Assistance Animals and Service Animals

Service and Emotional Support Animals on Campus

Hampshire College welcomes trained service animals on campus who perform work or a task related to their handler's disability. The College also allows students to request other types of assistance animals subject to the review and approval of the Office of Accessibility Resources and Services (OARS), within policies detailed in the student handbook and relevant laws, as a reasonable accommodation to the no pets policy in on-campus housing.

Students are encouraged to consult with their care providers and support networks before applying to bring an assistance animal to campus, and may also need to consult with OARS staff to learn more about what processes and policies apply to their specific situation.

To begin, refer to the quick guide to understanding service and emotional support animals (pdf)

What is an Assistance Animal?

An assistance animal is not a pet, and may also be called an emotional support animal. 

An emotional support animal (ESA) provides emotional support to alleviate one or more identified effects of a person’s disability. Individuals with a documented disability that substantially limits one or more major life activities must apply and be approved for the opportunity to keep an emotional support animal in campus housing.

What is a Service Animal?

For the purposes of community members living and working at Hampshire College, and due to the space constraints of a college campus, a service animal is considered to be a service dog.

A service dog is specifically trained to provide assistance or perform tasks for the benefit of a person with disabilities. A service dog is expected and required to abide by professional norms regarding behavior while working with a student handler on the Hampshire College campus.

Individuals working on campus with a service dog trained to perform tasks for the benefit of a person with disabilities are encouraged to register with the OARS office, and must license their dog with the Town of Amherst if living on campus. Employees who wish to work with a trained service dog on campus must contact OARS and Human Resources.

What is a Service Animal-in-Training?

Hampshire College wishes to respect the public access rights of service animals-in-training in the state of Massachusetts. Due to health and safety requirements of our residential campus, students on campus must work with the OARS office to be approved to work and live with a service animal-in-training.

A student on campus wishing to work with a service animal-in-training must verify with OARS that the dog-in-training and student handler are registered in a working relationship with a recognized service dog training organization on a consistent and ongoing basis. The student must provide a contact person for their service dog training organization and provide permission for the OARS director to contact their collaborating trainer if needed.

If a student on campus wishes to apply for approval to independently train a service dog for their own disability-related needs as an exception to this policy, approval is subject to the review of the OARS director. A student wishing to apply for such an exemption must start the process by scheduling a time to meet with the OARS office to discuss your particular case.

Service dogs-in-training are expected to abide by the same professional behavior standards and community manners as a trained service dog at all times while working in campus buildings or whenever around people or other assistance or service animals.

Registration Process, Community Norms, and Guidelines

To ensure the health and safety of our community, service animals, service animals-in-training, and emotional support animals are subject to community norms and policies to be approved to live on campus, to remain in campus housing, to work in public spaces and campus buildings, or to be allowed to remain on campus as an accommodation. Please carefully review the behavioral requirements and grievances policy in the student handbook for more information.

• The ADA requires that service and assistance animals be under the control of the handler at all times. In most instances, the handler will be the individual with a disability or a third party who accompanies the individual with a disability specifically to support them as an animal handler.
• In the event of an animal-related emergency or health or safety concern, students should contact Campus Safety and Wellbeing 24/7 at 413.559.5424 for support as needed. In a health or safety related scenario, please also email the OARS director to report the incident in detail once any emergency has passed.
• Students are encouraged to contact their faculty member with behavioral concerns over a service animal or service animal-in-training in the classroom, and faculty should consult with OARS about next steps. Within campus residences, students are encouraged to contact a ResLife staff member if an animal on campus is consistently disruptive.

Requesting an Assistance Animal Accommodation

Emotional support animals (ESAs) are approved through the OARS registration process for first-time registrants.

