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Let the dog in: how institutions and colleagues can help scientists who require support animals

University policies often present barriers to bringing assistance dogs into the lab or on campus.
  1. Nina Notman

    1. Nina Notman is a freelance writer in Salisbury, UK.

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When Joey Ramp enrolled in science classes in 2012 at a local community college, she was surprised that she could not bring her assistance dog, Theo, into institutional laboratories. College regulations barred the practice, saying that labs were unsafe environments for support animals. Going it alone wasn’t an option; she needs the help of an assistance dog for tasks such as balancing on stairs and retrieving dropped items. The dog also alerts her to emotional overload.

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Nature 589, 627-629 (2021)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-00190-0

Updates & Corrections

  • Correction 28 January 2021: An earlier version of the caption for the photo of Jade Simon’s assistance dog implied that Basil is male.

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