The laws and regulations surrounding service animals are designed to allow individuals with disabilities to be accompanied by a service animal in all areas where members of the public are allowed to go. The Keystone Conference Center, in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), has established the following policies regarding service animals:

• Service animals are dogs (or miniature horses) that have been individually trained to perform a specific task or service for a person with a disability.
• Service animals can be trained to perform many important tasks to assist people with disabilities, such as but not limited to:
  • providing stability for a handler who has difficulty walking
  • picking up items for a handler who uses a wheelchair
  • preventing a handler with autism from wandering away
  • alerting a handler who has hearing loss when someone is approaching from behind
  • guiding a visually impaired handler
  • alerting the handler if their blood sugar reaches high or low levels
  • reminding the handler to take their medication
  • alert the handler of an oncoming seizure
  • sensing an oncoming psychiatric attack and taking a specific action to help avoid or lessen the impact of the attack
• Reasonable accommodation will be provided for service animals and their handlers. 
• Handlers include those who are tasked with training service animals, not just individuals who have a disability.
• If the animal is not trained to perform a specific task and only provides comfort, it is considered an emotional support animal and not a service animal. Emotional support animals are not permitted in the Keystone Conference Center or any Keystone-operated food & beverage locations.

Please observe the following guidelines for service animals and their handlers:

• A service animal must be harnessed, leashed or tethered while in public places unless these devices interfere with the service animal’s work or the person’s disability prevents use of these devices.
• Service animals are not required to wear a vest, ID tag or specific harness.
• The handler is responsible for caring for and supervising the service animal.
• If a service animal is out of control and the handler does not take effective action to control it, staff may request that the animal be removed from the premises.
• The service animal must be housebroken.
• Guests with service animals are not permitted to participate in any activity that utilize harness-type safety equipment.

If you have service animal questions please call 970-496-4271.