Music Festival Dog Policy

This policy applies to dogs within the Music Festival tent only!


BVMF permits any attendee to be accompanied at a concert by a service dog. A service dog is one trained to help a specific individual with a disability with services such as fetching dropped items, guiding someone who is vision- impaired, or sensing the onset of a seizure. BVMF does not permit attendees to be accompanied by a pet or an emotional support animal, which is an animal that is not trained to perform a specific act directly related to an individual’s disability.


A service dog must be harnessed, leashed, or tethered, unless these devices interfere with the service dog’s work or the attendee’s disability prevents using these devices. In that case, the attendee must maintain control of the dog through voice, signal, or other effective controls. 


 If the service dog has an identifying service dog vest, it must be worn at all times.


If BVMF staff encounters a dog that it suspects is not a service dog, BVMF staff may ask only two questions to determine if the dog is a service dog: 1) whether the dog is required because of a disability, and 2) what work the dog is trained to perform. Staff cannot require an attendee to prove that a dog is a service dog. A service dog is not required to be registered, certified, or identified as a service dog. 


An attendee with a disability may be required to remove a service dog if 1) the dog is not under control, 2) the dog urinates or defecates in the tent; or 3) the dog is disruptive (e.g. barks uncontrollably or jumps on other patrons).


If an attendee sitting near a service dog complains about having to sit near the dog and the dog is behaving appropriately, music festival staff should first ask the complaining attendee if he or she would be willing to move to a different, but comparable or better, seat. If the complaining attendee is not willing to relocate, staff should ask the dog owner if he or she would be willing to relocate. If neither is willing to relocate, explain to the complaining attendee that the festival is required by law to allow attendees to be accompanied by a service dog. 


If an attendee has a large service dog that would encroach on another attendee’s space, music festival staff may relocate that attendee to an aisle seat so that the dog can sit in the aisle.


Although this policy refers only to dogs, it applies to any animal that may accompany a patron.