Hydration Room Service Animal Policy

Under California law, a service animal is any dog 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 type of mental disability. Other species of animals, whether wild or domestic, trained or untrained, are not considered service animals. Examples of service dog work may include:

• Pulling a wheelchair;
• Assisting with navigation for a person who is blind or has low vision;
• Retrieving items such as pens or backpacks;
• Removing a disoriented person from a dangerous situation;
• Reminding a person with mental illness to take prescribed medications;
• Calming a person with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) during a panic attack;
• Assisting an individual during a seizure.

Hydration Room, in accordance with the Americans with Disability Act (ADA), Unruh Civil Rights Act, the California Disabled Persons Act (CDPA), and the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) and other California statutes, does not require proof of the service animal’s training. However, we may ask 1) whether the animal is required because of a disability, and 2) what work or task the animal is trained to perform.

No. Emotional support or other animals that are not individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability are not service animals as defined by the ADA, California and applicable law. These animals are not allowed in any Hydration Room facility.

However, psychiatric service animals individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of a person with a mental disability is a service animal. Individuals that use such a service animal are entitled to the same rights under federal and state laws as someone with a physical disability. Examples of psychiatric service animal work may include:

• Responding to an owner’s panic attack by initiating contact to comfort the individual, and
• Alerting a person exercising poor judgment due to diagnosed bipolar disorder that they are driving dangerously.

Other species of animals beside dogs or some miniature horses, whether trained or untrained, are not considered service animals. The work or tasks performed by a service animal must be directly related to the individual’s disability.

You are responsible for supervising your service animal. In accordance with the ADA and other applicable laws, rules and regulations, Hydration Room requires service animals to be under the care and control of the handler, or someone designated by the handler, at all times. For example, the service animal should be housebroken and should be vaccinated in accordance with state and local laws. If your service animal behaves in an unacceptable way and you do not take effective action to control the animal, or if the animal poses a direct threat to others, you may be asked to remove your animal from the premises. Examples of unacceptable behavior include uncontrolled barking, jumping on other people, or running away from the handler. An example of a direct threat includes biting without provocation.

In the event that a service animal is asked to be removed, Hydration Room will attempt to reasonably accommodate the person with a disability including, but not limited to, offering the opportunity to obtain goods or services without the animal’s presence.

No. The ADA and other laws does not require that service animals “register” or wear a tag or vest and/or any other identifying equipment.