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Animals and the library – Part I

I am not a pet person. Let me explain. It’s not that I don’t like animals. I do like them. Perhaps it stems from my upbringing. You see, my father trained and raced harness horses for a living. These magnificent animals were athletes and treated as such. They had a job to do. They trotted and paced to the best of their ability and won money. If they didn’t earn their keep they were sold.

My father had two hunting dogs. Their job was to track game so he could shoot whatever animal they tracked. These horses and dogs purpose did not include being family pets.

The closest I came to having a pet was a miniature palomino pony named King. There was just one small, teeny-tiny problem. I was scared to death of that pony! The neighbor kids loved to ride him. My father fed him. I avoided him.

Shortly after I was married and we moved to Florida, my husband thought I needed a pet and bought me a parakeet whom he called Oliver. The bird lasted two days. My husband had released Oliver from his cage to allow him some freedom to fly around our apartment. Not realizing this, I opened the sliding glass door. Away went the bird, quick as a shot, and he was never seen again. I put a silk flower arrangement in the cage, thereby discouraging my husband from getting another bird.

Now I bet you are asking yourself, “When is she going to get to her point? What does this have to do with libraries?” Be patient, I’m getting here.

I belong to several online discussion groups of librarians, particularly library directors. I am continually amazed by the topics that librarians are passionate about. The hot topic this week among all the groups has been some rather heated discussion regarding animals in the library, specifically “service dogs” vs. “comfort pets.” Policies were shared. Opinions were voiced. There was some trash talk (yep, librarians can be very trashy when riled). The salient points that people made went further and further afield as the days went on.

Service animals are highly trained, skilled and vetted by organizations who serve clients with special needs. Most of us are familiar with Seeing Eye dogs and these wonderful animals help their owners to lead independent lives. Did you know there is also the Guide Horse Foundation, which trains miniature horses to guide the blind? Seeing Eye dogs wear a symbol that clearly identifies them to others. Libraries welcome these animals and their owners and we have clearly stated policies to that effect, based on the law of the land – The Americans with Disabilities Act.

However, “comfort” dogs/cats/hamsters etc. take us into really nebulous territory. While these animals offer assistance, security and a sense of safety to their owners, they can be vocal and protective, causing real disruption for library customers and staff. Should these animals be allowed or not? What happens if one of them bites another person? Can a library be sued for discrimination if we don’t allow comfort animals to accompany their owners into the building? Criminy! They didn’t teach me this in Library School and this is not part of the syllabus when I am the professor for the Foundations of Librarianship class. Oh boy, I can’t wait until the Library Board of Directors sees this policy review on their meeting agenda next month.

Online discussions often have several threads (trains-of-thought) and I became fascinated with a thread about damage of library materials by pets. I was reminded of several entertaining experiences I’ve had with pet owners, ravaged books, chewed DVDs and small claims court. But these stories must wait until next week because I have to go outside and feed “Stubby-L’il-Dude,” the tailless squirrel who has become the library’s mascot.

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Molly S. Kinney is the director at the Mifflin County Library. She is currently reading “Here to Stay,” by Catherine Anderson, a romance novel about a miniature guide horse trainer and a woman trying to help her blind brother.

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