The Scientist November 2018

46 THE SCIENTIST | the-scientist.com

THOMPSON MCCLELLAN PHOTOGRAPHY

When enforcing these federal regula-

tions on campus, there are two relevant

exceptions to the laws’ protection, says

L. Scott Lissner, the ADA and 504 com-

pliance officer at Ohio State University.

The first is if there is a direct threat to

the health and safety of others. “The very

commonsense rule of thumb... is if peo-

ple have to suit up to go into the lab, then

usually the dog can’t go in.” For some labs,

such as those associated with chemistry

and biology courses, protective gear for the

dog may suffice. Labs that maintain sterile

facilities or contain hazardous pathogens,

on the other hand, are typically off limits.

The second exception is if there is evi-

dence that the animal’s presence would

“fundamentally alter the nature of the

work in the lab that was being done,” Liss-

ner continues. “If we couldn’t properly do

the experiment, then we couldn’t teach the

class, or we couldn’t do the research.”

The nature of these rules necessitates

universities’ case-by-case approach to

requests to admit service dogs to the lab.

“ Yo u just take every single situation and

assess it carefully,” says Earle, who has

advocated for access for her older daugh-

ter’s service dog to environments such as

hospital rooms, so they could be together

during recovery from surgery. “[The

appropriate solution] would vary with

every single lab, and every single topic; it

could even vary with the particular cur-

riculum and goals for that da y.”

When it came to Ramp’s request to

bring Sampson into the psych lab, Juraska

had safety concerns. She thought that the

dog risked exchanging pathogens with the

rats, but more worrisome, his presence

might affect the rats’ behavior. Becoming

anxious or fearful, the rats might get agi-

tated and bite a student, she says. Even

a less extreme reaction could disrupt the

experiments the students were running,

and the rats could suffer in a way that

went against animal welfare guidelines.

“Wolves, and by extension dogs, are known

predators, and there is research [showing]

that their presence can cause anxiety and

aggression in a prey species,” Juraska tells

The Scientist in a written statement.

Ramp isn’t satisfied with the univer-

sity’s justification. She’s been told by vet-

erinarians that the risk of pathogen trans-

mission between service animals and lab

animals is very low, and she’s skeptical

that Sampson, who has been specifically

trained for the lab environment, will stress

the rodents any more than a classroom full

of students. But she has not been able to

convince U of I. “It really became lots of

resistance and no problem solving,” she

says. “And I’ve been fighting that issue for

the last year and half now.”

Accusations of discrimination

Although there is some evidence that wild

rats respond to dogs as predators, Ramp

could not find compelling research on

the effect of dogs on lab rats. “These are

not wild rodents,” Rhodes says. “They’re

domesticated and have no experience

with dogs.” But there doesn’t seem to be

any research addressing this question.

Recognizing this problem, Ramp

applied for and received a $50,000 grant

from an independent donor through the

university’s Disability Resources and Edu-

cational Services (DRES) for a two-year

study to explore this question. She joined

There’s no clear guidance on how to identify a service dog,

more fundamen tally, no less where can you take it.

—Patri cia Redden, Saint Peter’s University

LAB PARTNER #2: Sampson

was the fi rst service dog to

enter a University of Illinois

biology teaching lab, a molecular

and physiology research lab,

and a behavioral genetics and

neuroscience research lab.