Hello all - We are seeing more people bringing animals with them to the Hackley Public Library. The owners claim they are comfort animals, support animals and therapy dogs. Some of these people have even purchased support animal vests or collars for their animals on the internet. How are you handling this? The State of Michigan ADA Compliance Office has a very helpful FAQ for service animals, which are defined as "a guide dog, signal dog, or other animal individually trained to provide assistance to a person with a disability. *A service animal is not a pet*." The Compliance Office further states that "Emotional support animals are not service animals under Title II and Title III of the ADA. The tasks performed by a service animal must be directly related to the individual's disability. ... *While comfort animals are often used as part of a medical treatment plan, they are not considered service animals under the ADA*. "Service animals perform some of the functions and tasks that the person with a disability cannot perform for him or herself....Some examples include: * Alerting persons with hearing disabilities to sounds * Pulling wheelchairs or carrying and picking up things for persons with mobility disabilities * Assisting persons with mobility disabilities with balance." The Compliance Office FAQ goes on to offer specific questions and advice on service animals, including the questions that we can ask patrons about their animal, and other useful information. Emotional support animals seem to be more of a grey area, and some of them cause problems for other patrons and for staff. We've had reptiles. We had 6 a week old puppy that was not housebroken. Law suits have been mentioned to us. Other nearby libraries are said by patrons to be completely friendly to all dogs all the time. Is this true? How are other libraries handling people who want to bring an emotional support animal into the library? I know that many airlines are now allowing emotional support animals on planes. But libraries? Marty Ferriby, Director Hackley Public Library 316 W. Webster Ave. Muskegon, MI 49440 231-722-8003