Service Animal Policy
UW-Oshkosh and Titan Athletics invites all service animals assisting individuals with disabilities in all facilities and programs on the UW-Oshkosh campus. Non-service animals or pets are not permitted in UW-Oshkosh residential, academic or athletic facilities. Emotional support animals are not permitted at UW-Oshkosh athletics events or at athletics facilities.
I. Definition
“Service animal” is defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) as any guide dog, signal dog, or other animal individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including, but not limited to, guiding individuals with impaired vision, alerting individuals with impaired hearing to intruders or sounds, providing minimal protection or rescue work, pulling a wheelchair, or fetching dropped items.
II. When a Service Animal May be Asked to Leave or Prohibited in a UW–Oshkosh Facility or Program
A service animal may be asked to leave a UW-Oshkosh facility or program if the animal’s behavior or presence poses a direct threat to the health or safety of others. For example, a service animal that displays vicious behavior towards people may be excluded. Service animals may also be excluded in areas where the presence of a service animal fundamentally alters the nature of a program or activity or is disruptive. Examples may include, but are not limited to, research labs, areas requiring protective clothing, food preparation areas, and primate labs. In addition, animals not covered under the ADA service animal definition can be asked to leave a UW-Oshkosh facility or program.
Emotional Support Animals
Emotional support animals are any species, except restricted farm or wild animals or animals that present a health or safety risk ascertained by an individualized review, that alleviate one or more identified symptoms or effects of a person’s disability. An emotional support animal is not a pet and could be a reasonable accommodation under the Fair Housing Act or Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. Emotional support animals, unlike service animals, have no special training to perform a specific task.
Additional information about emotional support animals:
Not permitted in any university facilities, including those offering goods or services to the general public, unless approved as a reasonable accommodation by a university disability authority.
UW-Oshkosh Assistance & Service Animals
