Commissioners approve Service Animal policy

SIDNEY -- The Cheyenne County Commissioner this morning approved a policy on accepting service animals in county buildings.

Specifically, the policy addresses service animals in the court house.

The policy reads "The Court House is committed to providing equal access to individuals with disabilities. The definition of 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. Dogs are recognized by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) as service animals."

The policy states that service animals are not considered pets.

The policy allows only two questions when determining if an animal is a service animal: 1) Is the animal a service animal required because of a disability," and 2) What work or task has the animal been trained to perform?

According to ADA.gov, a service dog must be under the control of its handler. Further, the site says "A person with a disability cannot be asked to remove his service animal from the premises unless: (1) the dog is out of control and the handler does not take effective action to control it or (2) the dog is not housebroken. When there is a legitimate reason to ask that a service animal be removed, staff must offer the person with the disability the opportunity to obtain goods or services without the animal’s presence."

The Cheyenne County policy says emotional support animals, comfort animals or therapy animals are not considered service animals and are not allowed in the court house.