To maintain the security and well-being of campus constituents, St. Cloud State University (SCSU) regulates animals on university property. There are four basic types of animals that may be found on campus grounds, but not all are permitted within University facilities; service, emotional support, work, and companion.
Service Animals: Service animals are defined by the American's with Disabilities Act (ADA) as any dog, or in rare cases, a miniature horse, 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. Service animals are permitted to accompany a person with a disability in all areas where members of the public are permitted such as, but not limited to, offices, classrooms, dining halls, residence halls, conference rooms, and sports stadiums.
It is not always apparent whether a dog is a service dog, but the ADA regulates what types of inquiries can be made regarding service animals. The ADA permits individuals to ask if the dog is a service animal because of a disability and what work or task the dog has been trained to perform. It is not permissible to inquire about the person's disability or medical documentation, nor is it acceptable to require proof of the dog’s certification or ask that the dog execute the trained task.
Emotional Support Animals: Emotional Support Animals (ESAs) are also referred to as assistance animals, comfort animals, or therapy animals. They are not considered service animals because they are not required to have special training or perform a specific task. ESAs are often used to provide therapeutic benefit to those dealing with depression, anxiety, phobias, or other conditions in which contact with an animal may improve physical, social, emotional, or cognitive functioning.
ESAs are not protected under the ADA, and are not permitted in indoor public areas such as classrooms, residence hall community spaces, dining halls, computer labs, offices, or other non-residential campus facilities. They are permitted in residential hall rooms, apartments, or other campus housing to include a route through a community space in compliance with the fair housing act and section 504 of the rehabilitation sct of 1973.
Work Animals: Work animals are those brought onto university property for educational or research purposes or to perform a service, such as animals brought in for therapeutic stress relief during finals week. Work animals might also include animals brought onto university property by a third party to perform a task such as an animal used in pest control or a police dog used in law enforcement efforts. Animals used for education or research are governed by the research involving animal subjects policy. Animals brought to campus for therapeutic purposes may be arranged by various SCSU departments including Counseling and Psychological Services, but will only utilize animals that are trained as therapy animals and registered with a reputable animal therapy organization such as Pet Partners.
Companion Animals: Companion animals are those animals that are generally referred to as pets and are kept for companionship or leisure time activities. They may not be trained to perform any specific kind of task and they are not owned specifically to assist with a mental or physical impairment or disability. Pets or companion animals are prohibited from indoor public areas such as, but not limited to, classrooms, offices, dining halls, and meeting areas. This prohibition extends to residence halls or other campus housing with the exception of fish, which are limited to a tank no larger than 10 gallons.
Denying Access or Animal Removal
Per ADA regulations, SCSU reserves the right to deny access to campus properties or require an owner or handler to remove their animal from campus properties if the animal behaves in an unacceptable way. Unacceptable behavior may include, but is not limited to:
- Uncontrolled barking, whining, growling or making other distracting noises.
- Uncontrolled jumping on, nudging, lunging at, sniffing, or licking other people.
- Regularly escaping from handler or overpowering the handler.
- Regularly begging for or taking food not freely offered by others.
- Destroying university property or the property of others on campus.
- Urinating or defecating indoors or in inappropriate areas.
- Behaviors that pose a direct threat to health or safety of others.
SCSU may also deny access or require an owner or handler to remove their animal if the owner or handler has failed to care properly for their animal and the lack of care becomes a distraction to the point of interfering with normal business or academic activities. For example, if an owner allows their animal to become unclean and the odor prevents the professor or other students from being able to focus on the lesson.
When a service animal is denied access or removed pursuant to this policy, SCSU will make efforts to reasonably accommodate the owner or handler such that they may continue to participate in the program or activity without the service animal present.
Emergency Situations
In emergency or evacuation situations, SCSU and/or emergency responders will make every effort to keep the service or therapy animal with its owner or handler. However, priority will be given to the safety of the owner and may necessitate leaving the animal behind in certain emergency situations.