Buffalo Run Adventures Policy Regarding Dogs

I love my dogs; they are awesome and love running on the trails. Your dogs are equally as awesome. Everyone’s dog is the best dog.  I wish I didn’t have to put all of this in writing, but an incident at the 2022 Antelope Island Buffalo Run 25K is prompting this policy. The spirit of this policy is that if you have a dog that you love to run with, bring them out.  I don’t care if you’re a frontrunner or a back of the packer, you love to run with your dog.  This policy covers dogs on trails during any of the Buffalo Run events. It also covers the policy regarding service dogs under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). 

Keep in mind that the frontrunners may have their dogs with them.  Some have said that this gives an unfair advantage over those without dogs.  My answer is to get a dog.  I’m also not sure there is an advantage over an ultradistance and on rocky terrain.  Think faceplant if the dog pulls too hard, stopping to water the dog, pick up after it, dog gets tired and slows you down, etc.  However, the spirit of my dog policy is that you can run with your dog provided it’s on leash at all times because running with your dog is fun.  Posted results for everyone will be regardless of dog status except as outlined in the next paragraph.  For the purposes of posted results, there will not be a separate runner/dog category.

I, as the RD, do reserve the right to alter this policy as needed if I think it’s being abused to actually give an unfair advantage, or if I think the dog is being abused.  If any of my runs are any sort of championship race (e.g. RRCA State or National, USATF State or National) and you are competing to win that championship, then you must run without your dog in order to compete.

All Races on Antelope Island– Dogs are allowed on course. Per park rules, dogs must be physically restrained by a leash no longer than six feet. Electronic control Does Not Count as physical restraint. Voice command also Does Not Count as physical restraint.
Race policy is to gently remind dog owners of the park rules. If the rules are flouted, the runner runs the risk of disqualification and banning from future races.

Logan Peak Trail Run – Dogs are not allowed in Hyrum Gibbons Mt. Logan Park per Logan city rules. If you would like to have your dog run with you, have someone meet you at the Dry Canyon Trailhead with your dog. Please do not bring your dog to the park.

Harriman 25K/50K – Dogs are not allowed in the State Park. Unfortunately, you’ll need to leave Fido home for this one.

General Race Policy on Service Dogs 
Buffalo Run Adventures allows service dogs where allowed by law. Attached below is official agency guidance concerning the ADA and is incorporated into this race policy.

How “Service Animal” Is Defined
Service animals are defined as dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities. 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, or performing other duties. 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. Dogs whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support do not qualify as service animals under the ADA.
This definition does not affect or limit the broader definition of “assistance animal” under the Fair Housing Act or the broader definition of “service animal” under the Air Carrier Access Act.
Some State and local laws also define service animal more broadly than the ADA does. Information about such laws can be obtained from the relevant State attorney general’s office.

Where Service Animals Are Allowed

Under the ADA, State and local governments, businesses, and nonprofit organizations that serve the public generally must allow service animals to accompany people with disabilities in all areas of the facility where the public is allowed to go. For example, in a hospital it usually would be inappropriate to exclude a service animal from areas such as patient rooms, clinics, cafeterias, or examination rooms. However, it may be appropriate to exclude a service animal from operating rooms or burn units where the animal’s presence may compromise a sterile environment.

Service Animals Must Be Under Control

   A service animal must be under the control of its handler. Under the ADA, service animals must be harnessed, leashed, or tethered, unless the individual’s disability prevents using these devices or these devices interfere with the service animal’s safe, effective performance of tasks. In that case, the individual must maintain control of the animal through voice, signal, or other effective controls.

Inquiries, Exclusions, Charges, and Other Specific Rules Related to Service Animals

 When it is not obvious what service an animal provides, only limited inquiries are allowed. Staff may ask two questions: (1) is the dog a service animal required because of a disability, and (2) what work or task has the dog been trained to perform. Staff cannot ask about the person’s disability, require medical documentation, require a special identification card or training documentation for the dog, or ask that the dog demonstrate its ability to perform the work or task.
 Allergies and fear of dogs are not valid reasons for denying access or refusing service to people using service animals. When a person who is allergic to dog dander and a person who uses a service animal must spend time in the same room or facility, for example, in a school classroom or at a homeless shelter, they both should be accommodated by assigning them, if possible, to different locations within the room or different rooms in the facility.
 A person with a disability cannot be asked to remove his service animal from the premises unless: (1) the dog is out of control and the handler does not take effective action to control it or (2) the dog is not housebroken. When there is a legitimate reason to ask that a service animal be removed, staff must offer the person with the disability the opportunity to obtain goods or services without the animal’s presence.
 Establishments that sell or prepare food must generally allow service animals in public areas even if state or local health codes prohibit animals on the premises.
 People with disabilities who use service animals cannot be isolated from other patrons, treated less favorably than other patrons, or charged fees that are not charged to other patrons without animals. In addition, if a business requires a deposit or fee to be paid by patrons with pets, it must waive the charge for service animals.
 If a business such as a hotel normally charges guests for damage that they cause, a customer with a disability may also be charged for damage caused by himself or his service animal.
 Staff are not required to provide care for or supervision of a service animal.