Service Animal Accommodations

The Lake Oswego Public Library welcomes service animals. Service animals, as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), are dogs or, in some cases miniature horses, that have been trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities. Animals that have not been trained as service animals are not allowed in the library.

Service animals must always be under the handler’s control and must not pose a direct threat to the health or safety of other people. Service animals must comply with state and county animal control laws.

Service animals, like other animals, may not be left tethered or unattended on library premises.

Library staff may ask the handler to remove the service animal from the library if the animal becomes disruptive, including barking repeatedly or exhibiting threatening behavior, and its handler cannot or does not regain control of it.

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 the handler’s disability.

For examples of the kinds of tasks service animals may be trained to perform, please see the ADA's webpage on service animals. 

What questions can staff ask a library patron with service animal?

Staff members can ask the patron if their 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 the patron’s disability is or ask for documentation. However, patrons can provide documentation if they wish.

Definitions

• Disability:A physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities.
• Service animal: A dog, or in some cases a miniature horse, which is trained to do a task or service directly related to a disability. Oregon state law also uses the term “assistance animal.”

Per the Library’s Code of Conduct policy, the following conduct regarding animals is prohibited on library property:

Bringing pets or animals into the library, except for assistance animals as defined in ORS 346.680 or ORS 346.610 or as allowed in order to comply with the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), or except as allowed at a library-approved event. Only trained dogs and miniature horses are recognized as service animals under this policy, per titles II and III of the ADA. If a service animal is out of control, including barking repeatedly, and the handler does not take effective action to control it, library staff may request that the animal be removed from the premises.