Service Animals and Emotional Support Animals (ESAs)
Pets
A "pet" is any animal kept for ordinary use and companionship. Service animals and Emotional Support Animals are not considered pets. Pets are generally prohibited indoors on the Geneseo campus. More information on the policy for bringing animals on campus is located on the Geneseo website.
Service Animals
A "service animal" means any dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability. The work or tasks performed by a service animal must be directly related to the person's disability. The provision of emotional support, well-being, comfort, or companionship does not constitute work or tasks for the purpose of this definition. More information on the definition of a service animal can be found on the ADA.gov website.
Service animals are permitted to accompany people with disabilities in all areas of Geneseo’s facilities. Geneseo does not require documentation, such as proof that the animal has been certified, trained, or licensed as a service animal. Individuals accompanied by a service animal on campus but who do not need any disability-related accommodations are not required to register with the Office of Accessibility Services, nor is such an individual required to submit a request for a reasonable accommodation to receive access to his or her service animal, including use of the service animal in the residential halls.
Geneseo cannot ask about the nature or extent of a person's disability to determine whether a person's animal qualifies as a service animal. However, when it is not apparent that a dog is a service animal, staff may make two inquiries to determine whether the dog qualifies as a service animal, which are:
(1) Is the dog required because of a disability?
(2) What work or task has the dog been trained to perform?
A service animal must be housebroken (i.e., trained so that it controls its waste elimination, absent illness or accident) and must be kept under control by a harness, leash, or other tether.
Emotional Support Animal (ESA)
An “emotional support animal" (or comfort animal) is an animal that provides emotional or other support that ameliorates one or more identified symptoms or effects of a person's disability. Unlike service animals, support animals are not required to be trained to perform work or tasks, and they include species other than dogs.
ESAs are generally not allowed to accompany persons with disabilities in all public areas of Geneseo as a service animal is allowed to do but an ESA may reside in the Residence Halls when it may be necessary to afford the person with a disability an equal opportunity to use and enjoy housing. Students may not have an ESA in their residential hall unless approved by the Office of Accessibility Services and the Office of Residence Life.
Requesting an Emotional Support Animal (ESA)
The OAS reviews requests for ESAs for students with disabilities who reside on campus. To request an ESA, please follow the steps below:
- Complete the ESA section of the Public Accommodation Request (PAR) form
- Submit the ESA Treatment Provider Information Form to the OAS via mail, fax, or email
- Meet with OAS staff
ESA Treatment Provider Information Form (Word printable version)
ESA Treatment Provider Information Form (PDF fillable version- download to complete)
Please review the ESA Policy for more information about the process for determining an ESA accommodation. We recognize some students may not have access to a treatment provider. Students who cannot submit the Treatment Provider Information form may still submit a request and schedule a meeting with the OAS. ESA letters or documentation from unqualified providers, or those without a history of treating the student will generally not be accepted. Please contact the OAS if you have questions or concerns about this application process.
The form and/or additional supporting documentation may be submitted via email, mail, fax, or in person:
Office of Accessibility Services
SUNY Geneseo
1 College Circle, Erwin Hall 22
Geneseo, NY 14454
Email: access@geneseo.edu
Phone: (585)-245-5112
Fax: (585)-245-5091
Submission Deadlines
ESA Requests should be submitted by the required submission date. If the need for the ESA arises once the semester has already started, the student should contact the OAS and complete the request form as soon as practicably possible. Please note that requests may take 1-2 weeks after meeting with OAS staff.
Fall Semester
June 1st
Spring Semester
December 1st