The key elements of the Animals on Campus Policy are:

• Service animals are permitted in all publicly accessible parts of campus;
• Service animals may be permitted in non-public areas of campus if approved as an accommodation pursuant to the Employment Accommodations Policy or Academic Accommodations for Students with Disabilities Policy;
• Service-animals-in-training may be permitted in indoor spaces on campus but must be approved by the relevant authority;
• Pets are not permitted in any indoor space on campus (with the exception of University Residences, which has specific rules regarding pets within residence).

A Service Animal is an animal that performs a service for a person with a disability. Under the Animals on Campus Policy, Service Animals are either:

• Guide dogs (as defined under the Blind Persons’ Rights Act)
• An animal that meets the definition of service animal under the Integrated Accessibility Standards under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA Standards). An animal will be a Service Animal under the AODA standards if:
  • The animal can be readily identified as being used by the person for reasons relating to the person’s disability; or
  • The person being accompanied by the animal has documentation from one of the following regulated health professionals confirming that the person requires for animal for reasons relating to their disability:
    • Audiologist or speech-language pathologist
    • Chiropractor
    • Nurse
    • Occupational therapist
    • Optometrist
    • Physician or surgeon
    • Physiotherapist
    • Psychologist
    • Psychotherapist or mental health therapist

Service animals perform tasks or functions for the benefit of an individual with a disability to help them with their disability. The terms ‘emotional support animal’ or ‘comfort animal’ are sometimes used to refer to animals that provide comfort to a person but are not needed by a person for reasons related to a disability and have not been trained for specific tasks.

Emotional support or comfort animals will only be a Service Animal if they meet the definition of a Service Animal under the AODA standards.

In accordance with the standards under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, Service Animals are permitted in any area of the campus which is open to the public, such as:

• Hallways, walkways, and atriums
• The Campus Store
• The University Library
• Service offices, such as Brock Central and Campus Safety Services
• Publicly accessible dining areas, such as the Market Hall or Hungry Badger (note: Service Animals are permitted in areas of food premises where food is served, sold or offered for sale, but may be excluded from areas where food is prepared, processed, or packaged)

Service animals are only permitted in non-public areas of the campus if they are an approved accommodation.

Employee of the University

If you are an employee of the University, you can submit a request to employeehealth@brocku.ca and visit the Medical Accommodations Sharepoint site for more details.

Student

If you are a student, register with Student Accessibility Services, which will review your service animal request as part of your accommodation plan.

The University recognizes that its residences are the living environments for residence students and as a result, Housing Services allows students to reside with their Service Animal and may allow emotional support animals, when recommended by an attesting professional. Student Accessibility Services will notify Housing Services of any students who have an approved Service Animal. Students seeking an emotional support animal, should review the information on the Housing Services Accessibility page.  Students, and their attesting professional, should complete the Documentation form and upload the form when submitting their Accessibility Accommodation request. Housing Services staff will then reach out to the student directly to request any additional documentation required (i.e. animal health information).

The AODA ensures that people with disabilities are not prevented from being accompanied by their service animal in any publicly accessible area. It does not apply to non-public areas, such as private offices or classrooms. For this reason, any need for a service animal in a non-public area is handled as an accommodation request. Once approved as an accommodation, registering the service animal enables the animal to receive a Brock card and will help confirm your right to be accompanied by the animal in non-public areas.

Yes, individuals can continue to walk their pet dogs around the grounds of campus. The Animals on Campus Policy only excludes pets in indoor University spaces.

All dog owners and handlers are expected to abide by animal control by-law requirements, including:

• All dogs must be leashed or otherwise physically controlled
• All dog feces must be removed from the property immediately

Service animals are working animals with a job to do. They are not pets. You should never interact with a Service Animal without being invited to by the handler. When around a service animal you should:

• Reduce distractions. The tasks service animals perform are important. Calling to the animal, petting them, or enticing them with food or toys is distracting and may be harmful.
• Keep your own animals away. Despite being well trained, service animals are still animals and allowing your animal to approach a working animal may result in a dangerous distraction.
• Don’t feed the animal. The handler needs to control all aspects of the diet of their service animal.
• Don’t stare. Making eye contact is inviting to dogs and may distract them.
• Let sleeping dogs lie. It is not uncommon for a service animal to lie down and rest. You should not wake the animal nor is it necessary to tell the handler. They know how to wake their animal in an appropriate manner.

Some service animals are trained to seek help if their handler is in distress. If you are approached by a service animal without their handler present, interact with the animal by asking, “Do you need help?”, “Show me the way”, or “What’s wrong?”.

If the animal is visibly identifiable as a service animal, such as through a vest or harness, you should treat the animal as a service animal and follow the guidance about interacting with service animals above. Be aware that service animals may come in many shapes and sizes, and may be on a leash, in a harness, or even walking free. Assumptions about what a service animal is or should look like can be as harmful as an assumption about an individual’s identity.

If the animal is not readily identifiable as a service animal and you have a concern about it being in a non-public area of campus, you may contact Campus Safety Services at extension 3200,  which will handle any immediate safety concerns and consult with Student Accessibility Services and Health Management and Wellness as needed to respond appropriately.

Although allergies or a fear of animals are generally not sufficient conditions to exclude a Service Animal, in some cases a person’s allergy or phobia may be so severe that the presence of an animal prevents their participation in the work or learning environment. In those situations, employees should consult with Health Management and Wellness and students should consult with Student Accessibility Services.

To support accessibility, the University may allow service animals-in-training on campus in certain situations, but reserves the right to impose limits (e.g. duration, location) or to deny requests where it deems necessary. To request approval to bring a service animal-in-training to campus, students should contact Student Accessibility Services or Housing Services (for animals in Residences), and employees should speak to their supervisor and Health Management and Wellness.

The Animals on Campus Policy does not apply to animals which are on campus for research or teaching purposes. The use of animals of research, teaching or testing at Brock University is subject to ethical requirements under the Ontario Animals for Research Act, the Canadian Council of Animal Care Guidelines for the Care and Use of Experimental Animals, and Brock University’s policies as outlined in the Faculty Handbook, Policy Statement 2.3 Animal Care and Use. For more information about the University’s Animal Care Committee or protocols around animals for research and teaching, contact acc@brocku.ca.