SERVICE ANIMAL POLICY
The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Erie (UUErie) Service Animal Policy is informed by the requirements of the ADA. Although religious institutions are exempt from these requirements, we wish to follow them in the spirit of welcome and in accordance with our Principles. However, since animals can present unwelcoming challenges to others, including people with allergies or those with fears of animals in close proximity, we expect all animals in the church to follow the guidelines below.
The ADA specifically addresses Service Animals (SAs), which are dogs (and sometimes miniature horses) trained to do specific task(s) to assist a person with a disability. If a Service or Support Animal comes to UUErie, a brief announcement should be made during the service reminding parents to prevent their children from approaching the animal. An age-appropriate statement should be given to the children during RE reminding them of the same. This adherence to etiquette will allow the animal to work undistracted, protect the dignity of the handler, and protect the children.
Service Animals
- Must remain with their handlers while in the church.
- Be under the handler’s control at all times.
- Must wear some type of identification as a service animal.
- Do not sit on UUErie furniture.
- Must be restrained (see below) unless this interferes with the animal’s work or the individual’s disability prevents using these devices. In that case, the individual must maintain control of the animal through voice, signal or other effective controls.
- Do not whine, bark, grumble, growl or make other noises. An exception may be if the whining is an alert, such as to notify a handler who is experiencing an anxiety attack or a drop in blood sugar.
- Do not obstruct an area used for emergency evacuation.
- Must be tagged, registered, and vaccinated in accordance with appropriate state and local regulations.
Handlers/Owners:
- Should not leave animals unattended anywhere on church property, including vehicles.
- While on Church property, service animals must be attended and restrained at all times. This means that the service animal must be in the immediate vicinity of its owner (within six feet), either on a leash, in a cage, or voice-controlled. To be considered attended, the animal may not be left fastened to a stationary object.
- Are required to clean up after their animal, including on church grounds. This includes disposing of waste properly and cleaning the respective area(s).
- Will be held responsible for any costs incurred due to soiling or other damage to church property.
Members:
- Service animals are not pets, but are specifically trained to assist the owner/handler with a specific task. Therefore, they shouldn’t be touched or interacted with in any way. Sometimes, the pet owner will permit people to “say hello,” but such an invitation shouldn’t be assumed or taken for granted. If you are not familiar with how to interact with service/support animals, it is best if you simply ignore the animal. Please do not reach out to pet, talk to, or acknowledge a service/support animal (they are working).
- The Sunday Service support staff may request that the handler/owner remove the service animal from the building if the animal becomes out of control, displays threatening behavior, defecates or urinates in the building,
Registration
Congregants are expected to register their service animal. Registration forms are available in the church office. Requests will be reviewed/approved by the UUErie Board. Guests with service animals will be welcome.
UUErie strives to be inclusive of all those who support its mission, including people with disabilities and, as applicable, their service/support animal as long as the animal does not significantly impact the health of an attendee and/or distract/interfere with UUErie events. Every effort will be made to enable all attendees to participate at UUErie events, provided that those involved make a good faith effort to find a mutually satisfactory outcome. The health and well-being of the congregation, including the fulfillment of its principles, values, and mission, will guide the final decision(s) made by the Board of Trustees.
Registration approval:
- May ask the handler only two questions:
- Is this a Service Animal required by a disability?
- What task is the dog trained to perform? December 8, 2019
- May not inquire about the handler’s disability.
- Misrepresenting an animal as a Service Animal is a violation of federal law.
As a faith community, we agree to live by UUErie’s Covenant of Right Relations, which means circumventing this procedure or policy or attempting to characterize an ESA as an ADA service animal would not be in line with the Covenant.
Adopted December 2022
