[Artemisia] pets at events

[S CLEMENGER]

companion and therapy? oh sweet jaysus on a pogo stick! That's absurd.
--Maire


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jackman-Brink, Julia" <Julia.Jackman-Brink at mso.umt.edu>
To: "Kingdom of Artemisia mailing list" <artemisia at lists.gallowglass.org>
Sent: Thursday, July 30, 2009 5:03 PM
Subject: Re: [Artemisia] pets at events


Having just mundanely dealt with this very issue here on Campus....

Everyone needs to be aware there are now several categories of "Service" 
animals. There are the traditional "Service" types that you see helping the 
impaired, but there also now "Companion" and even "Therapy" animals. You'll 
encounter all of these terms depending on the need of an individual or 
medical community.  On a campus of 13,000 we often have all three types. 
These animals all serve very different purposes for the people involved.

We cannot ask WHY anyone needs them.  That is a privacy issue. Don't even go 
there.

What matters to us, and more importantly to event stewards is this:

An official service/therapy/companion animal will have proper documentation 
from their medical provider or therapist and/or an official ID card for 
their animal, to prove their status. They are required to provide it if 
asked for proof of status.  All animals of this type are required to have a 
tag or vest identifying them animals as such when out in the public. If they 
don't have it, then we aren't obligated to recognize the animal as such. 
That is the way it is.