Pets & Animal Guidelines - Campus Life

For Residence Halls & Houses

Small caged pets and fish are permitted in the residence halls; dogs and cats are not permitted as pets. Residents are responsible for the well being of their pets including keeping cages and aquarium tanks clean. All pets must be removed from the residence halls during break periods if break housing is not secured. Complaints about disruption or pet care may result in the removal of the pet and disciplinary action. Residents must register their pet with Residence Life and comply with the Pet Guidelines, found below.

Residents are limited to one small cage per room. Aquariums over 25 gallons are not permitted.

The resident pet owner must register their pet with Residence Life prior to the pet’s arrival to campus. See Animal Registration Form.

The resident pet owner must take primary responsibility of the pet. The resident pet owner agrees to ensure the pet is properly fed, cleaned, and given appropriate medical care as needed.

Resident pet owners in a double, divided double, or triple room must receive approval from roommates and must agree on expectations for the pet prior to the pet’s arrival to campus. If there are concerns for the pet in the room, the resident pet owner is responsible for trying to resolve the situation to satisfaction. If a roommate or community member is allergic, the pet will not be permitted to reside in the room and/or common spaces.

Pets must remain in the resident pet owner’s room unless there is explicit agreement from the community the pet can be in common spaces. Pets are not permitted in kitchen spaces.

A pet must be under the direct supervision of the resident pet owner or designated community member when in common spaces. The owner or designated community member is responsible for cleaning up after the pet in common spaces.

Pets must be removed from the residence halls during the winter and summer break when the halls are closed

The resident pet owner is responsible for coordinating the care of a pet for any absence from campus longer than one night.

All pets must be current on recommended vaccinations. The resident pet owner must provide documentation of vaccinations upon request from Residence Life staff.

The resident pet owner is responsible for the cost of all damages caused by the pet, including the cost to remove pet odors. Inspections of rooms and the assessment of damages will occur twice a year by Residence Life and Facilities staff. Facilities staff reserve the right to move pet supplies (e.g. scratching posts or cages) to complete necessary work.

Residence Life reserves the right to exclude any pet from campus housing in circumstances including, but not limited to: aggressive behavior, disruption to the community, care or hygiene concerns, and/or threat to the health or safety of others.

Failure to comply with these guidelines, provide reasonable care for a pet, or follow all local and state ordinances may result in disciplinary action, including termination of the resident pet owner’s housing contract. Multnomah County Animal Control will be contacted in the case of any neglected, abandoned, mistreated or abused pets.

For On-Campus Apartments

One cat or one dog per designated pet apartment is permitted; small caged pets and fish are also permitted. Students are responsible for the well being of their pets. Complaints about disruption or pet care may result in the removal of the pet and disciplinary action. Residents must register their pet and comply with the Pet Guidelines, found below.

Residents are limited to one small cage, one cat or one dog per apartment. Aquariums over 25 gallons are not permitted.

All resident pet owners must register their pet with Residence Life prior to the pet’s arrival to campus. See Animal Registration Form.

The resident pet owner must display signage on the exterior door notifying campus emergency and facilities staff there is a pet inside the apartment.

Resident pet owners in a two-bedroom apartment must have approval from their roommate and must agree on expectations for the pet prior to the pet’s arrival to campus. If there are concerns for the pet in the room, the resident pet owner is responsible for trying to resolve the situation to satisfaction. If a roommate is allergic, the pet will not be permitted in the apartment.

The resident pet owner must take primary responsibility of the pet. The resident pet owner agrees to ensure the pet is properly fed, cleaned, and given appropriate medical care as needed.

Pet supplies (e.g. litter boxes) must be contained to the resident pet owner’s room unless there is explicit agreement from the roommate pet supplies can be in common areas.

Pets must be removed from the apartment during the summer break.

The resident pet owner is responsible for coordinating the care of a pet during any overnight absence from campus.

A cat or dog must be at least six months old. The resident must provide written verification of the approximate age by a veterinarian upon request from Residence Life staff.

All pets must be current on recommended vaccines and all cats and dogs must be spayed or neutered. The resident pet owner must provide proof upon request from Residence Life staff that the pet has the following vaccinations:
- Cats: Rabies, Respiratory/distemper, Feline Leukemia
- Dogs: Rabies, Parvo, Corona, DHLP
The resident pet owner is responsible for the cost of all damages caused by the pet, including the cost for removing pet odors. Inspections of rooms and the assessment of damages will occur twice a year by Residence Life and Facilities staff.

Failure to comply with these guidelines, provide reasonable care for a pet, or follow local and state ordinances may result in disciplinary action, including termination of the resident animal owner’s housing contract. Multnomah County Animal Control will be contacted in the case of any neglected, abandoned, mistreated or abused pets.

Service and Emotional Support Animals

The office of Residence Life is committed to providing appropriate accommodations to students with disabilities. Students with disabilities who have specific housing needs are encouraged to work with the offices of Disability and Accessibility Resources (DAR) and Residence Life to request and determine eligibility for disability-related housing accommodations. Residents with appropriate documentation of a disability requiring the use of an assistance animal are encouraged to contact Disability and Accessibility Resources to discuss their disability-related housing accommodation requests.

Reed Collge Animal Policy

Service Animal: A service animal is defined by the American with Disabilities Act to be limited to certain species, and individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including, but not limited to, guiding individuals with impaired vision, alerting individuals with impaired hearing to intruders or sounds, providing minimal protection or rescue work, pulling a wheelchair, or fetching dropped items. For the purposes of this policy, the definition of a service animal shall remain consistent with the ADA definition, as published on the ADA website. In addition, “Service Animal” shall also mean trained animals used by government agencies in police and rescue work (Multnomah County Code, 13.002 Definitions).

Service Animals are permitted to accompany persons with disabilities in all areas of Reed’s facilities, including in college Housing, where students, members of the public and other participants in services, programs and activities are allowed. Service Animals should be controlled with a leash, harness, voice, signals or other effective means.

Support Animal: Support Animals include emotional support animals or therapy animals that mitigate one or more identified symptoms or effects associated with a handler’s or owner’s disability by providing emotional support, well-being or comfort. Unlike Service Animals, a Support Animal does NOT need to be trained to perform disability-specific work or tasks, and may include species other than dogs. Support Animals may be qualified by a letter from a licensed health care provider.

Support Animals are generally not permitted to accompany persons with disabilities in all public areas but may reside in College housing when necessary to afford a student with a disability an equal opportunity to use and enjoy College housing. Further, Support Animals are generally not allowed in other areas where animals are prohibited but persons with disabilities may request approval from Disability and Accessibility Resources or Human Resources to have their Support Animal accompany them in areas otherwise restricted from animals. Those requests will be made on a case-by-case, individualized basis consistent with applicable laws.

Students who receive approval for an ESA as a disability housing accommodation will be required to review and agree to the terms of the Emotional Support Animal Checklist prior to bringing their animal into campus housing. The checklist will be covered in an intake meeting with DAR and serves as a guide for general expectations and guidelines of the animal residing in Reed College housing.

Benefits of Animal Registration

Included in the benefits of registering your animal through the Animal Registration Form are the following:

Information will be shared with Community Safety and Facilities to allow these departments to plan around the presence of the animal when routine or emergency entry needs to be made to a residence.