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With the number of veterans on campus expected to increase next semester, PCC could see a rise number of service and therapy animals. Members at the annual meeting of the Disabled Students Program and Services advisory group discussed potential issues that might arise.”There are a lot of questions being raised statewide about how to deal with students who need some accommodations and rely on service and therapy animals,” said Kent Yamauchi, assistant dean of special services.

Members of DSPS as well as Barb Velasquez, a representative from the Sam Simon Foundation, attended the meeting. The Sam Simon Foundation is a non-profit organization that rescues dogs from shelters and retrains them as service animals.

Veteran Tracey Harris and her service dog Blaze, who was trained through the Sam Simon Foundation, also attended the meeting.

The issues discussed at the meeting included how to define a service animal, what to do if a student or teacher might have a fear of animals, students and staff with animal allergies and the questions that school officials can legally ask a student with a service animal. Velasquez also briefed the meeting on state and federal laws as well as the registering and licensing of service animals.

“Most of our service dogs are going to be retrievers or retriever types,” said Velasquez. “We’re after dogs that aren’t easily startled by sudden noises, and retrievers are usually used as hunting breeds and generally don’t have that sound sensitivity,” she said.

Harris talked about how she came into possession of her service dog Blaze and the details of Blaze’s training.

She described what it was like having her service dog in her daily life.

“I see having Blaze as beneficial for me, but also for him because if he hadn’t been trained he would have been stuck in a shelter,” she said.

“Even though he is working, it’s always a little fun too.

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