the notification for the need for the animal and the availability of housing.

Pet: A “Pet” is an animal kept for ordinary use and companionship. A pet is not considered a Service Animal or an Emotional Support Animal. It is not covered by these guidelines. Residents are not permitted to keep pets on university property or in university housing.

Approved Animal: An “Approved Animal” is an Emotional Support Animal that has been granted as a reasonable accommodation under these guidelines.

Owner: The “Owner” is the student or other covered person who has requested the accommodation and has received approval to bring the “approved animal” on campus.

Requests for an Emotional Support Animal in student housing require completed ESA Documentation to be submitted before review. Students must obtain the ESA Documentation form from the Office of Disability Services to have completed by their treating psychologist, counselor, therapist, or social worker.

A letter from the prospective resident student explaining the need for the animal, the type of animal, a description of the animal, and the date(s) of the medical diagnosis and prescription for such an animal, and the date the animal was acquired is required along with completion of the ESA Disability Documentation form.

If the office of Disability Services determines that a qualifying disability exists, it shall arrange a meeting with a student housing representative and the person requesting an ESA in student housing. These guidelines will be carefully reviewed with the owner at that meeting.

If an Emotional Support Animal request is granted, the student housing officials will make a reasonable effort to notify members of the residence hall living in close proximity to the animal. This notice will be limited only to information regarding the presence in the building as an accommodation to a student with a disability. There will be no disclosure of the student’s disability or the specific reason the animal is required. The number of people provided notice of the animal will depend on the type of animal and on the type of housing the student is living in each academic year.

Individuals who have medical issues and are adversely affected by animals (e.g. respiratory diseases, asthma, severe allergies) are asked to contact the office of Disability Services and/or the student housing if they are concerned about exposure to an ESA. The person may be required to provide verifiable medical documentation to support such claim. Reasonable accommodation may be made to consider the needs of both persons to resolve the problem as efficiently and effectively as possible.

The office of Disability Services and student housing will collaborate, as needed, to help resolve any conflicts related to an ESA and health concerns. All staff members will consider the needs and/or the appropriate accommodations of all residents involved.

1. The owner of the ESA must comply with state and local requirements regarding vaccination, licensure, leash control, cleanup rules, and animal health. The city of Beebe requires dogs to have a current license obtained from Beebe Animal Control. Vicious dogs including Pit Bull dogs are not permitted in the City of Beebe.
2. The ESA Owner agrees to abide by all other residential policies. An exception to the animal policy made under this ESA Policy does not constitute an exception to any other College policy.
3. The owner must is responsible for making sure the approved animal does not disrupt the residential community.
4. The approved animal will remain in the ESA owner’s assigned room and is not permitted in other student rooms or the common areas of the residential facilities, and other areas of the College such as classrooms, academic buildings, administrative buildings, the library, or the Student Center.
5. Approved animals brought on campus must be under the control of the ESA owner at all times (i.e. leash, harness, crate). The ESA owner is solely responsible for the animal’s well-being, care and cleaning, including but not limited to regular feeding, bathing, grooming, daily care and veterinary services.
6. Approved animals may not be left unattended overnight in the residential facilities to be cared for by another student. Approved animals must be taken with the owner if they leave campus for a prolonged period.
7. When approved animals are left unattended in the owner’s room, they are required to be stored in a crate, carrier or kennel. This containment will allow ASU-Beebe officials to routinely access the residential facilities for maintenance and other routine tasks without posing risk to the animal or employees.
8. Dogs as ESAs must be “house broken” and cats as ESAs must be litter box trained. Other smaller animals (i.e. gerbils, rabbits, guinea pigs etc.) must be caged and may not be left loose in the student’s room.
9. Fecal matter deposited on College grounds or within the facilities need to be removed immediately and disposed of properly. Fecal matter shall be sealed in a plastic bag and placed in a dumpster. If animal waste is inside the building, the owner must properly remove the waste, and properly sanitize the affected area. The owner is to arrange for immediate removal of waste matter if unable to perform the task personally.
10. Approved animals must be taken out of the building by way of the shortest and most direct path, and must be maintained under standard restraints such as a carrier and/or collar when outdoors, in public areas, or in transit and must be confined to the residence when not in transit.
11. The ESA owner’s residence may be inspected for fleas, ticks, pests, and/or damage to the residential facilities once a semester or as needed. If fleas, ticks, or other pests are detected through inspection, the residence hall will be treated using approved fumigation methods by a College-approved pest control service. The ESA owner will be billed for the expense of any necessary pest control treatment.
12. The College may remove or require the removal of the ESA that poses a threat to the health or safety to others on campus, disrupts the educational environment of the College and/or residential community, or if the owner does not comply with these guidelines. It is the responsibility of the ESA owner to ensure the approved animal does not interfere with the quality of life of other residents on campus. This includes noise violations (e.g. barking or other disruptive noise).
13. The owner will be financially responsible for expenses incurred above a standard cleaning or for repairs to the residential premises, including losses, liability, claims, and harm to others caused by the ESA.
14. The owner will hold the College harmless in the event the approved animal goes missing. College staff is not responsible for the retrieval of the approved animal in the event the animal escapes or becomes lost.
15. The owner must notify the Office of Disability Services in writing if the ESA is no longer needed as an ESA or is no longer in the residential facilities. To replace a previously approved ESA, the owner must complete any registration and other related forms to the Office of Disability Services.

The owner of an emotional support animal may be required to remove the animal from College facilities if the owner or animal fails to comply with these guidelines. The following describes behaviors which may result in the removal of the animal:

1. Disruptive Behavior: An animal may be removed if its behavior is unruly or disruptive (e.g. barking, jumping on people, growling, running around, and exhibiting aggressive behavior).
2. Uncleanliness: Animals are required to be housebroken. Owners must also ensure that their animals are kept clean and well-groomed. Animals that are excessively unclean (e.g. repeated soiling of facilities, flea-infested, foul-smelling and/or shedding excessively) may be excluded from University facilities.
3. Damage to property: The owner is financially responsible for any property damage. The owner’s responsibility covers but is not limited to replacement of furniture, carpet, window, wall covering, and the like. The owner is expected to cover these costs at the time of repair and/or move-out.
4. Failure to comply with state or local requirements. State and local requirements include vaccination, licensure, leash control, cleanup rules, and animal health.
5. The determination that an ESA must be removed from student housing will be made by the Dean of Students. This decision may be appealed to the Vice Chancellor for Student Services in writing within five (5) school days of the decision. After reviewing the appeal, the Vice Chancellor for Student Services will notify the owner in writing. The decision of the Vice Chancellor for Student Services shall be final.