Two things about guide dog puppies which haven't been brought up on list.

The volunteer would be likely to pay far more attention to the puppy than the volunteer work she is supposed to be doing. As would everyone else. At best, it's unproductive. At worst, it has the potential for unfixable mistakes. The puppy, though well behaved, may also be underfoot a lot which is dangerous for both the puppy and people-potential for tripping. It's a puppy, not a certified guide animal. Would you allow the volunteer to bring children or someone for whom they were a caregiver to that environment? It is a workplace.

Let me pose another question: who normally processes collections? Yes, service animals are covered by law and should be. But what sort of volunteer who uses a guide dog would be processing collections? Are they blind, wheelchair bound or otherwise mobility impaired, developmentally disabled, etc.? How likely is it that person will be lifting heavy boxes of materials or artifacts and processing them? Equal opportunity employment means exactly that, and should, but the person has to be able to perform the basic requirements of the job on offer.

If an employee asked me, I would of course respond in saying service animals are allowed by law in most or all public settings. Sometimes cats are used as service animals but they are also notorious for urinating to mark territory, no matter their age. Is the archival storage and processing area a place to which the general public is allowed?  A volunteer, who is an unpaid employee, should be made to follow the same rules as any other employee. No eating in the archives. No drinking in the archives. No pets or children in the archives. Again, this is a puppy in training, not a certified service animal. How do other employees and volunteers honestly feel about the situation?

I think it's great the volunteer trains service animals but let's also think of the archive for a moment. We are stewards of historic materials for future generations. Putting the archives or the volunteer in such an awkward situation is a disservice to both.
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