• For students already registered with OARS, apply for an ESA accommodation by submitting an Additional Accommodation request through the OARS Portal
  • ESA accommodation approval requires detailed documentation from your healthcare provider, including information about how your ESA is necessary to your disability-related needs.
  • Approved ESAs are permitted to reside with the student in assigned campus housing and are permitted outside for walks on campus as appropriate, per species, and always under the close physical control of their student handler.
  • Assistance animals registered as ESAs may not enter any campus building outside their student's assigned residence. Initial violations of this policy as well as any subsequent violations are subject to College policy, and may result in consequences up to the removal of the assistance animal from campus.

Service Animals Living and Working on Campus

Trained service animals who are working on campus with a visitor or commuter student do not need to be approved as a formal accommodation.

Students planning to live in campus housing with their trained service dog are kindly requested to register with OARS so we can support you in navigating campus as a team, and must license their dog with the Town of Amherst.

Under the law, a trained task for a service animal must go beyond the provision of comfort to their handler related to a disability; in this scenario a student handler is encouraged to apply under the Emotional Support Animal (ESA) Policy.

To work and live with a service animal-in-training, students must apply for approval with the OARS office by emailing the OARS Director to schedule a meeting to discuss their case and submit documentation for review.

• Due to health and safety considerations on campus, students living on campus and working with a service animal-in-training must apply with the OARS director and verify that they are registered with a recognized service dog training organization working closely with them and their dog-in-training on a regular and ongoing basis.
  • If a student wishes to apply to independently train a service dog as an exception to this policy, approval is subject to the review of the OARS director due to health and safety needs of the residential campus environment. 
  • A student wishing to apply to work with a service dog-in-training must schedule a time to meet with the OARS director to discuss your particular case.
  • Service dogs-in-training are expected within reason to abide by the same professional behavior and manners as a trained service dog at all times while working in campus buildings or whenever around people or other assistance or service animals.
    • Consistent or serious failure of a service dog-in-training living and working on campus to abide by professional guidelines around public behavior is subject to College policy and may result in the animal no longer being permitted inside campus buildings beyond the student's residence. 
    • Repeated policy violations or incidents risking health and safety, may result in action up to the dog being removed from campus.

Community Guidelines for Animal Expectations

• Assistance Animals and Service Animals must be under their primary handler's close control at all times.
  • They must be harnessed, leashed, or otherwise under the primary handler's close physical control while in public places unless these devices interfere with a service animal’s work or the person’s disability prevents use of these devices. In that case, the person must use voice, signal, or other effective means to maintain control of the animal. They may not allow the animal to wander away from them and must maintain control of the animal at all times.
  • If an assistance or service animal is not under their primary handler's control, or is unsafely approaching other people or animals in the vicinity, or is registered as an ESA but present in a campus building, any College employee may ask the student to remove the animal and secure them in their residence if they wish to continue to participate. However, the student handler is always welcome to return after securing their assistance or service animal in their residence.
• Assistance and service animals must be reliably housebroken.
• Assistance and service animals must be comfortable in the highly stimulating environment of a college campus or college residence.
• Student animal handlers are responsible for feeding, caring for, and maintaining their assistance or service animal with good grooming, health, and hygiene at all times.

• A service dog or assistance animal who is displaying behaviors of fearful aggression or other unsafe or inappropriate behavior toward other people or animals on campus may be subject to OARS inquiry and/or action under College policy.

• All student animal handlers are expected to prevent their assistance or service animal from approaching other people or animals without consent.

Identification of Service Animals

A service animal is not required under law to wear a vest or provide other identification. A trained service animal under the handler's control cannot be excluded from a campus building solely due to lack of vest or other identification.

However, the OARS office strongly recommends that a trained service animal is clearly identified at all times due to the presence of other types of assistance animals on campus. 

• If an animal is present in a campus building but not wearing a vest or other identification, it is permissible for community members to approach the handler and ask:

  1. Is the dog a trained service animal required because of a disability?

  2. What work or task has the dog been trained to perform?

  3. Other questions pertaining to an individual's disability or other details are not allowed.

An OARS registered service dog-in-training is required to wear a service dog-in-training vest while working on campus due to health and community safety concerns of a residential campus environment.

