Exception 1: Service Animals

To qualify as someone who can have a service animal, the individual handler must have a disability and the animal must be trained to perform specific work or tasks related to that disability. While the animal must be trained, there is no requirement to certify or visually label (i.e., specific harnesses, ID tags, etc.) a service animal.

Bringing your service animal to campus

Brown and black dog with a harness and leash.

Students and visitors are not required to register their service animals with the college but are expected to adhere to certain requirements. 

Faculty and staff must request a service animal as a reasonable accommodation with the ADA Coordinator (Linda Koenig, lkoenig@ithaca.edu) before bringing the animal to work.

Where can a service animal go?

A service animal is allowed into Ithaca College Buildings while performing their duties in most locations that their handler would otherwise have access to. A service animal may be restricted if there is a direct threat or if there would be an unreasonable impact on the health or safety of the animal or a member of the College (e.g., in a sterile lab experience). In the case of a conflict, alternative options will be determined on an individual and interactive basis with the handler, an appropriate departmental representative, and an appropriate accommodations officer.

Expectations for Service Animals

The regular care of a service animal, including bathing, feeding, meeting state/local animal mandates, and responding to the medical needs of the animal is the sole responsibility of the handler.

Behavioral Expectations

The handler is responsible for ensuring the service animal is meeting behavioral expectations and the code of conduct.

  • The animal must be under the control of the handler at all times, generally via leash or verbal/visual commands.
  • Dogs should not bark regularly or consistently. A single or limited amount of noise may be permissible so long as the handler immediately responds to regain control. Some barking may also be permissible if this is a specific task related to a disability (e.g., to warn their handler of immediate distress, or to warn others that the handler is in distress). This barking is considered limited and appropriate.
  • The service animal cannot pose a direct threat to others (e.g., biting, snapping, growling, or otherwise behaving defensively).
  • The service animal should be toileting in appropriate areas (e.g., grassy surfaces). It is the handler's responsibility to immediately clear and dispose of any waste from campus grounds, dispose of waste in a sealed plastic bag, and place the bag directly in a dumpster or other appropriate receptacle.
  • When not in motion, the service animal should be immediately adjacent to their handler. This may be sitting next to, on the lap of, or under the handler. Service animals are not allowed on public furniture.

When an issue arises

Service animals and handlers who are not behaving appropriately may be addressed by members of the College. If the handler is unable to bring the service animal under control, they will be required to leave the immediate space.

Concerns around behavioral responsibilities may be reported to Student Conduct if the handler is a student, or Human Resources if the handler is an employee. Violations of the behavioral expectations may result in a determination that the animal is no longer allowed on campus.

Report a Concern

Want to learn more?

Unsure of how to interact with service animals? Want to know more about the types of functions they provide? This handy guide will provide you with the basics of how service animals should be treated in public and how they provide assistance to their humans.

Service Animal FAQs