What Utah Clinics Need to Know About Patients’ Service Animals

By Jessica Craig

Originally published in Utah Physician Magazine, June/July 2025

When a patient brings his or her service animal into a healthcare clinic, questions naturally arise about proper protocol and procedures. Addressing patient sensitivities while also accommodating patients with disabilities is a delicate balance. Thankfully, the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) and Utah law have provided guidance on maintaining this balance. 

Places of Public Accommodation 

Utah law does not provide many details about what qualifies as a place of public accommodation. However, the definition of “public accommodation” under the ADA is very broad and includes professional offices of healthcare providers and hospitals.¹ Because healthcare clinics and hospitals qualify as places of public accommodations, they must comply with both state and federal law when it comes to accommodating individuals with disabilities. 

Under the ADA and Utah law, an individual with a disability has the right to be accompanied by a service animal in places of public accommodation. Utah law does provide an exception to this requirement, however, and indicates that a service animal need not be allowed when it is a danger or nuisance to others, as interpreted under the ADA.² The ADA similarly provides that a public accommodation is not required to accommodate a service animal when it poses a direct threat to the health or safety of others.³ 

Animals that May Qualify as Service Animals 

Under the ADA and Utah law, dogs may qualify as service animals. The ADA additionally provides that miniature horses may qualify as service animals if they meet certain requirements.⁴ For reference, miniature horses generally range in height from 24 inches to 34 inches measured to the shoulders and usually weigh between 70 and 100 pounds.⁵ 

While the ADA provides that miniature horses may qualify as service  animals, Utah law limits its definition of service animals to dogs.⁶ In the event that a patient were to bring a miniature horse as his or her service animal into a Utah clinic, the ADA would apply and trump Utah’s prohibition of miniature horses. Finally, under both the ADA and Utah law, emotional support animals do not qualify as service animals.⁷

What Questions Clinic Staff May Ask about Service Animals

When a patient enters the clinic, there are two questions that staff may ask about the service animal: (1) whether the dog is a service animal required because of the patient’s disability, and (2) what work the dog has been trained to perform for the patient. However, clinic staff should not make these inquiries about the service animal when it is clear that the animal is trained to do work or perform tasks for an individual with a disability.⁸ 

Clinic staff should also not ask the patient any further questions about the service animal. For instance, clinics may not require documentation that the animal is licensed as a service animal.⁹ Other questions to validate the patient’s disability are also not allowed. Under Utah law and the ADA, the service animal is also not required to identify themselves by wearing vests or other forms of identification. 

Where the Service Animal May Go in the Facility 

Clinics must allow the service animal to go in all areas of the clinic where the public is allowed to go. For example, excluding an animal from patient rooms or examination rooms would not be appropriate. However, excluding an animal from places in the clinic that could compromise the sterility of the clinic, e.g., operating rooms, would be appropriate. 

The Clinic’s Responsibility to Maintain the Animal 

The patient, or animal’s handler, has the responsibility of maintaining the animal and keeping it under control while in the clinic. Clinic staff are not required to intervene or maintain the animal.¹⁰ Additionally, the level of control the patient is required to maintain over the animal is directly tied to their abilities. For example, when the patient is unable to use a leash because of a disability, the patient may control the animal by using their voice, signals, or other means.¹¹ 

If a patient, or animal’s handler, cannot keep the animal under control or does not take steps to control it, then the clinic may ask the individual with a disability to remove the service animal from the clinic.¹² The clinic may also ask that the service animal be removed if it is not housebroken.¹³ 

The Big Picture 

The main purpose in accommodating service animals in clinics is to ensure that all patients have equal access to places of public accommodation and are not treated differently because they use a service animal. By accommodating service animals, clinics help patients with disabilities fully access the benefits of the clinic.

Jessica Craig

moc.nqr@giarcj
Jessica Craig practices in the firm’s Litigation,
Employment and Labor Law and Family Law sections. Before attending law school, Jessica received a bachelor’s degree in English and a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Utah. She then went on to work as a professional copywriter.

In law school, Jessica served
as the co-captain of the BYU Law Trial Advocacy traveling team and placed as a Semifinalist at the 2024 National Trial Competition Regionals. She also enjoyed participating in the 6th Grade Mentoring program and serving as an Academic Development Program advisor.