Animals Policy

In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, any patron with a disability is allowed to bring their service animal into all areas of the library where members of the public are normally allowed to go. A service animal is defined as an animal that has been individually trained to do work or perform tasks for an individual with a disability. The task(s) performed by the animal must be directly related to the person's disability. Service animals in training are included in this definition. 

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All service animals must be under the full custody and control of their handler at all times. Service animals must be harnessed, leashed, or tethered, unless these devices interfere with the service animal's work or the owner's disability prevents using these devices. In that case, the individual must maintain control of the service animal through voice, signal, or other effective controls. Owners of the service animals are solely responsible for the supervision and care of the service animal. Therefore, owners must keep service animals directly with them at all times. 

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Staff may ask two questions: 

• Is the animal a service animal required because of a disability? 

• What work or task has the animal been trained to perform?

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A person with a disability may not be asked to remove their service animal (or service animal in training) unless: 

• The animal is out of control and the handler does not take effective action to control it; or

• The animal is not housebroken and urinates or defecates in the library. 

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Where there is a legitimate reason to ask that a service animal be removed, library staff must give the person with the disability the option to obtain library services without having the service animal on the premises. 

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