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Assistance and Therapy Animals Policy

Assistance and Therapy Animals Policy

Kaplan Living* is committed to supporting all students and recognises that some students will need to bring an assistance dog into the residence to assist in accessibility. This policy is designed to set out guidance to provide clarity for students and Kaplan staff regarding this.

Kaplan Living will expect that requests will usually be made from students about assistance animals from a recognised organisation as outlined below. In exceptional circumstances and when there is clear medical evidence, consideration will be given to requests by students to bring therapy animals to the residence.

Key Definitions:

Assistance animals.
An assistance animal is an animal, usually a dog, which has been professionally trained to perform tasks for a person. It will be registered with Assistance Dogs UK. ADUK cover the following organisations:

Assistance Dogs UK is a voluntary coalition of accredited assistance dog charities.

All ADUK member charities have passed an accreditation process that covers their training of animals and administration.

Therapy Animals
A therapy animal (also known as an emotional support animal) is an animal that provides emotional support or passive comfort that alleviates one or more of the identified symptoms or effects of a disability. Unlike an assistance animal, a therapy animal does not assist a person with a disability with activities of daily living, nor does it always accompany a person with a disability.


Pets
A pet is a domesticated animal that provides companionship but is not considered an assistance or therapy animal. Kaplan Living does not allow students to keep pets in residences.

 
Process for assistance animals

Students who wish to bring an assistance dog to their residence must:

  1. Provide supporting medical evidence of their disability and reason for the need for an assistance animal or therapy animal from a General Practitioner or other health specialist.
  2. Provide information as to why the animal is required to live in residence with the student.
  3. Provide details on the dog’s registration with ADUK and provide evidence that dog and owner have completed training.
  4. Complete the animal application form and if approved;
  5. Complete the conduct agreement.
  6. Provide evidence of public liability insurance
  7. Inform via email the residence team at your residence:
    Kaplan Living Bournemouth: LivingBournemouth@kaplan.com
    Kaplan Living Brighton: LivingBrighton@kaplan.com
    Kaplan Living Glasgow: LivingGlasgow@kaplan.com
    Kaplan Living Liverpool: LivingLiverpool@kaplan.com
    Kaplan Living Nottingham: LivingNottingham@kaplan.com
  8. Provide evidence of any vaccinations the animal has been given.


Process for therapy animals (animals that are not registered under ADUK)

Students who wish to bring a therapy animal to their residence must:

  1. Be registered with their place of study Disability Advisory Service.
  2. Provide appropriate medical evidence to support the request to have a therapy animal in the residence, which should include information about the kind of support the animal will provide.
  3. Complete the animal application form and if approved;
  4. Complete the conduct agreement.
  5. Provide evidence of public liability insurance.
  6. Inform via email the residence team at your residence:
    Kaplan Living Bournemouth: LivingBournemouth@kaplan.com
    Kaplan Living Brighton: LivingBrighton@kaplan.com
    Kaplan Living Glasgow: LivingGlasgow@kaplan.com
    Kaplan Living Liverpool: LivingLiverpool@kaplan.com
    Kaplan Living Nottingham: LivingNottingham@kaplan.com
  7. Provide evidence of any vaccinations the animal has been given.

Once an assistance animal or therapy animal has been approved, the residence will contact the student’s flat mates to inform them that a student in their flat has been given permission to have either an assistance animal or a therapy animal for medical reasons. The other residents complete a ‘Flatmate Agreement’ form to either agree that an animal can live alongside them, ask for further information about what this could mean for them or ask to be reallocated to another flat. At this point the General Manager would make a judgement as to the appropriate course of action if a resident had a concern which could include offering either the resident with the animal or the resident with the concern alternative accommodation.

Consideration will also be given as to the possible impact of the request on other residents such as significant disruption to services, allergies, as well as the welfare requirements of the animal.

Residents are responsible for the behaviour of their assistance or therapy animal. Kaplan Living reserves the right to exclude an animal in extreme circumstances, from the residence, if the animal poses a threat to the health and safety of other people and to revoke permission if the conduct agreement is breached.

Removal of Assistance or Therapy Animals from Kaplan Living Residences

Kaplan Living will always work with the resident to make sure that the inclusion of an animal living in residence runs smoothly. However, there may be times when the presence or behaviour of the animal may cause difficulties. The management team may require a resident to remove an assistance or therapy animal from the residence as follows: If the animal is not under the resident’s direct control or the animal is disturbing or disrupting the other residents. The resident will be given an opportunity beforehand to get the animal under control. If the disruption or disturbance continues, then the resident may be asked to remove the animal; or if the presence, behaviour or actions of the animal constitutes an immediate risk or danger to people or property, the resident can be asked to immediately remove the animal and 999 (emergency assistance) may be contacted. The management team has the right to relocate the resident and the animal as necessary according to current contractual agreements. Should a therapy animal be removed from the premises for any reason, the resident will be given the right to stay in the accommodation without the animal.

Note for staff and students:

It is important to note that assistance dogs are working animals and are not pets. Please be mindful of the following advice:

Please note that seizure alert dogs are trained to behave differently when they detect a potential seizure and they can appear to be misbehaving.


*This policy applies to the following residences: Kaplan Living Bournemouth, Kaplan Living Brighton, Kaplan Living Liverpool and Kaplan Living Nottingham. For all other residences, please check with the residence management team.