Service Animals

The Oregon City Public Library and all city facilities welcome service animals. Please leave pets and companion animals at home.

Stated in the Service Animals and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) FAQ from the U.S. Department of Justice,

"A service animal is defined as a dog that has been individually trained to do work or perform tasks for an individual with a disability. The task(s) performed by the dog must be directly related to the person's disability."

Disability Rights Oregon

Disability Rights Oregon (PDF) offers state-specific definitions, general guidelines, and FAQs regarding service animals:

• You must maintain control of your service or companion animal at all times.
• Your service animal must not pose a direct threat to the health or safety of other people.
• Your animal must comply with state and county animal control laws.

What Service Must the Animal Provide?

Service animals must be individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities. The work or task a dog has been trained to provide must be directly related to your disability.

Examples include guiding people who are blind, alerting people who are deaf, pulling a wheelchair, alerting and protecting a person with a seizure disorder, reminding a person with mental illness to take prescribed medications, guiding a person with a mental illness out the room during an anxiety attack, or performing other duties.

Companion animals do not qualify as service animals under Titles II or III of the ADA, but may be approved as a reasonable accommodation under Title I.

What Can I Be Asked?

Staff members can ask if your animal is a service animal, and what tasks it has been trained to perform. Under the ADA and Oregon state law, they cannot ask what your disability is or ask you for documentation. However, you can provide documentation if you want to.

Definitions

• Disability: A physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities.
• Service animal: An animal which is trained to do a task or service directly related to a disability. Oregon state law also uses "assistance animal."
• Companion animal: An animal that provides emotional support, comfort or companionship.

Library Rules

Per Library policy, the following conduct regarding animals is prohibited on library property: Bringing non-service animals into the library except as allowed at a library-approved event. Tethering animals near a library entrance is prohibited and may result in a phone call to Animal Control.

As for Library Park, the Oregon City Parks Department states in its Park Rules and Ordinances: Pets are welcome, but must be leashed - and please clean up after your pets.