Operating Policy and Procedure
HSC OP: 76.10, Animals in TTUHSC Buildings and on Grounds
PURPOSE: The purpose of this Health Sciences Center Operating Policy and Procedure (HSC OP) is to define the guidelines governing the presence of non-laboratory animals in TTUHSC buildings and grounds.
REVIEW: This HSC OP will be reviewed by September 1 of every fourth year (E4Y) by the Chief of Police, the Director of Student Disability Services, and the Vice President for Facilities and Safety Services with recommendations for reversions forwarded to the Executive Vice President of Finance and Operations (EVPFO) by September 15.
POLICY/PROCEDURE:
All animals are prohibited from being kept, harbored, or maintained in any TTUHSC
building or grounds with the exception of laboratory animals, police K-9's, or qualified
service animals utilized for or by persons with disabilities or animals enrolled in
the institution’s Animal Therapy Program for approved events. Following the Americans
with Disabilities Act, "Service animals are defined as dogs individually trained to
do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities. Examples of such work or tasks
include guiding people who are blind, alerting people who are deaf, pulling a wheelchair,
alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure, reminding a person with
mental illness to take prescribed medications, calming a person with Post Traumatic
Stress Disorder (PTSD) during an anxiety attack, or performing other duties. Service
animals are working animals, not pets. The work or task a dog has been trained to
provide must be directly related to the person’s disability. Dogs whose sole function
is to provide comfort or emotional support do not qualify as service animals under
the ADA."
Emotional Support Animals (ESAs) do not qualify under the Animal Therapy Program, or as Service Animals under the ADA. ESAs are not authorized to be brought on campus.
The ADA regulation states "When it is not obvious what service an animal provides, only limited inquiries are allowed. Staff may ask two questions: (1) is the dog a service animal required because of a disability, and (2) what work or task has the dog been trained to perform. Staff cannot ask about the person’s disability, require medical documentation, require a special identification card or training documentation for the dog, or ask that the dog demonstrate its ability to perform the work or task.
• Allergies and fear of dogs are not valid reasons for denying access or refusing service to people using service animals. When a person who is allergic to dog dander and a person who uses a service animal must spend time in the same room or facility, for example, in a school classroom or at a homeless shelter, they both should be accommodated by assigning them, if possible, to different locations within the room or different rooms in the facility.
• A person with a disability cannot be asked to remove his service animal from the premises unless: (1) the dog is out of control and the handler does not take effective action to control it or (2) the dog is not housebroken. When there is a legitimate reason to ask that a service animal be removed, staff must offer the person with the disability the opportunity to obtain goods or services without the animal’s presence.
• Establishments that sell or prepare food must generally allow service animals in public areas even if state or local health codes prohibit animals on the premises.
• People with disabilities who use service animals cannot be isolated from other patrons, treated less favorably than other patrons, or charged fees that are not charged to other patrons without animals.”
Enforcement of this HSC OP shall be the responsibility of the Texas Tech Police. Facilities and Safety Services will be responsible for removing any structures or items used to harbor or maintain non-approved animals. Any person who is found to be in violation of this policy shall immediately remove such animal from the building or grounds in question at the request of the Texas Tech Police. Failure to comply with this request may result in appropriate legal or disciplinary action.
Violations of this policy are subject to disciplinary action as stipulated in HSC OP 70.31, When continued and/or obvious abuse of the policy is evident, appropriate actions will be taken by the following individuals to assure compliance.
a. The dean of the appropriate school will be responsible for cases involving students, faculty and staff within their school.
b. The appropriate vice president will be responsible for handling cases involving staff within their respective division.
c. The chief of police will be responsible for handling cases involving individuals who are not student, faculty, or staff of TTUHSC.