• College employees may approach the handler and ask, "Is this a service dog-in-training registered with the OARS office?" and may contact the OARS director to verify the status of an animal who has been identified as a service dog-in-training in campus buildings. 

Acknowledgement of Responsibility

Under the Federal Housing Act, Hampshire students with a qualifying disability are welcome to apply for the opportunity to have an emotional support animal (ESA) in campus housing.

Please be advised that our available campus housing options may not be compatible with the health and well-being of all animals, due to the inherent space constraints and social factors of some types of college housing.

We ask that you carefully consider your animal's health and well-being while making the decision to apply to live together in a small dorm room or other college housing.

Because policies evolve and change, before animals return to campus each academic year, it is essential that their owner review all relevant Student Handbook pages pertaining to assistance animals.

• Service and ESA overview
• Pets, Service, and Support Animals
• Expectations for Animals on Campus
• Student Responsibilities
• Resolution of Conflict and Appeals

Animal Documentation

Each kind of animal requires different levels of veterinary care, vaccination, and licensure. Students should check with their vet for access to relevant documentation and can refer to the Town of Amherst for relevant licensing requirements.

Local Boarding Options

In the case that students need to house their animals off-campus during breaks or for any other reason, the below organizations have been found to be a reliable resource by previous students.

• Pet Hotel Hadley
• Valley Inn for Pets
• Contented Cats
• Pampurred Puss

Local Surrender/No-Kill Shelters

In the case a student is no longer able to care for an animal and needs to surrender it, or if a student is approved for an ESA and is interested in rescuing an animal, the below local establishments represent a few options to consider.

• Rainbow Rescues 
• Westfield Cat Project
• Thomas J. O'Connor Animal Control and Adoption Center
• Dakin Humane Society (Leverett and Springfield Locations)

Campus Community Resources

Consultation and Support

• To share questions or to consult about animals on campus or in your work/living space, please consult with the Office of Accessibility Resources and Services (OARS) and/or the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities.
• Frequently Asked Questions about Service Animals and the ADA
• ADA "Fact Sheet"

Report an Incident

Most animal owners at Hampshire are very responsible with their ESA's or service animals. If you encounter an incident regarding an animal and its handler that violates policy, is disruptive, or is dangerous, please report an incident so appropriate staff can follow up to educate about and uphold Hampshire norms and expectations.

Proper Etiquette for Other Students/Staff/Faculty/Administrators on Campus 

Service animals and emotional support animals are not pets. Accordingly, the College asks that students and their visitors adhere to the following good practices when interacting with service animals and emotional support animals.

Individuals should not:

• Assume that the animal is a pet.
• Pet/touch an emotional support animal or service animal without asking the handler's permission. Petting distracts them from their responsibilities.
• Make assumptions about the necessity of the emotional support animal or service animal.
• Ask the handlers about their specific conditions.
• Prioritize the needs of another individual over the needs of an individual with an emotional support animal or service animal. For example, we cannot restrict the access of a service animal for fear another member of the community may have an allergy. If such a conflict arises, the animal's handler and the effected party should seek immediate remediation through the conflict resolution process.
• Feed an emotional support animal or service animal.
• Deliberately startle, tease, or taunt an emotional support animal or service animal.
• Separate or attempt to separate animals from their handlers.
• Hesitate to ask the handlers if they would like assistance if the animal and/or handler seem confused about a direction in which to turn, an accessible entrance, the location of an elevator, etc.

Interested in Learning About Training Service Animals?

The University of Massachusetts Amherst offers a course (both semesters) to learn about training service animals. They partner with Diggity Dogs, a non-profit organization based in Shelburne Falls, MA, which provides service dogs and service dog training and support services. Read an article about UMass students getting involved in training and educating about service animals.

Learn more about ANIML SCI 398D