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Animal Policy

The care and feeding of stray animals on campus is prohibited. While an effort is made to protect wildlife on our campus personal contact with wild or stray domesticated animals can pose a health risk. Report stray animals to the Facilities Department who will notify Animal Control for removal if necessary.

Except outlined below, no person shall bring an animal onto campus.


Exceptions

The administration may make exceptions to these regulations for special circumstances:

  • These regulations do not apply to service animals.  Campus visitors with service animals may access all public facilities.  Nonpublic areas include, but are not limited to, classrooms, laboratories and learning labs.  Students with service animals must contact The Center for Student Accessibility.
  • These regulations do not apply to animals used by law enforcement or emergency personnel in the exercise of their official duties.
  • These regulations do not apply to animals used in academic programs for teaching or research.


Licensing and Vaccinations

If applicable, all animals brought onto campus must be vaccinated and/or licensed as required by state or local laws.


Animals at Public Gatherings

Except as provided for above, animals are not allowed to be brought to any public gathering held on campus such as, but not limited to, sporting events, outdoor concerts, demonstrations or exhibits.


Impoundment

Any animal on campus in violation of these regulations may be impounded by proper authority.


Service Animal Policy

The policy may be summarized as follows:

  • The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) defines a service animal as a dog or a miniature horse that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability.
  • The work or task must be directly related to the individual's disability.
  • The animal must be licensed and in compliance as required by Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control Ordinance 98-22.
  • The individual must provide proper care and supervision of the animal, as well as clean up if the animal defecates on campus and properly dispose of the waste by placing it in a plastic bag and depositing it in a trash receptacle.
  • The dog must be on a leash, harness or tether at all times unless such use prevents the performance of the necessary task.  In this situation the animal must be otherwise under control (e.g., by voice control, signals, etc.).

Faculty and staff may clarify the animal's status ONLY if there is a compelling reason to believe that the animal is NOT a service animal.  In that instance, it is permissible to make two inquiries to establish the animal's status:  1) Is the animal required because of a disability? And 2) What work or task has the animal been trained to perform?  If the individual's responses do not clarify the concern, refer the issue to the Campus Manager of The Center for Student Accessibility (for student issues), Executive Director of Human Resources (for employment/employee issues) or ADA/504 Coordinator (for visitor issues), as appropriate.

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