Service Animals in Lab Policy

Owned by Liz Burd
Last updated: Aug 13, 2021
4 min read

Purpose

Bethel University’s Natural and Behavioral Sciences Division, Bethel’s Health & Safety Officer, and the Office of Accessibility Resources & Services developed this policy to ensure the safety of staff, faculty, students, and service dogs in teaching and research laboratories.

Authority, Responsibility, and Scope

This policy applies to Bethel University faculty, staff, or students with disabilities that require a service dog. This policy is to be used in conjunction with Bethel University’s Procedural Guidelines for Maintaining a Service Animal. This policy is for service dogs only. Miniature horses or other types of service animals are not considered suitable for the lab environment and thus are prohibited (subject to student appeal and further administrative review in appropriate cases). A “Student Partner” as referenced in these guidelines refers to the individual who benefits from the service dog’s use and training.

Department/Faculty/Supervisor/Instructors shall be responsible for:

  • Overseeing the environment and responding to any concerns by discussing the situation with the owner first; and
  • Contacting the Office of Accessibility Resources & Services to report animal behavior concerns.

University Health and Safety shall be responsible for:

  • Providing recommendations for animal and personnel safety.

The Office of Accessibility Resources & Services shall be responsible for:

  • Support of students who request the need of a service dog in a laboratory; and
  • Consultation with all concerned regarding the rights and protections of students who have service animals.

Service Dog Owner shall be responsible for:

  • Meeting with the department and/or instructors prior to the beginning of the semester to discuss accommodations;
  • Providing the necessary personal protective equipment for the dog;
  • Ensuring the dog is well-behaved and does not cause a disruption, distraction, or injury to others in the laboratory area; and
  • Clean up and dispose of urine and fecal waste.

Procedures for Departments, Faculty, Supervisors, and Instructors:

General Information: Faculty and Staff are not allowed to request medical documentation for the service dog, ask about the person’s disability, or have the service dog demonstrate its task.

BioSafety Level One (BSL 1) Laboratories: Service dogs are permitted in BSL 1 laboratories only after a risk assessment is completed by instructor, student, and the Director of Accessibility Resources and Services. Service animals are not permitted near tissue culture hoods or in tissue culture areas.

BioSafety Level Two (BSL 2) Laboratories:Service dogs are not permitted in BSL 2 laboratories.

Radioactive Materials: Service dogs are not permitted in laboratories in which radioactive materials are used.

Clean Rooms: Service dogs are not permitted in designated clean rooms.

Working With Live Animals: Service dogs are not permitted in laboratories or other spaces where mammals and birds are being used.  Service dogs are also not permitted in mammal and bird housing and support areas.

Field and Off-Campus Experiences (See also Protective Equipment of Service Dogs Section): The student will be required to adhere to the Service Animal Policy of the destination facility or location. Transportation to an off-campus location will be determined by the instructor, student, and the Director of Accessibility Resources and Services. Field and off-campus experiences include, but are not limited to, outdoor nature settings, canoeing, and power plants.

Risks to the Animal:

Physical Hazards (See also Protective Equipment of Service Dogs Section)

  • Cuts - Cut risks are present on the floor in the form of broken glassware and other sharp objects. Cut risks are present as well when working with scalpels, scissors, etc.
  • Ultraviolet Light (UV), Laser light, and strobe light exposure - UV and laser light can cause severe eye damage in labs using these light sources. Strobe lights have the potential for causing animal agitation.
  • Sound exposure - Loud or high-pitched noises may be present in certain labs which could cause hearing damage or animal agitation
  • Heat sources - Work in labs may include working around heat sources such as hot plates, open flame, soldering irons, etc.
  • Machinery - For labs using machinery, wood working, metal working equipment there is the risk of animal or animal limb/tail entrapment, sharp/cutting surfaces, particle debris on the floor, etc.
  • Objects in motion - Some labs use moving objects that may agitate the animal or injure the animal if they are in the way of fast moving objects.
  • High voltage - Some labs work with high voltage or instruments that produce high voltage.          

Chemical Hazards (See also Protective Equipment of Service Dogs Section)

  • Chemical Spills - risk of a chemical spill on a service dog is present in any lab using chemicals; chemicals can be corrosive, toxic, flammable, oxidative, reactive, or carcinogenic
  • Chemical Vapors - labs using chemicals with heavy vapors may be hazardous to service dogs
  • Mammalian and Microbial Cell Work - service dogs may be at risk of being contaminated by cell culture lines and microbes if exposed and the cell culture lines and microbes may be at risk of being contaminated by the service dog

Procedures and Behavioral Expectations for Service Animals:

A service animal means any animal that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability. The work or tasks performed by a service animal must be directly related to the student’s disability. The service animal must be under the control of its student handler at all times while on university property. Service animals that are ill should not be taken into the laboratory. The student partner is responsible for assuring that the service animal does not interfere with the routine activities of the university. The student partner is financially responsible for the actions of the service dog including bodily injury or property damage.

Service animals need to be able to stand under the shower in case of emergency. Service animals need to be well trained to leave dropped objects. It is a large risk to the animal to pick up items dropped in a laboratory setting.

Protective Equipment of Service Dogs:

Personal protective equipment (PPE) must be worn by the service dog in the laboratory. The student handler is responsible to obtain all necessary PPE at the student’s expense. A service dog will not be permitted in the laboratory without the appropriate PPE. PPE required for the service dog will be determined based on the PPE requirements for students enrolled in the course. PPE may include any of the following:

  • Boots to cover the feet of the service dog
  • Lab coats
  • Absorbent pads for the service animal to lie on during a laboratory session
  • Goggles (Chemical Splash or UV/Laser)
  • Ear protection
  • Outdoor PPE such as life jackets


References:

American with Disabilities Act (ADA) Requirements for Service Animals

Bethel’s Procedural Guidelines and Agreement for Maintaining a Service Animal at Bethel University