Service Animals

Service Animals

Click the boxes below to learn more about service animals at Johnstown Flood National Memorial.

National Park Service Policy

In October 2018, the National Park Service (NPS) issued a policy memorandum regarding the use of service animals by persons with disabilities in national parks. The revised policy aligns the NPS policy with the standards established by the Department of Justice and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

What is a Service Animal?

Dogs classified as service animals are individually trained to perform a specific task that assists a person with a disability.

• Service dogs are legally permitted anywhere that visitors can go.

Common Tasks Performed by Service Animals

Service animals are working animals, not pets. The work or task a dog has been trained to provide must be directly related to the person’s disability.

Examples of such work or tasks include:

• Guiding people who are blind
• Alerting people who are deaf
• Pulling a wheelchair
• Alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure
• Reminding a person with mental illness to take prescribed medications
• Calming a person with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) during an anxiety attack
• Other duties not listed

Emotional Support / Companion Animals

Emotional support, therapy, and companion animals are not service animals under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), they have not been trained to provide a task directly related to a disability.

• Emotional support animals are considered to be a pet.
• Service dogs-in-training are not service animals under ADA, but are considered pets.
• Pets must abide by the Individual Park Pet Regulations.
• For information on animals that do not qualify as service animals, please see our Superintendent's Compendium.

Know Before You Go

Water

Potable water is available at Johnstown Flood National Memorial and can be accessed via the water fountian/ bottle filling station on the lower level. Bottled water is also availble for purchase in the bookstore.

Terrain

Park trails are generally surfaced with compacted gravel or a mix of native soils and rocks - more detailed descriptions can be found on our mobility and physical accessibility page.

Waste

Trash cans for disposing of animal waste can be found in all restrooms and inside the front doors of the Vsitor Center.

Wildlife

Wildlife can be encountered anywhere in the memorial - even near developed and busy areas, like the visitor center. This may include birds, raccoons, porcupines, bears, and deer.

Leash

Service animals must be on a leash no longer than 6 feet in length at all times.