Off-leash dogs imperil service animals

Service+dogs+serve+in+a+variety+of+roles+for+students+with+disabilities%2C+much+like+the+dogs+brought+in+for+Paws+and+Relax.

Xander Fu

Service dogs serve in a variety of roles for students with disabilities, much like the dogs brought in for Paws and Relax.

Natalie Baldwin

Walking your dog through  campus can be a fun activity. However, if you are not using a leash for your pet it can lead to dangerous situations.

 
Danielle Kuehn, a freshman who has a service dog named Yori has had a difficult time on the CWU campus so far.

 
Some problems that Kuehn is running into is having dogs off-leash on campus.

 
“The ones that are off-leash are obviously not under the owner’s control. They can be aggressive and cause a distraction to my dog when she’s just trying to do her job, which is keeping me safe,” Kuehn said.
When asked what CWU students can do to help this situation, Kuehn said that signs would help to let students know that it’s against school rules to have your dog off-leash.
CWU students should know that walking to class or even walking around campus can make Kuehn feel nervous.
Kuehn wants everyone to know that they should always ask permission before touching the service animal because even looking at the animal can distract it. The dog is here for Kuehn, not for other people or other animals.
Service animals are, “dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities,” according to the American Disabilities Act (ADA).
The Information Center in the SURC has the right to ask if it’s a service animal or not.
They can ask if the service animal is required because of a disability and what the dog has been trained to do.
It’s not just people who use service animals who are upset, according to Adrienne Beverly, a senior at CWU and co-president of ABLE, who shares Kuehn’s concerns.
ABLE, which stands for Access Belonging Learning Equality, provide self-advocacy and awareness for people with disabilities.
ABLE has plans to put up dog leash signs says Beverly; it has been a problem for a while now.
“ABLE has not personally reached out to facilities or campus police about this issue because we were under the assumption that Disability Services were the ones handling this issue.”
However, Beverly did mention that the last time she spoke to Disability Services they had not heard back from facilities.