Pet Practices
🐾 Pets at Whipple Creek Wellness: As Much As We Love Them...
At Whipple Creek Wellness, we’re big fans of fur, feathers, and floppy ears—but sadly, our office isn't a petting zoo (though wouldn’t that be lovely?). For everyone's health, safety, and allergies, we maintain a strict no-pets policy in our clinic. That includes your very good boys and girls—even if they’re emotional support animals, therapy animals, or comfort critters.
But paws up! There is an exception…
🦮 Service Animals Are Welcome
In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), patients with disabilities are welcome to bring service animals into public areas of our clinic. These animals are specially trained to perform tasks related to their handler’s disability—think guiding, alerting, or even fetching help (which is way more impressive than just fetching sticks).
🐶 What counts as a service animal?
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Usually a dog, or in rare cases, a miniature horse (yes, really—we’re ready, just in case).
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They must be trained to perform specific tasks related to the handler’s disability.
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Unfortunately, emotional support animals and comfort animals (while incredibly important) do not qualify under the ADA and cannot be brought into the clinic.
🧼 Good Manners Matter
To keep things running smoothly and safely, service animals need to be:
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Leashed, harnessed, or tethered, unless those interfere with their tasks.
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Under control at all times—no barking symphonies or zoomies through the waiting room.
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Housebroken (no explanation needed 🫣).
If a service animal becomes a danger or their behavior can’t be managed (think: aggressive growling or playing slip-n-slide with clinic floors), we may need to ask the animal to leave. But don’t worry—you are still welcome to stay and receive care.
🚫 What We Can (and Can’t) Ask
Our staff are trained to be respectful and follow ADA guidelines. If it’s not obvious your animal is a service animal, we may ask:
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“Is your animal required because of a disability?”
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“What task has it been trained to perform?”
That’s it. We’ll never ask for documentation, personal medical info, or a canine resume.
🧹 Final Details
If your service animal joins you, please make sure:
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They’re cared for—water, food, and potty breaks are your responsibility.
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They’re on their best behavior. No one likes a ruff day at the office.
Thanks for helping us keep our clinic safe, clean, and accessible to everyone. We appreciate your understanding—even if your pup really, really wants to be our emotional support intern.
📄 About Emotional Support Animal (ESA) Letters
At this time, Whipple Creek Wellness does not write ESA letters, as it falls outside our scope of practice and clinical expertise.
If you're looking for support in obtaining a legitimate ESA letter, we recommend using a reputable online resource such as Support Pets or Pettable.
We're always here to support your mental health, even if we’re not the best fit for this particular need.