The VA announced today that it has revised its regulation governing
the presence of service animals at VA facilities. Back in January we posted
that the VA was seeking public input regarding service animals at VA sites. The
VA weighed your input and looked at federal laws pertaining to service animals
and came up with this revised regulation.
The new regulation states that only dogs who have been
specifically trained to perform special tasks or services for a disabled
individual will be considered service animals. No other animals will be allowed
in VA facilities, with the express exception of law enforcement animals or
animals used in animal-assisted therapy. Service animals will be subject to the
same rules that govern public access to VA properties. In some facilities, they
may not be allowed in certain patient care areas (like ORs, ICUs, etc.) in order
to maintain patient safety and infection control standards.
Over the next 30 days, the VA will train its employees and
educate the public about this new rule to ensure that it is uniformly enforced
across the country.
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