Hello Neighbors, You might have seen the email that went around to the list-serve 2 weeks ago where a neighbor who uses a service dog posted about being stopped and told they could not have their dog at the reservoir. The resulting conversation about service animals and ada regulation was very educational. It also raised questions about the No Dogs signs up at the reservoir, which it turns out were not consistent with park policy. *Pittsburgh City Parks in fact do allow dogs in most spaces, including up at the reservoir. *The signs indicating otherwise at the reservoir have been evaluated by the City and deemed inaccurate. They were therefore removed by the City and replaced with accurate current signs (see attached image for preview.) Some additional details specifically regarding dogs in the park: - *Dogs are not allowed in playgrounds, fields or courts at any time. *( Ordinance 473.05b) - However, * Service dogs ARE allowed in these spaces, per the ADA. * - *Dogs are required to be leashed at all times *unless in one of the designated official Off-Leash Exercise Areas (OLEAs). https://pittsburghpa.gov/citiparks/dog-parks - The official ADA website offers this clarifying remark in regards* specifically to service animals and leashing, as an additional FYI:* The ADA requires that service animals be under the control of the handler at all times*. *In most instances, the handler will be the individual with a disability or a third party who accompanies the individual with a disability. In the school (K-12) context and in similar settings, the school or similar entity may need to provide some assistance to enable a particular student to handle his or her service animal. The 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. In that case, the person must use voice, signal, or other effective means to maintain control of the animal (https://www.ada.gov/resources/service-animals-faqs/, Q. 27) [image: image.png] -- Click here to visit our website <https://hpccpgh.org/>
