I see.

Since they are a regular member, you can typically require that they provide something from their physician indicating that they have a disability under the ADA (the statute defines a disability as a condition significantly affecting a major life activity, such as walking, talking, or breathing).

If the individual does have a disability and this IS a service animal, then there is little that you can do to prevent him from using your facility since federal law makes it illegal to discriminate against an individual because of their disability.

In fact, you may exclude the animal from your facility only if the animal's behavior poses a direct threat to the health or safety of others normally. For example, any service animal that displays vicious behavior towards other guests or customers may be excluded. You may not make assumptions, however, about how a particular animal is likely to behave based on your past experience with other animals. Each situation must be considered individually. Drooling, shedding, or other normal behavior would not normally be enough to exclude the individual or their service animal.

Here is a link that provides more information:

http://www.ada.gov/qasrvc.htm

If you believe this is one of the extraordinary circumstances that affects the health/safety of the other members, then it would be best to retain a local discrimination law attorney to guide you through the process of denying entry by the animal since a lawsuit is likely to be initiated if you take such action.

Please remember to press the smiley faces/stars on the right of your screen when we are finished with our communication so I will be credited for my time. Kindly remember to ONLY rate my answer when you are fully satisfied. If you feel the need to rate anything less than OK, please stop and reply to me via the REPLY TO EXPERT button with whatever issue or clarification you may need. I will be happy to continue further and assist you until I am able to explain your concern to your satisfaction.

Thank you and all the best to you,

Tina

It is typically reasonable to request that the member provide a note from their physician indicating that this dog is a service animal as defined by the ADA. If that is true, then the member does normally have a right to bring it to the gym with him or other public areas and if you wish to refuse entry for ANY reason, you should retain an attorney because the likelihood of a suit is high.

If the dog does attack others, barks, or runs around scaring other members, then that would typically provide a basis to refuse this dog specifically. But I would not do so without consulting with a local attorney further and retaining them to represent the company.

He cannot refuse entry by the member themselves because of the diabetes since that would likely trigger a lawsuit for disability discrimination under the ADA as well. He should have liability insurance if he is concerned about injuries to members in the gym.

This is not an easy situation since the law does require that the gym accommodate the disabled member by permitting the dog to enter the premises. Only in the most unusual situations can the dog be refused entry if it is actually a service dog. This MAY be one of those situations if the dog is actually threatening to the other members. If they are hyper-sensitive to large dogs though and not reasonably threatened, the law would not normally permit the owner to refuse entry.

Please remember to press the smiley faces/stars on the right of your screen when we are finished with our communication so I will be credited for my time. Kindly remember to ONLY rate my answer when you are fully satisfied. If you feel the need to rate anything less than OK, please stop and reply to me via the REPLY TO EXPERT button with whatever issue or clarification you may need. I will be happy to continue further and assist you until I am able to explain your concern to your satisfaction.

Thank you and all the best to you,

Tina